Anonymous
Source: California Highway Patrol
We worked with Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and cleared out a homeless encampment [Tuesday]. There was trash everywhere along the side of the freeway off ramp. If you happen to see an encampment please let us know. (805) 967-1234
The City of Santa Barbara contracts with Big Green. They were not involved in this opperation, but the City of Santa Barbara, Caltrans, Santa Barbara Police Department, and the CHP Santa Barbara collectively work together to keep these unsafe encampments from growing. We provide alternative county resource options because these encampments on the freeway are unsafe for pedestrians and motorist.
The clean up cost is upwards in the thousands of dollars, including damage to the property and possible exposures to employees who have to clean up these encampments.
CHP: these are vagrants, service-resistant vagrants. They are not “homeless”. Best to update the terminology for more effective dispatch of this chronic matter.
Adam, does that mean if I don’t like someone I can relentlessly bother them until they decide to leave? Seems ignorant and close minded
You need to call them up and report the camps I reported one yesterday.
These people camp in rivers and start fires in the river beds. They love to tag up and all the creek overpasses are full of graffiti even on trees. The don’t pack out their disgusting vile trash and excremental either. They’re a total menace and the more stuff they lose and sleep the lose the better.
Trash, fecal matter, possibly used hypodermic needles too. Not a lot of sympathy here to be honest. If people treated our hiking trails and backcountry this way there would be no end to the outcry. Instead, it’s right here in or next to our neighborhoods.
Yes!
This is the best news you could give our community. Please continue to address this issue in a pro active manner. More photos like these would prove there is a major health problem. Now we need Union Pacific to get different agencies together to clear out the dozens of camps along the tracks, Montecito to north of Goleta. Big one right near Las Positas. that’s why there are always panhandlers there. CHP needs to go by there daily and make sure the panhandlers are not there, walking the off ramp and slowing down traffic. Dangerous for all.
I can think of much better news. This isn’t fixing the problem. Just cleaning up an eye sore.
I agree. It would be good news if it included: “The people who were living at this encampment have been relocated. Some of them are now being houses in location A, while others are being housed in location B. Others have entered into addiction treatment programs.”
Chasing them out of dangerous places is a good move. Sure it would be nice to get them into housing and treatment centers but that is not the job of Caltrans and the CHP. They took an important step in at least keeping them, and motorists, safe.
(805) 967-1234. CHP: “If you happen to see an encampment please let us know. (805) 967-1234.” Please send this info to your phone list, neighbors, family, friends. We can all work together to reduce this danger, for us and for the homeless.
What great news.! Bums and hobos gone, along with their drug needles, tents, liquor bottles, urine, feces, pit bulls, and stolen bicycles. Keep up the good work. The bums and hobos should be relentlessly contacted every day, nonstop, until they tire of being contacted and go somewhere else.
Our elected officials (cities/county) and staff should be required to take a train ride from Goleta to Carpinteria. Downtown Organization, Visit Santa Barbara, both Chambers of Commerce should join them. Seeing what is along the tracks might stir them to action. Large encampments, trash, mattresses all along there. Not a very scenic welcome to the American Riviera.
Many cities use jail labor to clean up homeless camps. I think they get 2 days prison time credit for every day they work. Cleaning up camps does not have to break the bank !
Sea Dog’s claim and speculation is without factual basis. City’s do not use jail labor to do anything in California as jails are run by counties and prisons are run by the state. Work time is given to inmates but never in the ratio suggested here. Does anyone care if facts are part of our commentary or should we all just sink to the Trump level?
Assumes they are willing to work, able to take care of a provided place and nobody comes to take their place b/c locals are a soft touch.
Helpful immediate triage of the vagrancy issue: (1) the have nots; (2) the can nots; (3) the will nots. Each is handled differently. The roadway camps are the will nots, No point pretending we need to throw money or housing at them; they will not change their chosen camping lifestyle. They must be moved out of our community. public areas. It is their problem where they go next; not ours.
The rich and the poor are equally forbidden to sleep on the freeway right of way. How fair is that!? One aspect of this not mentioned is that the results of these cleanups always improves an area of the right of way which had been allowed to go to seed due to lack of maintenance. Of course whack-a-mole type enforcement will not end the drive that puts these folks in the situation that makes such “housing” the best alternative they can find.
Trona is practically giving away very nice homes and plenty of lots with hook-ups. That is the best they should be finding because their SSI checks can easily cover the costs. The local industry left and the homes left behind are remarkable for the prices asked. No, it was not destroyed by the recent earthquakes. Take a look on Zillow and weed through the fixers to find the true gems in Trona. But even the fixers are better than the illegal blighted freeway camps in this town. There is a liquor store in town, a health clinic and great scenery.
Most of this goes on in Meghan Harmon (downtown) and Oscar Gutierrez’s (Westside) districts bordering both sides of the RR tracks. Let’s see what our new experiment with district representation really does for us. Cathy Murillo’s back yard, but she has been on council while the other two are new. So apparently Murillo did nothing for 8 years, except allow this situation to grow. RR tracks are unmonitored prime crime corridors. This should be obvious by now.
Will you be moving there too Factotum?
RHS – You are wrong – and going political you are double wrong. Many cities like Redding have a full jail problem. The city uses jail labor in different ways. Some people work for Meals on Wheels and some people work with city cops doing things like cleaning up homeless camps. You are also wrong about work credit. They get 2 days credit for one day of work in Shasta county. I actually met a guy doing 3 years at Meals on Wheels to work off a 6 year sentence. It sure would be nice if liberal cities could solve their problems like conservative cities do. You won’t see homeless camps in Redding !
FACTOTUM, that’s quite a leap in logic to assume folks who can barely live SSI check to SSI check to even have the savings much less savings enough for a downpayment to purchase a property let alone qualify for a loan. BTW, have you been to Trona? Sure, it’s fun to spend a weekend among the pinnacles but an afternoon in town is all you need to make you itch to move on.
GOOD! I was shocked the other day when I got off on the northbound Laguna/Garden off ramp. It was filled with homeless detritus, trash and very dirty looking clothing strewn all over. Time to clean it UP, Santa Barbara! This has got to stop. It’s all along the waterfront, and they are right about taking the train south. You see so many homeless camps it’s insane.
Down along Montecito st. by the train station there is a constant problem of vagrancy. Under the bridge between the Brewhouse Restaurant and the Ducati motorcycle shop there are tons of vagrants always there. Sometimes the camps pop up overnight. They steal luggage from the Amtrak station and throw all the unwanted contents out along the streets. They defecate and leave dirty needles everywhere. It’s disgusting and a public health hazard. This has been going on for years in this area. Wonder what the tourists think along the waterfront with all of this sad waste and degenerate trash.
ABSOLUTELY! I so agree. The elected officials should take a little train ride to see it firsthand.
Used to be a really pretty train ride, now it looks more like a third world country.
Do something about it instead of complaining and being a keyboard warrior.