It’s a Bicycle Freeway

A simmering debate over who really owns Santa Barbara's State Street boiled over again this week, as community members voiced frustration that the downtown promenade — billed as a pedestrian corridor — has effectively become a speedway for electric bikes. The Santa Barbara Independent published a letter Tuesday from resident J. Paul Gignac calling State Street a "bicycle freeway," echoing complaints that have grown steadily louder since the City Council voted 5-2 on June 30 to keep the corridor closed to cars.

The timing matters. According to the City of Santa Barbara's State Street website, city staff are now finalizing the State Street Master Plan, and the finished document is set to go before City Council in August 2026 — making this moment a critical window for public input on what downtown Santa Barbara will look like for years to come.

A Car-Free Street That Isn't Quite Pedestrian, Either

State Street has been closed to most vehicle traffic since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the city shuttered the corridor to allow restaurants to expand outdoors. What began as a temporary summer measure never ended. The Santa Barbara Independent reported that the closure was formally codified in 2023 under Title 31, a policy specifying the street would remain car-free through the end of 2026 or until the State Street Master Plan was adopted.

But the resulting space is contested territory. As Edhat reported following the June 30 vote, the corridor is open to pedestrians and electric bikes on the 500 through 1100 blocks, while the 1200 block retains one lane of vehicular traffic. In practice, multiple outlets and residents have described a street where cyclists — particularly e-bike riders moving at speed — frequently dominate the center lanes, while pedestrians hug the sidewalks.

Gignac's letter in the Independent put it bluntly: pedestrians stay on the sidewalks out of fear of being struck by cyclists who neither yield at crossings nor stay within designated bike lanes. He also raised the issue of Farmers Market days, when signs prohibiting bicyclists are routinely ignored.

This friction is not new. The Santa Barbara News-Press noted in April that e-bikes are now ubiquitous on the promenade and that "it's common for riders to whiz by at high speeds in the middle of the street." Master plan consultant Stefanos Polyzoides reportedly observed that in other cities, e-bikes typically occupy 5-foot lanes — not the 10-foot lanes envisioned for State Street.

What the Master Plan Actually Proposes

The 153-page draft State Street Master Plan, developed by the firm Moule and Polyzoides under City contract, covers the 400 through 1300 blocks — roughly from Gutierrez to Sola streets. According to Siteline SB's breakdown of the draft, the plan envisions two 30-foot pedestrian sidewalks on either side of the street, organized into zones for outdoor dining, through-traffic on foot, and furnishings such as trees and seating. The center of the street would feature two 10-foot travel lanes reserved for cyclists, transit, and emergency vehicles.

The News-Press reported the full build-out could cost between $48 million and $64 million. A bollard system — including eight retractable and 16 to 24 fixed posts at eight intersections — is also likely, with transit vehicles and shuttles equipped with technology to automatically lower bollards on approach.

A proposal to allow private vehicles onto the street between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. was floated in earlier drafts but removed after strong opposition from bicycle advocates at the April 28 City Council hearing. At that session, the Independent reported, the council voted mostly 6-1 to advance the plan's general vision, with Mayor Randy Rowse the lone dissenter.

The June 30 Vote and Its Dissenters

The June 30 City Council meeting drew roughly 100 people to City Hall and an estimated 2,000 viewers on YouTube, according to the Santa Barbara News-Press. The resulting 5-2 vote to maintain the current car-free configuration was cheered by pedestrian and bicycle advocates but frustrated a vocal minority who want cars back.

Mayor Randy Rowse and Councilmember Eric Friedman cast the dissenting votes, favoring a return to pre-pandemic two-way traffic. Councilmember Kristen Sneddon, a supporter of the closure, urged the city to present the public with a clearer path forward, warning that "the perception of indecision has prevented us from fully blossoming," according to the Santa Barbara Independent.

The Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association has staked out a middle ground. In a June 25 opinion piece in the Independent, DSBIA President David de L'Arbre wrote that storefront vacancies remain a concern, conflicts between pedestrians and e-bikes continue, and that a flexible shared-street model — with clearly defined bike lanes, low-speed vehicle access, and mid-block pedestrian signals — deserves serious consideration before any permanent decision is made.

Where the Frustration Is Focused

Gignac's letter and a wave of similar community voices home in on a specific tension: the plan's central travel lanes appear designed primarily for cyclists, leaving pedestrians with the sidewalks. Downtown architect and community member Kevin Boss wrote in Santa Barbara Current that the true result of the master plan would not be a pedestrian-friendly promenade but "a one-mile-long State Street bike path," arguing that six years of shared use have demonstrated that bicycles and pedestrians "mix poorly."

Gignac suggested in his letter that recreational cyclists be encouraged to use the coastal path connecting Goleta Beach to Hendry's Beach — a scenic, mostly car-free alternative already popular with local riders. The Obern Trail, which runs from Goleta Beach through the Atascadero Creek corridor, connects to the city's waterfront bike path and offers miles of riding away from the commercial heart of downtown. The City of Goleta also broke ground in April 2026 on the San Jose Creek Multipurpose Path, a new three-mile Class I bike and pedestrian pathway that will further improve connectivity between the region's coastal communities.

What Comes Next

With the public comment period for the master plan closed as of June 30, city staff are now synthesizing feedback and preparing the final document. The City of Santa Barbara's official project page confirms that the final State Street Master Plan will be presented to City Council in August 2026.

That August hearing will likely be as contentious as any that have come before it. For residents who feel the promenade's pedestrian promise has gone unfulfilled — and for cyclists and advocates who see car-free State Street as a hard-won gain — the stakes are as high as they have been since 2020. What is clear is that the city's response to e-bike behavior, the adequacy of designated lanes, and the long-term vision for downtown Santa Barbara are all on the table at once — and the clock is running.