Up to $90 million to rebuild the street, and the money is not there.
Up to $90 million to rebuild the street, and the money is not there.
Up to $90 million to rebuild the street, and the money is not there.
A permanent promenade means rebuilding State Street block by block at $6 to $8 million each, an all-in total that reaches as much as $90 million, and the funding is not in hand.
9 out of 10 pedestrian malls fail. Why tempt fate?
Up to $90 million to rebuild the street, and the money is not there.
Up to $90 million to rebuild the street, and the money is not there.
Of more than 200 pedestrian malls built in the United States, nearly 90 percent were removed or reopened to traffic.
2,000 new residential units needed.
Up to $90 million to rebuild the street, and the money is not there.
2,000 new residential units needed.
Downtown has about 350 homes today. The city’s own plan calls for 1,000 to 2,000 new housing units to make the promenade work. So where do up to 2,000 new homes go, and how many years until they exist?
2020
JULY 2026
2020
In 2020, the city closed State Street to cars as a temporary COVID emergency measure so restaurants could expand outdoor dining.
2023
JULY 2026
2020
In 2023, the city codified that closure through Title 31, set to expire at the end of 2026
or when a permanent Master Plan is adopted.
JULY 2026
JULY 2026
JULY 2026
Without any evidence or economic review, the City Council voted 5 to 2 to keep State Street car-free for now.
SEPT 2026
JULY 2026
JULY 2026
The Council is expected to vote on the permanent State Street Master Plan in August 2026.
The Business We Are Losing
Roughly one in eight State Street storefronts sit empty
today, about 31 dark spaces across the 400 to 1,300 blocks. Behind that number are the owners who built downtown.
“Our visitation has decreased by 40% on average over the past 6 years.”
Patrick Casey
Downtown Plaza business owner
“It’s turned downtown into a ghost town.”
Jan Brooks
Resident
“The six year closure has damaged our walk-in business, decreased the value of our property by approximately 40%.”
David
de L’Arbre
Business and property owner, 79 years on State Street
“Our business is down 30% from pre-closure.”
Monte Wilson
State Street business owner
“Other parts of the city...
all with vehicular traffic... have had
resurgences since Covid.”
Lisa Reifel
Lewis & Clark, 45 years on State Street
“The closure has dramatically changed the volume of both local and tourist visits.”
John O’Neil
Intermezzo and Wine Cask
“Sales have been consistently flat the last few years.”
Gillian Muralles
Lilac Patisserie
“We need at least one lane of traffic for accessibility and visibility.”
Peter Robinson
State Street business owner since 2006
“If I want an in-person shopping experience I have to drive
elsewhere.”
Victoria Valente
Resident and local consumer
“They cross lower State St off of the list because of the lack of car traffic.”
Robert Adams
Hayes Commercial
“I moved my business from two decades at 318 State because of the decline of Lower State.”
Pat Fish
State Street business owner since 1975
“This closure has created a hostile environment for many small businesses.”
Meriwether Clarke
Lewis & Clark, 45 years on State Street
News & Op-eds
The Road to Downtown Recovery Runs Through a Reopened State Street.
Colleen Macey and Cassandra Ensberg Noozhawk
Santa Barbara Doesn’t Need to Become a Strong Town. It Already Is One.
Cass Ensberg Noozhawk
Sign the Petition
Ask the mayoral candidates where they stand on an interim reopening before the August Master Plan vote.
Ask the mayoral candidates where they stand on an interim reopening before the August Master Plan vote.
Ask the mayoral candidates where they stand on an interim reopening before the August Master Plan vote.
Ask the mayoral candidates where they stand on an interim reopening before the August Master Plan vote.
Ask the mayoral candidates where they stand on an interim reopening before the August Master Plan vote.