New Santa Barbara signals installed to improve downtown safety

New and larger traffic signals in downtown Santa Barbara are helping to improve safety in a busy area.

The signals have gone in over the last few months on the mid-block poles.

Yellow reflector tape has also been added as a border to the lights as a way to help drivers spot the signals and react to red lights.

In a city video, Traffic Engineer Derrick Bailey said the installation was ” lot of the work.” By going to the bigger lights, ” the surface area of the lights actually doubles when you go from 8 inches to 12 inches. So it’s a lot more noticeable by drivers. And they are less likely to run red lights. In general we have noticed a 30% decrease in accidents at those intersections.”

Walking State Street, Meridith Moore said, ” I love that they have these crosswalks in the middle of the street because a lot of time I want to get across the street and I don’t want go up to the corner and anything for safety is great.”

Just last week, a driver missed a light and there was a major crash on State Street.
“Like the one you had on the news the other day, where it flipped upside down. I had just been down there. It must have been horrendous,” said Moore.

New signals years ago on Foothill Road made a big difference for one resident.” When they put those lights in it slowed everybody down and it was really beneficial and it saves lives too,” said Hernandez.

You will also be seeing more countdown timers at intersections where they did not exist before.
That will help pedestrians made a safe crossing and reduce close calls.
Underground new wiring replaces the no longer reliable components that can be up to 70 years old.