Recent Comments

Well something is killing lots of retail-I would assume that those numbers are much higher depending on age demographics. My 30 something kids buy everything online. I don’t know if my grandkids in the Bay Area have ever sat in a shopping cart in a grocery store…

So the board of supervisors is trying to say that people who live locally and are looking for a home are not already in contact with realtors and/or have the ability to seek out homes on their own, as they have been doing for eons….doesn’t the early bird get the worm? They really do believe people can’t manage without their guidance don’t they #pathetic

E-commerce killing in person retail is a myth. Is it evolving, yes, but 80-90% of shopping still occurs in a physical store. Beyond that, 40% of online shopping also involves a physical store (item pickups, returns, etc.).

How are your going to make it attractive for retailers to want to buy or rent locations when their customers cannot drive by and see their stores. People want convenient shopping and parking out front of the stores and restaurants. There are plenty of areas to bike already in this town and plenty of room to include bikes of the street. State Street is a ghost town now, have you not looked?? Please open the street to vehicles like it was before.

"Santa Barbara is a city full of low income immigrants, low income students and multi generational mediocrity. " This is unkind, inaccurate, and makes you sound incredibly elitist. It undercuts the entire point of your argument. Do you just cast your eyes in judgement every time you're too lazy to make your own meal or go out and have any form of entertainment? Also, who do you think is working all those restaurants and retail stores on your precious CVR? (Hint: immigrants, college kids, and locals) Go touch grass.

This problem isn’t unique to Santa Barbara, storefront retail is changing and evolving everywhere. We moved back to SB in 2010 and stores were closing down pretty rapidly even before Covid. We also spend time in the Bay Area and stuff is closing there. Coffee shops and restaurants still thriving, everything else not so much. Younger demographic has been shopping online for awhile and Covid taught everyone else how to buy online. You can hate Bezos, but Amazon has taken over in many parts of the country. You can get clothing, groceries, pharmacy items etc and have it all delivered to your door. CVR is thriving because of many restaurants and a few high end shops. State street especially lower state lost some of their party people to the funk zone which has been a pretty big success. And SB has always been a tourist town, I would argue there’s more good jobs now than in the past. When I graduated UCSB long long ago most of my friends left to get jobs in Bay Area, LA or back east. Lots more companies and opportunities now and availability of remote work in some companies has also helped bring more people (and pump up housing prices).

Thanks for this comment. It’s insightful, articulate, and presents a compelling argument. Who doesn’t hate cheap beer?

The improvement committee should also focus on cleaning the walkways & parking lots steps, they are filthy! Building owners should be required to clean the area in front of their buildings

I would disagree with the homeless refuge since I’ve noticed that not forcing people to walk in the sidewalk has made it more challenging for the homeless to panhandle and block the sidewalk. Downtown was worse before Covid and we had one of the highest vacancy rates of any coastal downtown area- so you want to go back to that? I work on State Street and have for the last 20+ years.

From an AI search, this was an interesting summary of pedestrian zone success rates: Most cities that "restreeted" their pedestrian zones have experienced a positive "rebound" effect. Retail Occupancy & Sales: Reopening to cars often triggers a spike in business. For example, when Oak Park Mall (Illinois) was reopened to traffic, retail sales rose 24% within one year, and the occupancy rate increased from 75% to 80%. Safety & Perception: Reintroducing cars provides "eyes on the street" at all hours, reducing the perception of the area as deserted or dangerous. The "Main Street" Success: Cities like Providence (Westminster Street) and Raleigh (Fayetteville Street) transitioned from failing malls to successful "Main Streets" by allowing multi-modal traffic, which now supports a flourishing, revitalized downtown."

Show me 5-10 retailers willing to open on state if the street was open and you’ll change my mind. Unfortunately no one can show that. The street being open wouldn’t change a thing.