Ed Lenvik, a member of the Santa Barbara Historic Landmarks Commission, has a lot to say about State Street.

“The process was hijacked by three distinct groups,” Lenvik says, on the latest episode of the podcast Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina.

Those groups, he said, are restaurants, the people who wanted to walk in the middle of State Street, and the bicycle coalition.

“The bike people came out of the woodwork and were uncompromising in their demands for bike access on State Street, uncompromising,” Lenvik said.

Lenvik talks on the podcast about the State Street Advisory Committee and the process for creating a State Street Master Plan.

Lenvik is not an advocate for bringing cars back to all blocks on State Street. He said in his younger days he would put 100 miles on his bike in a single day.

“I don’t believe that the promenade needs cars,” Lenvik said.

By promenade, Lenvik is referring to city staff’s recommendation of keeping the street closed to cars between the 500 and 800 blocks of State Street.

But farther up State Street is another issue.

“I don’t know that it is wise to leave that upper area so underutilized that it becomes a problem,” Lenvik said.

He also has concerns about the process.

“MIG went away, and I am not sure where they are,” Lenvik said.

MIG is a consultant that the city hired to help lead the Master Plan process. The contract was not-to-exceed $780,000.

In this podcast, Lenvik also shares his views on the work of the local architects who working on the plan, the effectiveness of the committee, and his vision for State Street.

Joshua Molina is journalist who hosts the podcast Santa Barbara Talks, an independently owned podcast where Molina looks to bring together voices from all perspectives to discuss and provide solutions to the challenges related to housing, education, transportation and other community issues. Subscribe to his podcast here and consider a contribution here.