Edhat Staff
By edhat staff
The Santa Barbara City Council voted to close State Street to vehicles from Haley to Sola to allow restaurants to expand outdoor seating.
Restaurants and cafes are allowed to expand their seating into sidewalks, public and private parking spaces as “creating parklets,” and some sections of roadway citywide as an emergency measure to give more space to conduct business using social distancing practices.
On Monday, Governor Newsom eased reopening requirements and several days later Santa Barbara was approved to move into Phase 2B which allows retail and dine-in restaurants to open again, with restrictions.
Late Thursday the City of Santa Barbara has made the decision to close State Street, from Sola Street to Haley, to vehicular traffic and open the roadway to give businesses and their customers more space to socially distance over Memorial Day weekend, effective Friday afternoon.
“Our City Council was inspired by the recommendation of the City’s business advisors. They know their clientele and they understand that Santa Barbaran’s value creativity. We all want to re-connect with our local businesses and support their endeavor,” said Mayor Cathy Murillo.
New social distancing requirements will result in restaurants having to reduce their indoor seating capacity. The addition of outdoor dining hopes to provide more dining space while adhering to the new social distancing requirements.
The closed section of State Street will additionally serve as a pedestrian promenade. Pedestrians are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings within the pedestrian plaza, which will be open daily from 7 A.M. to 10 P.M.
“This is an idea whose time has come. Locals have talked about the transition of State Street to a pedestrian promenade for decades. We can open businesses in a way that is safe and inviting while having open streets for pedestrians. These temporary measures give us a chance to really vision what the future of Downtown could be,” said councilmember Kristen Sneddon.
There’s potential this may stay in effect for some weeks to come as a temporary emergency measure to due COVID-19. Cross streets will remain open to vehicular traffic.
All businesses will be required to follow guidelines in the newly released RISE Guide created by the county including the completion of the Business Attestation Form and Industry Checklist.
The City of Santa Barbara is preparing guidelines for establishing outdoor dining and alcoholic beverage regulation issues.
Some of the City requirements in place for expanded outdoor include: tables and seating be placed 6 feet apart; the dining area has a defined boundary above-grade (rope, fence) that is removable if there will be alcohol service; that the width of the outdoor dining area is no larger than the storefront of the business; 6 feet of passable sidewalk area to be maintained at all times; a clear pedestrian and emergency pathway from the centerline of the street (a total of 14 feet in width); and that the expanded outdoor dining area be adjacent to the business as much as feasible.
An Emergency Ordinance will be presented at a Special City Council meeting on May 27th to address the expansion of outdoor dining into other areas in the City as well as an expansion into public parking and private property.
Businesses are encouraged to contact the city with questions at outdoordining@santabarbaraca.gov or 805-560-7520.
Horrible headline!! “State Street Closes!” “City Council voted to close State Street!” STATE STREET IS OPEN!! It just opened for the first time in decades. It’s only cars that it’s closed to. I was down there tonight and it looked & felt beautifully OPEN. People strolling in the warm evening air. Smiling at each other. Supporting local businesses. Check it out this weekend!!!
Good luck if you’re driving a car and want to cross over state street. All the lights are blinking red and pedestrians won’t stop crossing so cars can….. Traffic nightmare.. Why couldn’t they just leave the traffic lights working so traffic can cross without long delays……
This is amazing. We’re finally opening back up.
I agree — the flashing reds are awkward. At farmer’s market they just keep the light sequence BUT they have a crossing guard at each intersection. I think if cars were zipping thru at 30mph while people are strolling a 12-block pedestrian zone, talking & looking around & getting lost in this suddenly new way of things… people would get flattened. Having all cars stop at least gives pedestrians a sporting chance. And no, I’m not blaming car drivers and relieving walkers of all responsibility to pay attention. I’m just like, let the strollers stroll a bit more carelessly for a few months out of their lives. Cars are great —i drive one too — but eh, we can wait ten more seconds while enjoying the view of people enjoying life.
How do they do this in other cities that close their main promenade for pedestrians and business? The new business chief came from a City that did this so I bet they are doing the same thing as that City. And you know what? The world did not end and cars were able to get through. If you are really worried about it, cross above the closure and go down Anapamu. It’s amazing what people choose to focus on.
