One last mile of bike path will finally be built to connect Isla Vista to Santa Barbara and beyond, a three-year process that involved a water district, land trust, and residents worried about the fate of the beloved Canary Island palms that line Modoc Road.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved a construction contract on August 19 for the second and final phase of the Modoc Road Multi-Use bike and pedestrian path, with work set to begin this fall. Phase II of the Modoc project will connect the Obern Trail to the existing pathways across Via Senda in Hope Ranch.
One issue in creating the bike path was the Modoc Preserve. The bike path will run across the preserve, which has a conservation easement with the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, but the land is owned by La Cumbre Mutual Water Company…