sbsheriffSource: Santa Barbara County Sheriff
The Goleta Police Department Traffic Unit issued 22 traffic citations for a variety of violations made by drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians during a safety operation on March 29, 2022. In addition, four subjects were issued warnings and one vehicle was towed.
The citations were for various vehicle code violations where bicyclists or pedestrians made unsafe choices and the drivers were issued citations for infractions that were unsafe to bicycles or pedestrians. The operation took place within the City of Goleta limits during a four-hour operation period. A total of 27 persons were contacted.
“Safety is a shared responsibility, with drivers holding the greatest responsibility to keep other road users safe,” Sergeant Noel Rivas of the Goleta Police Department said. “We hope this operation serves as a reminder to everyone to practice due care and to look out for one another.”
The Goleta Police Department will be holding another bicycle and pedestrian safety operation on a later date to be determined.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The report would be more meaningful is they disclosed how many vehicles/pedestrians/bicyclists move through the target area in those four hours. Were there pavement-marked crosswalks, flashing signal crosswalks or both? How many vehicles were speeding or running through the signal against a red light? How about bicyclists riding on the wrong side of the road or blowing through traffic signal?
The “cars are basic” people will fault those not in cars as being THE problem, and sometimes they are, but let’s get some actionable data reported on how many drivers endanger the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists compare to the other way around. There’s a *big* difference between a car speeding through a red light or not stopping before turning right on a red signal compared to a pedestrian who forgot to trigger the “walk signal” or a bike rider riding on a sidewalk to avoid that car running the light.
no, the GPD are issuing tickets. Sheriff Department and City of Goleta PD are two completely different entities.