Some of my most enjoyable times on State Street have been when it has been closed for a parade or the State Street Mile. I’m going to start going downtown to enjoy it some more. Been waiting for this since I got here in 1998. Woohoo!!
Wonder how they’ll manage to corral the homeless and urban travelers off that stretch of State Street. It’s practically been their home for as long as I care to remember. They’d need to have some serious enforcement, and I’m wondering if the spineless City Council really has the stomach for that, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. And if they manage to pull that off, and I hope they do and it stays that way, then we need to ask them why it took a pandemic to finally clean the trash off our streets.
Question about this: “within the pedestrian plaza, which will be open daily from 7 A.M. to 10 P.M. ” Does that mean that nobody can walk State Street early in the morning or late at night? Or can they just not walk in the (empty, carless) street?
The street will revert back to cars from 10pm to 7am, especially for deliveries. That is normally how they do it.
CSF, I really enjoyed your scientific postings on the virus; your postings on the “spineless” city council, not so much. We can’t even force people to follow public health directives like wearing a mask, so what makes you think we can get rid of transients and travelers that are exercising their constitutional rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness as they see fit? If they are serious about helping businesses, there will be a big police presence in this zone to minimize problems. But I don’t know if SB has the stomach to harass the transients enough to make them move along to another town. And so far they are not jailing anyone for anything less than a serious felony so the punishment option is not available. What would you think would show a spine?
How can people be smiling at each other, Nature Boy, when “Pedestrians are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings within the pedestrian plaza,”?
Hi PIT, I think by spineless I was inferring that the actions the City Council is now taking to open State Street to outside dining, which in order to succeed must come with strict no-loitering enforcement, is something they could have done at any point in the past several decades but were too afraid to. You’ve been here sometime, right? You know all those breezeways between buildings, such as the one where the news stand used to be or next to one of the Metro theaters? Remember when those used to have raised planters with trees and flowering bushes that the transients use to sit on and lean their backpacks against. Rather than telling the transients to move along, they took the passive aggressive tactic (spineless in my opinion) of tearing out the planters, figuring if they were gone the transients find some other place to hang out. How’d that work out? As far as “constitutional rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, I’m all for that no matter what your circumstances. However, many of those transients hog up benches that maybe someone else would like to sit on, let their dogs crap all over the sidewalks, and often smoke cigarettes within the prohibited distance from businesses, bus stops, etc. At least one of those is illegal and all of them deprive others from their pursuit of happiness. This is one of the reasons I avoid going downtown. Anyway, I enjoy your posts as well.
Great ! Now when the waiters / waitresses clean tables they’ll be putting more food droppings on the sidewalks so the ever increasing rats and other disease carrying rodents can make people sick .
Bicyclists were out of control. there simply wasn’t enough room when people stood in the middle of the street and pedestrians wandered on both sides in opposite directions. No coordination at all and this is not going to change. They need to prohibit bicyclist on the street. It’s simply going to be too narrow. The city council on Wednesday is supposed to direct only 14 feet to be set aside in the middle of the street for pedestrians and bicyclists. Someone is going to get hurt and I’m not going to be down there wandering up and down State Street to spend my hard-earned money on restaurants. There was no social distancing in some areas while other areas had plenty of room. You couldn’t walk on many sidewalks. Saw a man in a wheelchair in front of the Grenada. He couldn’t get to any of the restaurants to the right or to the left. There’s a curb. No access for him. I’d say 60% or greater of the restaurants didn’t reduce the number of tables they had inside or out. This opening is just going to cause locals to become infected, tourists to come to Santa Barbara and infect locals, and essential workers to become infected spread the virus is they serve food. It’s a total disaster. State Street by the way is way too long. The Funk Zone destroyed the downtown businesses. Too much commercial and retail development in town. Not enough residents to support these businesses. We need a dramatic reshaping of the economy. Santa Barbara needs to move away from tourism. Downtown property owners need to let go of their dreams of ever-increasing rents in land prices. We’re going to see a lot of pain. but the biggest pain for the downtown businesses is to see many people start to work from home. Facebook, Twitter, Google they’re all letting their workers work from home. Remote working is the future and all of this commercial and retail space needs to go away. Stay safe everyone. Don’t go downtown.
