I’ve said this before: it’s not a promenade, it’s a street. The now-closed street is hardly used by pedestrians and almost exclusively used by bicycles. Despite this, it’s not quite the “bicycle thoroughfare” that some might imagine.
Instead, it appears to be a hodgepodge of temporary seating and dining areas intermingled with inconsistent bicycle lanes and unattractive street markings.
If we want a true promenade, that’s fine. Develop a plan, secure funding, and execute the plan. Until then, let’s stop pretending that the street is an enjoyable place for people to stroll on a leisurely walk. I move to reopen the street until the formal plan is made, approved, and budgeted.
If we want to make room for restaurants to provide additional seating on the sidewalk, do what the rest of the world does and use the sidewalk. Not enough room? Reduce some of the planters and other features that are taking up space.
I’m really struggling to understand why this is so difficult.
Who on earth knows about a blue star memorial? This is why we have parks. I saw the blue stripe and was wondering why it was there. It is just distracted me from my driving. Honor a Veteran? How about a straight line of blue stars. Drivers could see the stars and not be distracted by a wavy line. Better yet, how about a straight line of red, white and blue stars. So many things better than an distracting blue line that says or remotely indicates a veteran of any sort. And falling leaves? First of all what do those represent and second of all I did not even notice them because of the very distracting wavy blue line. Whoever voted for this should have thought more about the impact it would have to drivers and Veterans. But hey, art is art and maybe that is all the artist wanted is to have people talk about it.
Did she ever say why? I hear that outline of the story, but feel like part of it is still missing?
It's an extremely rare event for me, but there have been times when the work I've hired someone to do comes in way above the quote and I've paid the amount I was told it would be. I've always reached out, created a dialogue to explain my upset, but I guess I'm wondering what Ellen's part of this tale is?
Was she unhappy with the work or what?
I have a hard time believing people can just be "disgusting" or wicked for no reason. AND, she does have a fair amount of bad press haunting her these days, that's true.
Really? I drive both almost every day and cars still rule over bikes. BTW, Haley has a bike lane just like Bath street, and it's mostly devoid of riders, just like Bath street.
I’ve believed for the longest time that Santa Barbara needs a good Basque restaurant. Look to Benjis and Woolgrowers in Bakersfield for models. Conceptually, it should be a massive hit! Do not exclude garlic chicken or french fries from the menu.
Other than operating a motorized vehicle that can hit speeds of 35 mph without a license, often without safety equipment that is a legal requirement for their ICE counterparts, and often without regard for traffic laws… There’s nothing wrong with e-bikes. I grew up in a bicycle town (our city symbol was an old-timey bicycle), and from a young age - probably 10 years old - was taught the rules of the road. And then I was held accountable, periodically pulled over by local police for failing to abide by those rules. My point: I’m an advocate for cycling, but riding rampant is also what I observe frequently around town.
IMO Haley and Gutierrez should be reduced to a single lane of car traffic with a dedicated bike lane like on Bath and De La Vina. Class II buffered lanes are so much more pleasant to cycle on.
Ebikes ride rampant? Bikes are allowed to use the roads just like cars are. Why the need to cast a negative light on people who chose to avoid contributing to the noise, pollution and congestion that cars produce.
While I can recognize not all bikes are responsible, most of my experiences riding on Hailey are less than ideal because cars won't give bikers the space they are legally allowed.
I liked Les Marchands too. It was the first place I sat down to have a drink on my first visit to SB before moving to town. Good memories....
I’m excited about the Basque restaurant! I love that region of food. I hope they do it family style!
Regarding the “blue ribbon” on the 101 median at Padero. It’s so ugly and draws your eye to this blue stripe instead of the beautiful mountain/Sea backdrops. I honor the veterans and the blue star highway but this bright blue stripe looks awful.
We had dinner at Esau's Sunday night and it was great. Esau's is known for large portions and they certainly didn't disappoint. The food was really tasty.
I was surprised of the top rail width, the translation from drawings to finished is pretty good. The welded up posts as they reduce diameters is smart. The excess noise is from immature vehicle operators. Acoustic amplification as a design result? Maybe. A lot of cars now have exhaust note selection. Bad.
This installation Will require maintenance to keep from appearing run down. The finished side has already accumulated noticeable dust and dirt.
I was very upset with the lack of response by SBPD to the extensive illegal fireworks on the west side this year. I didn’t sleep at all the night of the 4th due to loud fireworks throughout the night. As M mentioned, it wasn’t just the 4th, several days before and after as well. SBPD non emergency response: “we need an address”. No you don’t, patrol the area and find the culprits. Fine them, arrest them, put them on parole and require community service for constantly disturbing the peace. West side residents have jobs, kids, pets and want quiet peace at night. Oscar Gutierrez did respond to me with a SBFD report outlining 4th fire and police response. I see they missed the west side though. It’s also worth noting that a massive explosion is lit off weekly somewhere near Micheltorena, around 10:30 at night. This must be addressed too. Ok, now who’s on a rant?
I spoke with Jeff Shelton about 16 months ago about this project, asking specifically about possible noise abatement measures.If I recall correctly, he said that CALTRANS forbids the attachment of any sound-deadening materials to the walls or ceilings of underpasses. Jeff said he hoped that prohibition might be revisited after the other parts of the project are completed.
Lovely meandering promenade though a comparative local Twilight Zone! Regarding Jimmy Fowler -- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jeff-wingg_veteransday2020-sbhs-activity-6670157551990128640-enKt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
The underpass was redesigned with no thought to the loud sounds of traffic, esp. motorcycles. I’m not overly sensitive, and I can barely get through the tunnel, on foot. It hurts my ears, and my dogs’ sensitivity to sounds hurts me to see.
The steel fence work, at the least, will amplify the noise.
It is cute, though.
Elon is the savior of VSFB- 1000% more people have interest in the place, its place in space and the money generated each time a launch happens is 2 thumbs up for the hospitality industry alone.....middle finger to all the jealous naysayers!
Does anyone know what the closure rate in their first year of business of restaurants in SB?
Across the street from Oat Bakery on Haley
Dude food: a rampant Alpha problem throughout town. It’s why I love The Daisy and Bossie. Honest food done with love not ego.
The NY Times has a very long history of publishing wildly inaccurate and deeply biased stories about Elon Musk, SpaceX, and particularly Tesla.
Why link and disseminate this article?
Maybe this is apples and oranges, but if wine was the reason you loved Les Marchands, you should investigate Goodland Wine Shop & Bar, on upper State, just up from the Dutch Garden. Absolutely terrific selection of primarily Santa Barbara County wines --
On the W. Haley wall, off State, across from Oat Bakery? By the same artist that penned the other one nearby that reads "I love you too much".
Used to love their Ramen night. Loved sitting on the patio or inside. Haven’t been there in years now…
