After legislation to ban trucks on Highway 154 failed, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments voted to support a resolution discouraging trucks from using the state route. On Jan. 19, the transportation authority’s board unanimously approved a request that Assemblyman Das Williams, D-Santa Barbara, introduce a resolution to encourage trucks to use Highway 101 rather than Highway 154.
Last year, Williams introduced a bill in the state assembly at the request of SBCAG that would have banned trucks over a certain size and weight. The proposal came in the wake of a fatal crash in 2010, when a driver of a gravel-filled truck experiencing brake problems crashed into a home in Santa Barbara at the base of the highway, killing a family of three.
California Highway Patrol officials say there has been an increase in traffic on the windy, narrow mountain highway over the years, turning it from a scenic route to a heavily used road, with more and more truckers on the road because of Global Positioning System navigation devices.
After introducing his bill, Williams stated the highway “was not designed as a shortcut for large trucks” and said it “would appropriately restrict these large trucks from using Highway 154 and endangering local residents who use the road for local trips, all while protecting the demand to maintain local deliveries along that route.”
The bill would have imposed fines on non-local delivery trucks with three or more axles, or a vehicle weight of 9,000 pounds or more on the highway. But late last year, Williams discussed the bill with Janet Dawson, the chief consultant to the Assembly Transportation Committee, which oversees the work of the Caltrans Office of Traffic Safety, who said the accident statistics for the highway do not support a truck ban. The California Trucking Association also expressed reservations about the bill.
The accident rate was below the statewide average and the highway is engineered properly to handle trucks, she stated. For a truck banning bill to gain traction, she said the committee would need more data to support a connection between the accidents and the highway’s configuration.
Gregg Hart, SBCAG public affairs officer, said there are few truck bans in California and it would have been difficult to garner support for Williams’ bill from the committee because it would have set a precedent that such a ban can be enacted without sufficient evidence showing it is necessary.
The proposed resolution would “raise the profile of highway safety and state a legislative intent to improve safety on154 through various measures,” Hart said. Williams’ office, along with Santa Barbara County, the California Highway Patrol, Caltrans and the county’s Sacramento lobbyists will draft the resolution soon.
“It’s an artful compromise that could get through the state legislature to support the efforts that we’ve been doing locally,” he added. “Clearly, this does not mean that we can’t pursue some type of ban in the future.”
Currently, the transportation of hazardous waste on Highway 154 is prohibited. SBCAG is pushing for a ban on the carrying of hazardous materials.
Hart also said Caltrans thinks Highway 154 could be a viable candidate for a California Truck Advisory Network database of state highways that are not recommended for trucks. This would give officials more data that may generate support for a ban, he noted.
While the truck ban was not successful, board member Doreen Farr said SBCAG could “take heart” in the improvements and stepped-up traffic safety enforcement on Highway 154.
Some efforts to improve safety on the highway include: CHP contacting major GPS mapping services to advise them that Highway 101 is a better route for trucks; the installation of a median rumble strip to reduce crossover collisions; $30 million in local Measure D safety improvements that have added passing and turning lanes, shoulder widening and new interchanges with Highway 101 at both ends; new signage encouraging truckers to use 101; and increased enforcement and truck inspections to reduce accidents caused by DUI, speeding and trucking violations.