As chair and vice-chair of the State Street Advisory Committee supporting the development of a master plan for the future of downtown, we’ve spent much of the last year listening to thousands of Santa Barbarans who share an aspiration to revitalize the center of our town. Through our public outreach — meetings, surveys, forums, workshops, and countless individual conversations — we’ve heard your appreciation for where you live and your passion for making it the best it can be. Thank you for showing up and speaking up!
This moment is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to rethink our downtown. We have the chance to reimagine downtown and build on all we’ve learned during the pandemic-related closure. Early in 2024, our committee will be tasked with recommending a master plan proposal for the future of downtown to the Santa Barbara City Council. As we move toward that deadline, we share below some of the top things we’ve been hearing from the public in our process.
Cars: At least part of downtown State Street should remain closed to cars. A strong majority of locals like the absence of cars on State Street. This was the strongest finding of our survey of 6,000 Santa Barbarans, 79 percent of whom expressed the desire for maintaining a car-free part of State Street in the future. Survey after survey have yielded the same results. Our committee will be considering how many blocks, and which blocks, should remain closed to private vehicles.