At the most recent Santa Barbara City Council meeting an historically and architecturally beautiful presentation was made, envisioning the future of State Street. Unquestionably beautiful – but expensive, complicated, ambitious, and unsafe. The plan divides downtown State Street into five separate districts, some with one way traffic, some with no cars, some with two way traffic, some with bikes, some with speed restrictions on bikes, some with pedicabs and golf carts, some with “pedlets” (which are fences to separate traffic from pedestrians). Oh my!
Before COVID we had a very nice downtown – not perfect, but it worked for merchants, restaurants, entertainment, and residents. It worked for pedestrians, especially because of the mid-block stop lights. It worked for bicyclists with slow moving car traffic on the street. It worked for dining. Every restaurant did not have sidewalk space creating the added ambiance of outdoor dining, but some did. Restaurants were not promised sidewalk space in their leases or by the city.
Both the Police and Fire Chiefs expressed concern about limited vehicular access to people and places on State Street for them to be able to do their jobs. They seemed far from willing to sign off on the proposed design. Police Chief Gordon acknowledged that e-bikes have further complicated the safety of any environment where bikes and pedestrians co-exist.
State Street could use beautifying of some storefronts, especially the 400 block which is the entrance to our wonderful city for many. We could use better lighting after dark and more frequent street cleaning too. These can be addressed much more quickly than a total redesign. We need to resuscitate State Street by opening it again – soon!