New Dashboard Maps Bike Safety Across Santa Barbara County

UCSB group launches interactive tool to improve understanding of walking and bicycling access in the region.

Mar. 13, 2026 at 5:04pm

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A group at UC Santa Barbara has launched the Santa Barbara County Active Transportation Dashboard, starting with a safety page that brings together official and community-reported data on bike crashes and near-misses. The goal is to create a one-stop resource to help residents, visitors, and decision-makers understand where people feel unsafe and where improvements are needed to make walking and biking more accessible.

Why it matters

Understanding patterns of bicycling safety is key to making active transportation more accessible in Santa Barbara County. Experts estimate that only 20% of bike crashes are officially reported, so this dashboard aims to crowdsource data to reveal hotspots and support better street design, targeted safety improvements, and smarter infrastructure investments.

The details

The Santa Barbara County Active Transportation Dashboard was launched by a group at UC Santa Barbara led by Trisalyn Nelson, the Jack and Laura Dangermond Chair of Geography. The safety page allows users to explore which areas and intersections feel safer and where improvements are needed. People can also contribute their own experiences of close calls or collisions through BikeMaps.org, which Nelson developed in 2014 to crowdsource international data on bike incidents.

  • The Santa Barbara County Active Transportation Dashboard was launched in March 2026.

The players

Trisalyn Nelson

The Jack and Laura Dangermond Chair of Geography at UC Santa Barbara, who led the development of the Santa Barbara County Active Transportation Dashboard.

BikeMaps.org

A crowdsourcing platform developed by Nelson's group in 2014 to collect data on bike crashes and near-misses.

Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG)

The regional agency that partnered with UC Santa Barbara and administered funding from California Assembly Bill 140 to support the development of the dashboard.

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What they’re saying

“For many, the biggest barrier is safety — or the perception of safety. People are unlikely to bike or walk if they feel at risk of being hit by a car, even if bike lanes or sidewalks exist.”

— Trisalyn Nelson, Jack and Laura Dangermond Chair of Geography, UC Santa Barbara

“Nervous about a specific intersection? Had a close call or collision? Add your experience to the map. Together, these shared insights can turn everyday experiences into powerful data, helping make Santa Barbara County safer and more welcoming for everyone who walks, bikes or rolls.”

— Trisalyn Nelson, Jack and Laura Dangermond Chair of Geography, UC Santa Barbara

“This dashboard highlights the innovation happening at UC Santa Barbara and shows how research can directly benefit local communities. Through the State's Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) program, SBCAG partnered with the university to turn complex safety data into real progress.”

— Marjie Kirn, Executive Director, Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG)

What’s next

The UCSB group is hard at work on additional pages to the Santa Barbara County Active Transportation Dashboard to display data on local bike and pedestrian volumes, infrastructure, and equity.

The takeaway

This new interactive dashboard aims to empower residents, visitors, and decision-makers with data-driven insights to make walking, biking, and other forms of active transportation safer and more accessible across Santa Barbara County.