Santa Barbara Car Free Project

A Good Idea

Description

Santa Barbara Car Free is a community project founded and led by Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District to encourage car free travel to and around Santa Barbara. The project started in 1998 to address the peaking ozone levels during visitor season after the county was designated a "serious" ozone nonattainment area, and has more than 100 business and community partners.

The project encourages visitors to arrive in Santa Barbara car free–or if they choose to drive, to park their cars and enjoy the area car free. Resources include a website with extensive information regarding car-free travel in Santa Barbara, "discover Santa Barbara car free" vacation packages, and Amtrak discounts.

Goal / Mission

The project's mission is to encourage car free, carefree travel to and around Santa Barbara for cleaner air and a healthier planet.

Results / Accomplishments

In 2008, the website had more than 1.5 million hits, and up to 25 percent of website visitors are from outside the US. More that 65,000 car free maps and brochures are distributed every year. The project and website have received positive publicity in more than 75 newspapers around the country, including the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Ventura Star, Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News, the Oakland Tribune, the Seattle Times, and others.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District
Primary Contact
Mary Byrd
ByrdM@sbcapcd.org
Topics
Community / Transportation
Organization(s)
Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District
Source
U.S. EPA, Clean Air Act Awards
Date of implementation
1998
Geographic Type
Urban
Location
Santa Barbara
For more details
http://www.santabarbaracarfree.org/default.htm
Target Audience
Children, Teens, Adults, Families
Submitted By
LS

Related Promising Practices

  1. Green Power Partnership - Bellingham's global warming pollution reduction through use of green power
  2. Outdoor Air Quality Flag Program
  3. Travel Blending®
  4. AZTech Intelligent Transportation System
  5. Georgia Retrofit Program
  6. Breathe Better Air at School

More

Related Content for: Santa Barbara Car Free Project

A Good Idea meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
  2. The program evaluation is limited to descriptive measure(s) of success/accomplishment (i.e., program participation rates, number of services/education sessions/radio messages provided). Note: oftentimes, the program has been newly implemented and a program evaluation has not yet been conducted. Programs that have not yet been evaluated, but which show promise in improving health or quality of life, are classified as Good Ideas until an evaluation is conducted.