When it comes to State Street, largely considered the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, everyone has an opinion.

With the Santa Barbara City Council set on Tuesday to talk about a long-awaited plan to remodel the downtown corridor of State Street, Noozhawk asked readers for their opinions. 

The city proposes installing retractable bollards, which would prioritize pedestrian and cyclist access from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., while allowing vehicle access for deliveries, garbage collection and construction services from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m.

The bollards would be installed at each intersection along downtown State Street on the 500 to 1200 blocks, according to the draft master plan.

They would be lowered and raised using remotes, which would also allow emergency vehicles through at any time.

The plan splits the nine blocks between Sola and Gutierrez streets into three districts: the entertainment district, the civic and commercial district, and the arts district.

State Street sidewalks in those districts would be expanded to 30 feet on both sides, with two 10-foot travel lanes in the center of the street.

Having less space for vehicle traffic would also force e-bikes — a point of concern for current State Street pedestrians — to slow down, members of the architect team and city staff said on Friday.

The city also plans to host at least one open house for the public to take a look at the plan, beyond the five public planning meetings that are scheduled over the next few weeks.

Over 360 people responded to Noozhawk’s survey to share their thoughts on the plan.

When asked if the city should continue to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist usage on State Street, 57% of people said yes, while 34% said no. 

Roughly 7% indicated that cyclists shouldn’t be allowed or there should be stricter enforcement for dangerous e-bike behavior. 

Jeff Ohlman said he likes the plans, noting that many European cities use bollards to block vehicle traffic. 

“On the face of it, I think it’s a good idea,” Ohlman said. “I think there’s no need to have State Street closed at all times so the bollards should be a good way to stop traffic during peak pedestrian times.”

Ohlman also said that it should be more important to prioritize pedestrians than cyclists on State Street. Ohlman, a cyclist, said he finds State Street currently too dangerous to bike on due to the number of pedestrians and people speeding on e-bikes. 

“I think the bike thing is a problem,” Ohlman said. “I’m a big bike rider, but I tend to stay away from State Street because it’s too crowded with pedestrians and bikes. If I want to go to State Street, I’ll walk.”

When asked if State Street should reopen to vehicles, 58% of people said no, while 34% said yes. The remaining 8% indicated that either some access should be allowed for shuttles or emergency vehicles or that they liked the city’s proposal of allowing access from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m.

Josiah Jenkins, who used to own a western clothing store in Santa Barbara, is one of the 34%. 

“I’d like to see, bottom line, the street opened up to traffic like it was,” Jenkins said. “They succeeded in chasing people out of downtown, or at least those that used to spend or go down there.”

While he thinks the city’s plan may look nice in the end, he doesn’t think it will be enough to drive business to State Street. 

“I think it’s a waste of dollars. It’s not going to improve anything,” Jenkins said. “It may look nice when it’s done, but I don’t think it’s going to draw any more people to the area. You need to open it up and make it inviting or easy for the people to get there or to even drive through and see what’s going on.”

Daniel Schirmer wrote that State Street feels safer without the vehicles. 

“I work downtown and frequently walk down State Street by myself, as well as with my wife and daughter,” Schirmer wrote. “Having no cars on State Street makes it a safer and more easily navigable area. I want to go downtown and specifically to State Street more often because there are no cars.”

The debate around State Street has been a hot-button issue for years, especially after the city closed the street to vehicles at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Robin Elander, executive director of the Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association, said some businesses have been able to adapt to the changes, while some have found that closing the street didn’t work for them and left. 

“It has been a tumultuous road for our community,” Elander said. “I think in a lot of regards, it’s shown how resilient our business community is, but also how much heart there is downtown, and how much people care about it, that hasn’t changed.”

Downtown has also been impacted by the number of chain stores that have closed since the pandemic, including Macy’s, Nordstroms, Rite Aid and CVS.

“That is not a sole problem of our downtown, but it’s a challenge that other downtowns are facing,” Elander said. “But because we did have a good number of those, it’s very visible at times.”

Radius Commercial Group reports show there were about 25-30 vacant storefronts on downtown State Street in the years before the pandemic hit.

The vacancies were “relatively consistent” in the years since 2020, when the city closed the street to vehicles, with 33-40 vacant retail storefronts, according to the group. The highest number was 48 vacancies, in the last quarter of 2020. 

The latest report released in April shows that vacancies have returned to pre-pandemic levels, with 30 spaces available for lease between Sola and Gutierrez streets. 

As far as the city’s plan for State Street, Elander said she likes the flexibility that will allow downtown to change over time. 

“I think it’s really nice,” Elander said. “I think it’s a wonderful investment in our downtown, and it shows what the future of our downtown community can look like.”

When Noozhawk asked readers what they thought of the city’s plan, the response, unsurprisingly, was mixed. 

Some thought the design was nice, but had concerns about vehicles on the road at night. Sullivan Israel wrote that he liked the choice of materials and a widened sidewalk but is against the compromise allowing cars. 

“This compromise compromises the design itself — a need for traffic lights, curbs, ugly traffic paint,” Israel wrote. “The biggest consequence of this arrangement is the massive cost of automated bollards that would otherwise not be needed. City Council needs to reflect the voice of the people clearly: we don’t want cars on State Street, ever.”

Others had concerns about the cost, especially as the city faces budget challenges. Early cost estimates indicate that the changes could cost $6 million to $8 million for each block, according to the draft master plan.

The council meeting is set to start at 2 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers at 735 Anacapa St. The plan can be reviewed here, and comments can be sent to statestreetmasterplan@santabarbaraca.gov. 

Executive Editor Giana Magnoli and South County Editor Evelyn Spence contributed to this report.