Thousand Steps repair project in Santa Barbara to start at the end of March

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The much-needed restoration of the Thousand Steps beach access way in Santa Barbara is set to begin on March 28, the Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department announced on Tuesday.

The famous Thousand Steps – which actually currently only has 150 steps – is located at the end of Santa Cruz Boulevard in the West Mesa neighborhood and provides a pathway for people to get from street level down to the beach, according to the city.

"Thousand Steps is one of three public beach access stairways we have in Santa Barbara," said Parks and Recreation Director Jill Zachary.

"This major repair project will make sure the people of Santa Barbara have safe access to the beach from the street level for decades to come."

The city built the beach stairway nearly 100 years ago in 1925, and with ocean waves washing over the lower steps constantly, the stairs have eroded and become dangerous to use, the city said.

As part of the project, the Parks and Recreation Department will demolish and rebuild the lower 14 steps, replace the bottom section of the stairways and add 10 new concrete steps that will extend below the sand for better access during seasonal changes, install new handrails along the stairway, add a new concrete guard rail at the middle landing, and improving the drainage system to help lessen the growth of algae that makes the steps slippery.

Construction will take approximately two months to complete, and there will be no access to the beach in the immediate area during the project, according to the Parks and Recreation Department.

Mesa Lane Steps and Shoreline Steps nearby will remain open.