@Sean
1. sounds expensive, being next to cars will slow them down.
2.&3. Shuttle can't operate off an official street. That's why the city is going to try the golf cart pilot program, which is simply idiotic.
4. It's been closed a while and I don't recall many community gatherings occurring because the street's closed, definitely nothing anyhwere near the size of the parades.
5. thumbs up
6. The 1200 block is working pretty well with a one way lane and bike paths.
However, your solutions will only come from the final State St. master plan, which they haven't even discussed potential cost let alone how they fund it. 101 underpass renovation was over $10M. That times 11 blocks = $$$$$.
@Jefferson, I appreciate the dialogue, truly, as I share many of your objectives, but just differ on how to get there. IMO...
1. Address ebikes through path design elements that calm speed, reduce pedestrian wandering into bike lanes, and through enforcement during busy times (after school and weekends)
2&3. I have no problem at all with an official shuttle service up and down State Street as the sole vehicle allowed. It's goofy for it to loop around Chapala and Anacapa.
4. Ultimately, parades are community gathering events, and a car-free street will create even more opportunities for that.
5. Fire truck and other emergency vehicle access is a no-brainer for the final design. 100% agree.
6. Closing only at certain times prevents the amenity of protected bike lanes for North/South commuting at other times, something we should encourage more people to do and have the infrastructure elsewhere in the city to connect to. Protected lanes on State Street close a critical gap.
Did we just solve the conflict around this? :)
I would add, if cars are brought back there is nothing stopping the city from closing the 500-600 blocks (or wherever) for Th,Fri,Sat evenings when there are actually enough people in the area to justify a promenade. Many other cities do this. Oh, and it's important to note fire trucks can't quickly access mid block sections of State, that is another legitimate safety issue.
The number and speed of ebikes going down State far exceeds that of actual bike riders. It's a legitimate safety issue.
What would bringing cars back solve? 1 it would slow down the ebikes. People will also use crosswalks if cars are present making it safer than the ebike speed fest we currently have. 2 visitors don't know our town, this would enable them to drive up State until they saw something wanted to visit. 3 visitors often get stuck on the ocean side of 101 as they will not walk a mile up hill, they can't drive, and there is no shuttle, which could be brought back with an open street. 4 parades back on State.
The expanded outdoor dinning has limited life left due to state law. When you add seats, you're required to add bathrooms, as is currently the case throughout the rest of SB. The city is currently skirting around this but it is something they will soon have to abide by.
+1!
Hahahaha. This is a joke post right? People complaining about SB like it’s some sort of hell hole need to go live somewhere else for awhile. And opening up state st to cars seem to be the passionate issue for our times online. Tourists drove there and they’re just as happy to walk now. I do like the idea of changing and adapting building to being in renters and mixing up actual locals with the tourists who mainly frequent lower state.
I support a vision of Santa Barbara that's also bike-friendly and a car-free State Street fills the gap we have in a North/South Class 1 bike path in the city. Where else would you put one? The popularity with bike riders proves this point and should be something we embrace and improve, not recoil from.
I'd also ask, what problem would bringing cars back solve? It never was an ideal route for local traffic, it would remove the ability to have expanded outdoor dining, and any bike/ped collisions would be worse if they were car/ped collisions.
Best I can tell, the "benefit" in the eyes of some is as a deterrent for bike riders since it would become more dangerous for them with cars in the mix. I just think there are better ways to resolve the e-bike issue and applaud the city staff for working on ideas to do that.
I find it very interesting when you delve into the different neighborhoods. Each one has such a different personality, and you capture it nicely with the different photos. Keep up the good work!
I enjoyed the walk with you through Florence and Venice. I've been to both cities but always interested in travel experiences.
The quagmire that is State St epitomizes everything wrong with our local government. They are completely incapable of governing or even managing and exist to serve their own needs and wants.
Fire them all.
Every single city employee should be termed and if only if deemed absolutely necessary and actually capable, hired back.
Bring DOGE to SB. The City of Santa Barbara's workforce and government is the problem. It's the people, people. Not the street. The people.
I agree. This writer exudes privilege and is so annoying. "Move the hotel"( with its underwhelming lobby) because it's so noisy? Boo hoo, you couldn't sleep. And you were in such a rush you couldn't wait to climb the tower? And imagine!! Delivery vehicles zooming around at dawn. 😱 How annoying and inconsiderate is that! This is why people spray paint "tourist go home" everywhere.
When State Street was closed to car traffic in May 2020 during Covid, it was intended to be a pedestrian walkway, locals (and tourists) loved it…but E bikes were not even around then… Locals felt comfortable walking in the middle of the street, enjoying dining, and socializing in the middle of the street and could see the businesses…… E bikes have taken over and terrorized downtown… The city needs to do something about it, when it’s brought up at meetings, the common response is “there are ordinances that we’re looking at implementing” but they don’t have the Police resources to enforce them…
Tell us you’re not a local without saying you’re from …..#keepLA100milesaway
Well, myexleriences there were quite different in June. But Italian is my first language, even though it had been 24 years since my last visit to Italy. I grew up partially in Livorno, having spent 3 years total on 2 occasions and returning for summer vacations to Italy when possible in the intervening years.
I am not an expert in Firenze as I was quite young when visiting bi-monthly in those 3 years (I had cousins there). Of course we visited almost the same amounts during summers until my mother's immediate family moved to different parts of Italy. I know enough about Firenze and more importantly what to avoid.
