Wake Up, Santa Barbarans: Which Way State Street?
City Hall Wants to Know: Should Parklets Be Continued or Abolished?
Outdoor diners of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your crumbs. Or words to that effect.
With the emergency ordinance that gave rise to the proliferation of outdoor parklets on State Steet — and some of downtown Santa Barbara’s side streets — soon to expire, the Powers-that-Be at City Hall have selected a notably peculiar time and date to plumb the depths of public sentiment on outdoor dining: this coming Tuesday, June 20 at 8:30 a.m.
Everyone seems to have an emphatic opinion on the subject: Parklets are either the next best thing since sliced bread or perhaps just so much lipstick on a very dead pig. While we’re mixing our metaphors here, parklets, it should be acknowledged, also qualify as the camel’s nose under the tent for what has become the State Street Pedestrian Promenade.
Personally, I think parklets and the promenade — though far from perfect in their current incarnation — have injected an element of electricity into the Frankenstein Monster of State Street that would otherwise have lain dormant and bereft of pulse. On this subject, there are no shortage of opinions, all equally emphatic if not more so.
As a high-octane committee of big-picture thinkers are busy cogitating what sort of future the city should pursue for State Street and downtown itself — admittedly at considerable cost — it’s important to note that an organized backlash is underfoot to take us back to the good old days when cars ran free on State Street and pedestrians had better look both ways.
All of which is to say, if you have an opinion you’d like to be heard, show up next Tuesday morning at the Faulkner Gallery in the downtown library (40 E. Anapamu St.) and speak for yourself. Specifically at issue is whether the emergency ordinance — hatched in response to COVID — should be extended past its expiration date of December 31.
The timing, admittedly, is awkward and inconvenient enough to make those of a conspiratorial frame of mind suspect your — our — presence is not really wanted. As Paul Newman liked to say, showing up — like living well — is the best revenge. So bad timing not withstanding, please show up and speak your peace. Or is that show up and give everyone a piece of your mind? Either way, show up.
For those who have jobs or places to be, feel free to fill out the City Hall questionnaire at http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/98TDC7Z
