Bike lanes are coming to State Street.

The Santa Barbara City Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday to spend $45,000 to stripe the 500 to 1200 blocks of State Street. The city will spend another $10,000 to install vertical delineators on a yet-to-be-named block as a test project.

The work is expected to begin in two to three months.

Mayor Randy Rowse opposed the action.

“I am hoping, personally, some day we revert back from the county fair to a city, we get our architecture back, we get our look back,” said Rowse, who along with Councilman Eric Friedman opposed the general fund expenditure.

The mayor remained consistent in his opposition to closing State Street to vehicles and leaving outdoor dining in the street. The city closed eight blocks of State Street in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic erupted to help restaurants seat patrons outside.

The pandemic is now over, but the city used the pandemic to take swift action to close the street to vehicles, a move that transportation activists had been clamoring for years prior.

Rowse has said that the city is favoring restaurants over retailers and other businesses by closing the street, and he wants to see a reset while the State Street Master Plan Committee does its work to reimagine the corridor.

“As we sit here and go through these machinations or try to invent ways to do something that I am not even sure is appropriate to do, I am really wondering why we are looking at things that are not simple, and more expensive, and take a lot more staff time,” Rowse said.

Friedman cast the other dissenting vote.

Since it was Halloween, he wore a “Cobra Kai” outfit, and even quoted Johnny Lawrence from “Cobra Kai,” season one, episode one to illustrate his point.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Friedman quoted. “‘Cause once you go down this path, there’s no turning back.”

Friedman suggested that the city spend the money from the general fund rather than the streets fund, because it is a “slippery slope,” he said.

Other council members were supportive of the vote.

“I think this is a safety concern for the whole community,” Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon said.

As it stands now, parklets line the street in some areas while pedestrians, bicyclists, dog walkers, skateboarders and others share the middle of the road. The popularity and speed of electric bikes have prompted concerns among some people.

Councilman Mike Jordan reminded the audience that the Historic Landmarks Commission will review each parklet and that the bike lanes will make traveling along State Street a more pleasant experience.

“We’re getting to exactly what some are asking for, other than just removing everything and going back to a street,” Jordan said.

Robin Elander, executive director of the Downtown Organization of Santa Barbara, supported the changes.

“The addition to a dedicated bike lane will support needed downtown safety improvements that have been brought up by the community time and time again,” Elander said.

The council last month agreed to open the 1200 block of State Street to vehicular traffic to help people attend shows at The Granada Theatre.