Santa Barbara’s State Street to Stay Car-Free

The Santa Barbara City Council reaffirmed its decision to keep State Street closed to cars, at least in the interim period while the city continues to work toward its permanent master plan. The decision, which came in a 5-2 vote on Tuesday, keeps the street pedestrian-focused as it is now, with plans to increase accessibility and address community concerns about e-bike safety in the near future.

State Street has remained closed off to public vehicles since the days of the COVID pandemic, when the city first transitioned to the car-free configuration. The closure was codified in 2023, when the city passed Title 31, a policy dictating that the street would remain car-free through the end of 2026, or when the State Street Master Plan was adopted.

With the master plan still in the works (and expected to be ready for council consideration later this year), the City Council needed to decide whether to continue the planning efforts with State Street remaining as it is currently or revert to the pre-pandemic configuration with two-way traffic down the entire stretch.

The closure of State Street has been the subject of polarizing public debate for the past several years, and on Tuesday, community members representing all sides of the argument were hoping the council would settle the back-and-forth with a decisive direction forward.

“I don’t like seeing our community fight, particularly over a single issue,” said Robin Elander, executive director of the Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association, a group that has argued to reintroduce cars to the street. “This tug-of-war needs to stop.”

Ian Baucke, a Santa Barbara resident who serves as chair of the city’s Circulation and Transportation Committee, agreed that the issue needed to be settled, though he advocated for council to extend the current car-free design.

“I agree … think it’s time to move on,” Baucke said. “We need to settle the question. The uncertainty caused by the debate itself has become far more damaging than cars or no cars.”

One group shared a petition with more than 700 signatures from people who wanted the street reopened to cars. Some used data from community surveys, which found that anywhere from 70 to 80 percent of respondents preferred the street closed to traffic. Some shared personal experiences, saying State Street’s economic vitality had never been better, while others said they saw downtown in a decline.

Some business owners pointed out that success seemed to depend on where the business was located, with those on the blocks farther up seeing far less action than those in the heart of the activity.

“While it’s wonderful to see the lower blocks bustling with activity, many visitors never make it to the upper blocks — they simply don’t know we’re here,” said Stephanie Payne-Campbell, the owner of Domecíl, a retail boutique on the 1200 block of State Street, where the city has implemented a one-way lane pilot program.

Meanwhile, Jenna Berg, the owner of The Grand on State, a jazz club just across the street on the same block, argued that the one-way lane should be converted back to pedestrian-and-bicycle-only. “Please keep State Street car-free,” Berg said.

Councilmembers were generally in support of extending Title 31 to allow for the city to keep the car-free designation while planning moved toward the more permanent master plan. Councilmember Kristen Sneddon wanted the city to give the public a clear path forward to prevent the perceived temporary nature of State Street.

“The perception of indecision has prevented us from fully blossoming,” Sneddon said. “I think we owe it to ourselves to see the full blossom, to let it happen.”

Sneddon also advocated for the city to “seriously reevaluate” the one-way experiment on the 1200 block, which she says has caused confusion for drivers and pedestrians alike. 

Councilmember Eric Friedman and Mayor Randy Rowse voted against extending the current car-free State Street design. Friedman expressed concerns about businesses who weren’t getting the same amount of visibility as others and said he worried that some wouldn’t make it long enough to see the State Street Master Plan come to fruition.

While Friedman did not support the Title 31 extension, he agreed with other councilmembers’ suggestions about the need to address community concerns about accessibility and e-bike regulations. 

“If we don’t get a handle on [e-bikes] right away, that’s something that diminishes what we’re trying to achieve down there,” Friedman said.

Mayor Rowse, who has been vocal about his opposition to the car-free configuration, said he worried that State Street was moving further away from its main purpose as a “business street.” When other councilmembers said they couldn’t support spending an estimated $700,000 to reopen the street to cars, Rowse suggested that a private donor would be willing to fund the project if vehicles could return.

“I just got an offer to cover it,” Rowse said, holding up his cell phone. “We got somebody who will match up to $700,000 just to do it from the private sector.”

Despite the opposition, the council approved the Title 31 extension in a 5-2 vote. The council also gave direction to address accessibility, e-bike safety, and ensure that the Historic Landmarks Commission was included in the State Street design decision.