RHS: Since were tossing out our favorite fascist slogans from WWII, here’s mine: “Latina olim palus” — Latin translation: “Latina, once a swamp”. This was the motto used by Mussolini, Il Duce, my personal favorite dictator. It’s in reference to the Pontine Marches that since pre-history were a plague to the Lazio region of Italy, as they were a source of malaria. From Julius Caesar to Pope Sixtus V, many great Italian visionaries failed to “drain the swamp”. True, Mussolini took the homeless off the streets of Rome and drove them to the region to help undertake one of the most impressive feats of engineering the world has seen. Once the swamps were drained, they built cities, such as Littoria (now called Latina), with beautiful squares and homes for the once homeless. In provinces such as Latina, the no-longer-homeless prospered in agriculture by growing wheat and wine in a formerly inhospitable land. People need a purpose, and Mussolini understood that. When people work together they’re strong and unbreakable, like a fascia of muscle or wheat (in this case the symbol of Italian fascism). So RHS, Mussolini tied and succeeded and it worked out well for the people of Latina (the formerly homeless of Rome), which was once a swamp and now the second largest city in the region, after Rome.
Cabrillo Blvd. has been closed off and on, for bikes and pedestrians. Last time I looked there are few restaurants there —- and the purpose of this is not to please the ordinary Santa Barbara so much as it is to try to save the restaurants that provide employment to Santa Barbarans.
So get rid of commercial real estate? Not everyone can work from home. What would you do with the space? Build more condos for more out of town people?
Needs to be posted no bikes allowed in the closed areas.
Bikes and pedestrians don’t mix. No bikes should be allowed in closed off portions of state street.
If it is closed to cars it should be closed to bikes as they have to follow the same rules of the road as cars by law.
FFS, 700, you know the sun was out today. What a whiner.
700–No. It didn’t fail.
As they get into to this, the restaurants need to be able to control the space of their sidewalk cafes, probably with ropes, to keep people from meandering around the diners. The street is for walking. The sidewalks are for dining. You can’t dine with a mask on. Maybe should not walk without a mask.
this is all for not. do you or “they” really expect us to rush out and spend $50 to $100 on dinner when we are out of work for several months and already stretched thin? this is done just in hope that people will come. not one person i know in town or in the 805 plans to spend any money in the next year or so. everyone is tight right now and budgets are low. dining out isn’t the top of anyone’s priority right now. this won’t help our downtown revive. frankly, and to be blunt, nothing will help downtown at this point. it has been sliding down hill since the late 1990s and now with the lockdown, id be surprised if any of those businesses make it 6 months. i’m not trying to be negative and mean, i’m just being realistic. the only businesses that will continue to do well is food delivery and grocery stores (in the realm of food that is). sad….but true
oh and the pot shops are bustling 😉
How does one go bankrupt? Slowly at first, then all at once… Managing a crisis from behind, this is what your highly paid, and 100% employed city staff do best. While I applaud the idea behind this move, without a re-thinking of the actual business districts (the density and location of), this will only stem the inevitable for a few weeks or months. Businesses and restaurants are scattered along 1.5miles of State St. So this will not really solve much and will leave a lot more unused, unsold and unproductive space. Not too mention:Are the restaurants paying rent to the city in order to use the public roads and thoroughfares for their private business activities? The city would be better off closing Cabrillo and allowing food trucks and other types of portable business operations. The park and the waterfront are much better for this type of endeavor as most of the action will be accessible within a few blocks of each other as well as having the open space and attractive views. I dont see how a dozen restaurants will hold 1.5miles without a serious rearrangement of the business locations.
Curious, around 5, I looked around lower State, from Gutierrez down through the ‘funk’ zone. Almost no one was wearing a mask, anywhere, including at the Lark outside patio that was packed, nor were they along Cabrillo Boulevard or on the grass where groups gathered; nor, of course, were they at the Cabrillo Ball Park where guys were playing soccer. Clearly, Santa Barbara is open and baaaacck!
Good!! I don’t plan to indulge but know lots of people that have been working from home, and some who have been collecting more unemployment than they usually make from working, that will be thrilled to get out of the house and support local businesses. People are ready to move forward, especially with the low covid numbers in SB. Let them!!!
Checked out State this afternoon. Lots of people, a few bikes. Looked like a mix of tourists and locals. About half of the people were not wearing masks and going in and out of stores. So the employees all have to wear masks but not the customers, many of whom come up from various Civid hotspots, putting employees at risk. Who is protecting who?
