For decades, State Street has been the rhythmic pulse of Santa Barbara—a historic boulevard connecting the mountains to the sea. However, the recent shift toward “parklets” and pedestrian-only zones has sparked a heated debate about the future of our downtown. Below is a letter from Ed Fuller, a concerned community member who argues that the current path of urban planning may be doing more harm than good to our city’s legacy and economic health.

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The Letter

To my fellow residents and visitors of Santa Barbara,

All residents and visitors have suffered with the closing of State Street. Our beautiful downtown has been disfigured with “parklets.” Our parades must take side streets instead of Main Street. We will no longer be able to take State Street from the Wharf to the far edge of town. This historical boulevard will be lost to the whims of Urban Planners, people whose very existence demands they do something, bureaucrats who want to satisfy their egos by making change for change sake, and the sense of awesome power attained by spending tens of millions of dollars to see THEIR vision becoming reality.

The value of all businesses will be reduced as the number one factor in commercial (retail) valuations—visibility—will be diminished. Building a new pedestrian mall will cost tens of millions of dollars and comes with no guarantees that it will make anything better. Nearly every urban mall has failed and been re-opened to car traffic. The few that remain are seeing stores close left and right. The Santa Monica Third Street Promenade is almost half empty.

The objection to the noise and pollution of vehicles will disappear in the near future as California requires all vehicles to be silent electric versions. Speeding cars on State Street haven’t existed for decades. Pre-pandemic you could never go faster than 20 miles per hour because of signals and traffic, slower than the speed limit in residential neighborhoods. The very fact that traffic was significant is the very reason to re-open it to all forms of transportation.

The current iteration of State Street, pre-pandemic, had an excellent balance of vehicle traffic, pedestrian traffic, and bike traffic. Let’s bring it back and not blow ungodly amounts of money when what we still have is the best for all. The city is considering this new “urban plaza” right now.

Ed Fuller

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Our Take: Finding the Balance

Ed Fuller’s letter touches on a critical nerve: the tension between modern urban “vision” and practical, historical utility. While the desire for a walkable downtown is understandable, the economic concerns regarding retail visibility and the cautionary tales of empty pedestrian malls (like Third Street Promenade) cannot be ignored.

The most compelling point here is the evolution of the vehicle itself—with the shift toward EVs, the traditional arguments against noise and smog are becoming obsolete. As Santa Barbara decides how to spend tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, we must ask if we are fixing a broken system or dismantling a balanced one that already worked.