Five years of State Street without cars

By Alexandra Alarcon

Pedestrians line the sidewalks, browsing shops and dining in parklets along the curb. In the open roadway, e-bikes zip past families and tourists on foot. The buzzing, car-free State Street is at the center of an ongoing debate about the future of downtown Santa Barbara.

It’s been nearly five years since the City of Santa Barbara closed parts of State Street to vehicle traffic, turning it into a pedestrian promenade with parklets and outdoor dining. While the original intent was to offer businesses a lifeline during COVID-19, the changes have sparked ongoing debate as the city decides on the downtown street’s future.

Guri Singh (right) outside of his restaurant, Indian Tandoori Kingdom, pointing out the view of the State Street promenade. He said the pedestrian-only setup has made it harder for some customers to reach the restaurant.

On April 15, the City Council voted 5-1 to replace parklets along the 500 block of State Street with sidewalk extensions known as “pedlets.” These structures will shift outdoor dining off the street and onto expanded sidewalks, giving the promenade a more permanent setup.

Guri Singh, owner of Indian Tandoori Kingdom, said the pedestrian-only setup has made it harder for customers to reach the restaurant. He explained that many local customers prefer to drive and park as close as possible rather than walk, and some even call ahead to ask where to find the closest parking lot. 

Singh believes that reopening the street to cars would bring in more customers. “More people would come in… visiting with a car.” He also pointed out that keeping the street closed to traffic might not be effective, as most pedestrians stick to the sidewalks and “nobody is walking on the street.”

Manny Hernandez, a bartender at Mizza Italian Restaurant, also raised concerns about safety—particularly around electric bikes, which have become increasingly popular in Santa Barbara as the city continues to promote alternative transportation. While biking itself is encouraged, Hernandez said the lack of regulation around e-bike use has led to reckless behavior. “People are riding 40 miles per hour on e-bikes,” Hernandez said. “There’s families with kids, and it’s a little dangerous for them.”

Manny Hernandez, a bartender at Mizza Italian Restaurant, said that while the changes to the promenade have brought in more foot traffic, he still has concerns about e-bike safety.

But he also sees how the changes have brought in more foot traffic. Hernandez said the pedestrian-friendly setup on State Street has brought more people to the commercial area. “You just get more people to come here and actually view your restaurant as they’re walking by,” Hernandez said. “Less cars means more people walking through.”

And many of these pedestrians are tourists who don’t feel as confined to the sidewalk. “When it’s tourists, from tour buses to cruise ships, their tendency is just to walk basically through the middle of the street,” Hernandez said.

 Conor Abernethy, a UC Santa Barbara graduate and current downtown resident, said she feels safer using State Street now that it’s closed to cars.

Some residents say the promenade has encouraged them to spend more time downtown. Conor Abernethy, a UC Santa Barbara graduate and current downtown resident, said she often runs along State Street and feels safer doing so because it’s closed to cars. She’s part of the Santa Barbara Run Club, which holds community runs through State Street and into nearby parks. 

Without traffic, Abernethy said she’s more likely to stop at the farmers market, browse local shops or hang out at one of her favorite cafés, Mosaic Locale.

Abernethy also sees more families enjoying the outdoors. “It’s peaceful…people feel more comfortable and more free to be out,” she said.

As residents continue to enjoy the promenade, city officials are preparing for its next phase: installing pedlets at a projected cost of $528,170 for a single block. During the April 15 meeting, State Street Master Planner Tess Harris said pedlets will be ordered within a month following the city council’s vote. “They will be installed by July 2025, assuming no manufacturer or shipping delays,” Harris said.

Not everyone on the council was on board. Santa Barbara mayor Randy Rowse, who has long supported reopening portions of State Street to cars, cast the sole vote against the pedlet proposal during the April 15, 2025 City Council meeting. “I cannot support the pedlets,” Rowse said. In a previous meeting on September 14, 2024, Rowse voiced broader concerns about the promenade’s direction. “Right now, we are sitting on a failed street,” he said.

A section of State Street in downtown Santa Barbara remains closed to cars, nearly five years after the promenade was first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Debate over State Street’s future continues to unfold, with competing ideas about how to use the space. As the city moves ahead with changes like pedlets, conversations among business owners, residents, and council members reflect an ongoing effort to balance economic interests, public safety, and how the community wants to further develop the promenade.