Hope it helps. But the future of full-service restaurants everywhere didn’t look good even before the corona virus. They are a minimum wage business and their costs keep going up every year, outpacing overall disposable incomes. There is a limit to what people will pay for a meal, and we now have lots of cheaper alternatives. Instead of focusing on restaurants, the city should start planning for a State Street with fewer and fewer sit-down restaurants. Maybe there’s a better use for our taxpayer supported public street space.
“What would you think would show a spine?” How about arrests housed in military-style barracks as a daily work crew to clean up public spaces including public restrooms to be built in public parks w/hourly miantenance to service them and more elaborate custodial halls for the those who are not sane? That would separate out the lazy, crazy and career hobos. Hobos who hate confinement and the lazy would move on. The crazy would have the support they so desperately need. That would leave “resident” drunks & addicts and those who are on the streets for economic reasons. The latter can be dealt with fairly well as a group and the money would be well-spent. The drunks and addicts? No idea; you can’t shoot them or cure them.
If you’ve ever been to 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica this is the concept they are trying to use here on State St. The new SB economic manager was hired from Santa Monica…My prediction is we will never see the full length of state st for cars ever open again. 3rd street case study link here…..https://www.restreets.org/case-studies/the-third-street-promenade
Santa Barbara Police just laid off 18 employees. This indicates that they have no stomach to enforce loitering or drug laws at this time. I guess that they figure that we don’t already have enough crime.
Santa Barbara Police just laid off 18 employees. This indicates that they have no stomach to enforce loitering or drug laws at this time. I guess that they figure that we don’t already have enough crime.
Walked State Street yesterday to check out the new “pedestrian plan” and was almost run down multiple times by a-holes racing up and down the street on their bikes doing wheelies etc. They were carelessly weaving through the crowd at high rates of speed. In addition there were kids on skateboards using the red cones as jumps. Clearly the city is going to need to figure out some order. I think the concept is a good one but it feels very haphazard at this point and far too many blocks are shut down. It feels like Haley to Ortega or even Canon Perdido would be more than enough. Even the 3rd Street Promenade is only 3 blocks.
Didn’t the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica fail miserably?
Work camps for the homeless and shiftless–I am pretty sure that Franco and Mussolini did this. England tried it centuries ago. That worked out well.
100% AGREE that Cabrillo would be the better street to do this with. This seems as though it wasn’t thought out all that well. If they closed Cabrillo to cars they could make a beautiful Mediterranean style waterfront mecca for tourists and locals alike. That area is thriving now compared to State. St. anyways. As a long time local, I feel I’m in the minority, though, for not wanting State. St. to be closed to cars. I used to love to cruise up and down State in my convertable. I’m sure others have fond memories of this too. But seriously, rents are one major problem. There won’t BE any business if no one can afford the rent and make a living.
Gotta save those police funds to pay the higher ups their TOP salaries I guess. And I bet NONE of the employees they fired were meter maids. Too much income for them.
This is another BIG reason that I think that Cabrillo Ave would be the better choice for a pedestrian walk area. The one-way streets that surround State. St. were already confusing to tourists. I cannot count how many times I’ve seen out-of-towners starting up the wrong way on a one-way street, locals annoyed and honking at them. Closing State St. will confound this and make it worse, didn’t anyone think of THAT?
We LOVED walking on State Street this morning! Two suggestions: Keep the open cross streets with regular signaling. It’s confusing for vehicles and pedestrians with the blinking reds. Second, I was almost knocked down by a bicyclist who thought he was in a race barreling down State Street! Have a some sensible speed enforced for two-wheelers or restrict them to the side streets. After all, this is supposed to be a Pedestrian Promenade.
RealLocal: The pressure coming out of the WH was just too much to handle, so folding was the only option for our state and city. Lots more people, and I mean LOTS more, are going to come down with this damn virus in the upcoming days/weeks. I hope everyone remembers this, and if it does not happen, please remind me what a fool I was to believe this. Keep wearing the masks, and keep up the distancing. Our society has become weak and people cannot handle these things like the folks in the past (like the “Greatest” generation”).
