Cliff Drive Is Being Rebuilt From the Pipes Up

The overnight crews at Meigs Road and Cliff Drive are the first stage of the Cliff Drive Vision Zero Project. The City of Santa Barbara is replacing the aging water mains under the Mesa's main road because that work has to happen before the three-mile separated path can be built on top of them. The pipes go first, and the path follows.

The barricaded overlook past Hendry's Beach follows a different process. The city's plan for it runs through a staff analysis and a likely Coastal Development Permit, with no construction date attached.

Under the Pavement, Since Last October

The water-main replacement started in early October 2025 at the Las Positas Road and Cliff Drive roundabout and moved east. The city's project page lists the streets in the work zone:

• Meigs Road from Ricardo Avenue to Salida Drive
• Red Rose from Meigs Road to Camino Calma
• Red Rose Lane
• Cliff Drive from near the roundabout to La Marina
• La Marina

Daytime work ran Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Two locations were set aside for overnight crews, Monday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. They were the roundabout and the intersection of Cliff Drive and Meigs Road. The work replaces piping, valves and hydrants, and the city's stated reason is to keep water service reliable before the Vision Zero work begins. The page gave summer 2026 as the completion date.

Meigs and Cliff, After Dark

Summer ended and the work at Meigs and Cliff went on. On August 3, the city announced a new round of night work at that intersection. It started August 31, with crews working from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., an hour longer at each end than the original overnight window.

The city said the overnight schedule was meant "to reduce impacts to businesses and daytime traffic." That matters at this corner because Meigs and Cliff is where the Mesa's shops are. The notice expected the night work to finish by early November, "weather and field conditions permitting." It also told neighbors to expect construction noise, temporary traffic control and possible delays. Access for local residents and emergency vehicles stays open, and the city suggested using another route when possible.

This week is the end of that window. The early November date is the last schedule the city has published for the intersection, and it is tied to the weather.

One Project Waits on the Next

The night crews matter beyond their own corner because Cliff Drive's plan has a set order. In a March 2026 announcement, the city set out its timeline:

1. The water-main replacement under Cliff Drive and the surrounding streets, underway since October 2025.
2. Advertising the Vision Zero Project for construction bids, planned for fall 2026.
3. Construction of the path and crossings, expected to begin in spring 2027, after the water-main project.

That puts the Mesa in the middle of the timeline this fall. The water-main night work at Meigs and Cliff is in its last scheduled weeks. The bid advertisement is due this season. The street itself will look mostly unchanged until spring.

The Mesa Neighborhood Association held an update on the project at its October 15 Village Hall at Free Methodist Church, 1435 Cliff Drive. City project planner Michelle Bedard was on the agenda. Before the meeting, the association posted the questions residents wanted answered: when the project goes to bid, where and when construction starts, when it will be finished, and what will change. Those questions match the order of work above.

What the Pavement Becomes

The finished project reduces the number of traffic lanes on Cliff Drive, which the city describes as removing "unnecessary traffic lanes." It adds a separated path for all ages and abilities that runs about three miles, from Arroyo Burro County Park to Castillo Street. According to the city, it also closes a major gap in the 30-mile South Coast coastal bike route between UC Santa Barbara and Ventura County.

The biggest change at street level will be at the shopping strip. When Noozhawk described the plan in July 2025, it reported that the commercial strip where Taco Bell sits would go from two-way to one-way traffic, with angled parking facing the businesses. That is the same part of Cliff Drive where the city has been running the water-main work at night to protect daytime business.

The parking and tree counts come from the plan as reported in summer 2025. The city's project page still shows construction "anticipated to begin in 2027."

The Overlook Runs on a Different Clock

At the western end of the Mesa, past Hendry's Beach and before the Hope Ranch entrance, there is a different kind of change. In early June, the city barricaded the vehicle pullouts on both sides of Cliff Drive at the ocean overlook. The spot is known locally as "Makeout Point." Cliff Drive itself stayed open. KEYT reported in June that the closure would last 30 days.

The 30 days passed and the barricades stayed. Public Works Operations Manager Adam Hendel told the Santa Barbara Independent that no single incident caused the closure. The city had received complaints for years, especially about late-night noise, and wanted to reconfigure the overlook so it could close at night instead of staying closed all the time. Hendel said his street maintenance crew put up the barricades, and the plan is to replace them eventually with gates. On July 24, the city said the overlook would stay closed for now. It gave mid-August as a tentative target for reopening the south, ocean-side pullout.

Councilmember Eric Friedman represents the district that includes the overlook. He described the city's reasoning in an email to the Santa Barbara News-Press:

"The Cliff Drive Overlook is an important public space to access views of the Coast. Unfortunately, over many years, there have been nuisance behaviors taking place."

He listed illegal dumping, pollution, drug use, speeding and racing. He said the city first increased enforcement but found the extra resources "not sustainable." He also acknowledged that communication with the public could have been better. Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez told the News-Press he opposes any permanent restriction of access. Mayor Randy Rowse said Public Works acted on observations and resident complaints.

The overlook will be decided by a public process, not a construction schedule. City officials told the News-Press that the long-term options include opening the overlook during the day and limiting access in the evening. Friedman said the staff analysis would be followed by a public review that would likely require a Coastal Development Permit and could go to the Planning Commission. Gates and posted hours would come out of that review, not out of a contractor's timeline.

While the barricades were up, the overlook was still open on foot, according to KEYT's July 31 report. The station also spoke with a local business owner who hoped vehicles would be allowed back. "There's not too many places like this where you can pull up and watch the sunset," she said.

Where the Next Dates Will Come From

For the night crews at Meigs and Cliff and for the Vision Zero bid, the source is the city's Cliff Drive Vision Zero project page and its Public Works news releases. That is where the August night-work notice and the October Village Hall invitation were posted. The Mesa Neighborhood Association's Village Hall has also been where the city brings project updates to the neighborhood. For the overlook, Friedman told the News-Press that the next step after the staff analysis would be a public review, likely including a Coastal Development Permit and possibly the Planning Commission.

Coastal properties on the Mesa sit along this corridor, and changes like a one-way commercial frontage, new signals and a separated path along the bluff will affect how they are reached and how they are presented. If you are thinking about how 2027's Cliff Drive might affect a property you own here, Eric Haskell Group can walk the street with you. Request a Bespoke Valuation.