Dear Santa Barbara City Councilmembers:
I don’t live in Santa Barbara. In fact, I live in Ohio, but I grew up in Southern California and still visit each year. When I come to Santa Barbara I frequent some of the shops and eateries along Milpas Street.
I have often wondered why the popular retail portion of that street hasn’t been inverted to a pedestrian mallway, like renowned 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. That seems the most sensible solution to the traffic problem there, which includes pedestrian/vehicular collisions. Instead, I have learned, you have opted to destroy some of the ficus trees along Milpas.
I think this is incredibly short-sighted of you, and, if that plan is carried out, I will no longer visit Milpas.
Those trees have been there for longer than you have been alive and for longer than any traffic problems that have developed. They add character and attractiveness to the street as well as shade in hotter months and habitat for resident wildlife.
With climate change intensifying and urban sprawl eroding urban canopies across the country, cities like Santa Barbara should serve as examples of thoughtful conservation, not improvident destruction.