And don’t forget the trick riding by bicyclists that skim by you to give you such a thrill, or the openness of the streets so “urban travelers” can exercise their shopping carts. Perhaps we need more street performers from the Bay Area to entertain the patrons eating at curbside with sword-swallowing or fire-eating. Perhaps the Mayor can do performances on the hour!
Tourists = Death and Sickness. It is time to double down and continue to shelter in place if you want to live through the pandemic.
I’m pleased and happy to repeat the news that we have in fact caught and killed a large predator that supposedly injured some bathers. But as you can see, it’s a beautiful day, the beaches are opened, and people are having a wonderful time. Amity, as you know, means friendship.
Get off my lawn
Nice, idolizing fascists. You need help.
2 p.m. I agree with you in general, but blaming all of this on “pressure from the White House” is not including the whole picture. There is plenty of pressure from business owners and people who have no ability to put up with distancing measures either due to lack of strength or character as you point out, or financial hardship. Some people find it more attractive to believe the danger of the virus is not serious, or not as serious a problem as them not getting to go to the beach. Some of these people are democrats and do not follow Trump. Students on the Mesa are partying heavily, no masks, no social distancing, no cares– and I doubt there is a Trump supporter among them.
yeah the bikes yesterday were a bit much. two kids doing wheelies almost hit my daughter and then the kid tried to blame her. Fortunately the mayor and an officer were there and took over. Both friends and both good people. Ive seen the wheelie kid up at SBCC several times. He’s part of a group of maybe 50 that ride custom made cruisers. Better than gangs, but learn to ride with respect kids…
I read someone whining about skaters again, doing ollies over orange cones. So what. The cones aren’t in YOUR way are they? no. as for some kids riding bikes through there with speed and carelessness, that’s just uncool, but a kid popping over a cone? YOU CLOSED THEIR SKATE PARK….where else should they go?
I must run in different circles. I know a lot of people who are still fully employed (because they can work remotely) and have been ITCHING for things to open up so that they can enjoy a restaurant meal. Though one of them went to state st yesterday and realized that: there’s no place he wants to eat on state st. As to how to fix State st…I don’t know that answer. I stopped going there 14-15 years ago when I couldn’t even run or walk without being accosted by the homeless. About the only thing we do there now is go to a movie (a few times a year), or grab something yummy at a bakery.
But LOCAL, the City employees need the money for the recent raises they were given. Got to keep the wage raises even with the other employees or there might be a revolt! And you thought it was YOUR government, huh?
Some observations about the new outdoor dining downtown: 1) The workers/wait staff do not appear to be all that happy about the new setup, as opposed to the owners who are absolutely gleeful. 2) There is nothing in place to keep all the dust/airborne particles off of the food/drink that’s casually laying out on the tables….it’s unhealthy to eat! Some sort of food/drink covers should definitely be provided. 3) Customers don’t seem to mind eating in/among the multitude of potential Covid-19 and/or infected individuals walking/sitting within the recommended social-distancing guidelines. 4) If not already included, I think there should be a minimum 25% gratuity added to each and every bill so that these brave workers don’t get “stiffed” as they often do by the not-so-generous customers. 5) Rat control, or should I say, lack of rat control. I love/love/love animals, but filthy disease-carrying rats need to be nowhere near all of this food/crumbs/debris. We can do better my friends.
I have mixed feelings about the bicyclists….. but, the 2 times, I’ve been there, sitting on a bench facing the street, there weren’t enough pedestrians, walking in the street, to pose a problem with the bicycles…. In fact, the bicyclists were doing their usual “tricks” , which were very entertaining, but not dangerous to the public. That being said, things will WILL change, once more people start walking State Street. ps- I was sitting there around the 600-700 blk for a couple hours.
Tourists w/o masks. Reckless bicyclists. It is a recipe to spread the disease and leave it here or injure pedestrians . I won’t shop here or go back to a restaurant until there is a vaccine. So sad that the Council has bought into the idea that to survive Santa Barbara’s sacrifice is the death of it’s locals and essential workers. My recommendation? Avoid the place like the plague. It’s the best place to catch it in Santa Barbara.
Big COVID-19 party! Come catch the disease and spread it around. Come to Santa Barbara! No mask required. Lot’s of alcohol to loosen inhibitions… – That’s the new welcome sign for Santa Barbara. If you want to live avoid Santa Barbara like the plague. I am.