Now C-19certainly changed things, hence the timed entries and falling behind schedules (mostly due to not compensating for paid tours, which I would recommend to someone new to the Duomo as you avoid lines and have a guide telling you interesting things)
The Ponte Vecchio indeed gets packed, as do the tourist shopping areas, etc. Firenzeus probably the number 2 most visited city in Italy and it's scale makes handling large amounts of people, less that ideal. You do not have the wide avenues of Rome, nor is the scale of the buildings quote as large as Rome or Milano.
I am not sure what the purpose of the air quality mention is? When it's hit, air quality suffers. The fact that pedestrian only zones exist in most Italian cities has done a lot to improve air quality, too. We had zero issues in June, nor did we have air quality issues in Torino, Milano, Veneto, Bologna, Roma, Napoli, etc. We certainly hit lots of people and crowds as the summer progressed, including the added stop for the Tour De France. But I don't think we hit anything like the amounts of people in parts of Manhattan on a warm weekend. We also rarely ate close to heavily visited tourist areas with the exception of Roma as our hotel was one block away from the Spanish steps.
By the time we reached Firenze, we had been to four major Duomo and the ancient one in Ravenna. So for us, going inside was missed, unfortunately.I did want to show the tombs of the famous to the family but I am much more into history then they are. I do remember it being fantastic from serious trips and it is my favorite in Italy. Milano Is bigger by far but Firenze Is very special.
Anyway, although I am half Italian, my immediate family isn't. So we were very much the foreign tourists..alAnd things do change over time. I had a heck of a time with Milano's subway system vs any other city. Luckily my rusty Italian improved by the hour but I think most tourists can easily get confused for sure. But I digress here.
Sorry your experience wasn't more positive but I think you poorly researched things ahead of time. That stationary store is small, like most traditional Italian shops. It's crowded because they are one of the best around. Quality brings customers.
A lot more research and planning should be done when going to somewhere like Firenze. Things are different and this is a great thing to be celebrated. Much better than our cookie cutter suburbs, malls and chain stores in the United States.
It is always funny reading Modugno's weekly rant. Old guys never bring anything good to the table.
Brava Jennifer. I would have added Did you walk up the narrow stairs in the Monastary, turn a corner and be struck dumb by the sheer glory of FRA Angelico’s The Annunciation in situ? If you don’t know, you don’t know.
Go to Florence anytime but holidays and Summer. Read up so you know what you'll encounter. Be prepared for long lines and waits; you're visiting a magical city that is on 99% of travelers' bucket lists. Get off the beaten path for restaurants filled with locals. There's a big Florence world there; you just have to have some flexibility to find your niche. Oh, and thanks for the really great photos! Ciao!
You did not capture the magic of Florence. I’m sorry you did not have that experience.
The area is inherently walkable. We have multiple existing paseos which already create vehicle free corridors, and if anything feel safer than the "pedestrian promenade" which is little more than a highway for e-bikes. We don't need to address "walkability" or "pedestrian friendliness" first - we need to just build the damn housing. This is putting the cart so far ahead of the horse, which is why it's done nothing to "fix" State Street in the five years it's already been in place. Those touting the slightly higher leased figures in recent years as an argument for the promenade should be honest about the caliber of businesses on State versus in the past.
Right? I actually felt safe crossing the street when cars were on State. They seemed more likely to stop at lights than e-bikes.
How was State St. not pedestrian friendly before cars were removed? Except during parades, I never saw the sidewalks so full of people that they weren't pedestrian friendly.
I couldn't disagree more about "making that stretch one-way for cars" on State Street, which would be the ultimate half-measure (see: 1200 block, which should go back to fully closed except maybe for drop-offs for Granada events). We optimize for car traffic all over the city - let's embrace having a bike- and pedestrian-friendly downtown. The issue isn't lack of car traffic; it's perverse incentives for commercial leases, the opportunity to build more dense housing (vs. hotels) in the area, and yes, the temporary state of some of the implementations. But we need to take the long view here - it's about creating a vibrant, walkable environment optimized for residents with more apartments, condos, markets, gathering spaces, and community events.
The only way to see old Florence is to wait in long lines and be amongst throngs of people like yourself. And in summer you will be in sweltering heat and you will breathe the fumes of mopeds scurrying down the narrow streets, which become canyons which trap the smoke. The only way you can experience and enjoy Modern Florence is to find out where the locals eat and go there. You will find familles and friends - all Italian of course. No one will be speaking English, but the food will be incredible.
Mostly, Florence is a tourist trap. I'd go for the art, history and the sense of beauty if you can get away from the crowds. And the few great restaurants if I could get in. The smaller towns in Italy is where you can find friendliness, hospitality and real people.
BTW, I think if Erik did not offer critiques or honesty, but only fluff, there would be no point to his articles. Just go through any old travel book like Lonely Planet or Rick Steves. They will make any destination look like 'The Best' thing that you could ever visit. I think it's better to know what you are getting yourself into prior to going: The good, bad and all that lies between. Or perhaps travel should be compared to going to a movie. As my daughter always says, don't think it will be great, don't believe the hype, lower your expectations and you'll have a good time. Just sayin'.
Could not agree more about State St. Fish, or cut bait. I favored the idea of a pedestrian promenade years before it was done. There were several town halls devoted to concepts like this well before COVID. Seeing it in practice, I no longer feel that way. We are wasting money and time trialling corny projects that are all done in half-assed, cheap feeling ways. How could one even measure the "success" of a project like the one stated? Such a joke. Among the solutions for downtown include adding more market rate housing, and returning public places to the actual public, not the select few homeless who have unfortunately spoiled public resources for the many. Everything else being done on State St. feels like moving deck chairs around on the Titanic.
I am excited that they’re trialing and testing different things so we know what works when they finally build the master plan!
Also, there is already a 2-way bike path down the middle. Not sure what bringing back a car lane would fix, you can just take chapala and can’t park on state anyway.