Carrying Out Strong Towns' Vision…the Santa Barbara Way!
This article, which is part one of a three-part series, was originally published in the Montecito Journal, June 22–29, 2023. It, along with an added introduction from the author, is shared here with permission. Read part two here and part three here.
Santa Barbara, California, closed its main commercial corridor, State Street, to cars due to the pandemic in 2020. This opened its full width to pedestrians and cyclists. Since the closure, the city formed the State Street Advisory Committee to create a long-term plan for downtown, including the layout of State Street. One of the committee’s main concerns is if the street should remain closed to vehicles, and how or if bikes should be incorporated into the design. Below, I argue that bikes and pedestrians are an essential part of downtown culture and business growth and need to be put at the forefront of any design. —Sullivan Israel
If you’ve read anything about the State Street Advisory Committee meeting on May 24 in Santa Barbara, California, it was probably about how tense the meeting was, how many committee members disagreed, and how public comment was a bit heated. Nick Welsh of the Independent called it a “bumpy start.” Councilman Oscar Gutierrez was a bit less delicate, stating the committee members’ comments made him “confused and disturbed.”
I tend to agree with both Welsh and Gutierrez. Certain committee members displayed a complete lack of understanding of fundamental urban planning concepts, while others expressed vitriol for bikes while clearly failing to comprehend the economic, public health, and climate utility of cyclists in an urban setting. One member, who I won’t name here, even added up the width of the street in MIG Design Group’s renderings incorrectly.
However, what’s been lost beneath all the reporting on the raucous nature of the meeting are the many positive comments that were made. As leader of a new local nonprofit, Strong Towns Santa Barbara (STSB), I’m proud of the STSB members who took the time to show up to make comments in person, fill out our public comment form online, and write their own letters of support for keeping the promenade closed to cars. We had over 30 people sign our main letter to the State Street Advisory Committee. At the May 22 meeting, members Joanna and Kira gave public comment in person, and Jason spoke over Zoom. At the May 24 meeting, members Luca and Tristen voiced their support for keeping cyclists on State Street and including enhancements to public transit in the Master Plan. Luca, who is 17, said it was his very first city meeting and public comment.
Strong Towns Santa Barbara members gather on State Street for a meeting. (Source: Medium/Sullivan Israel.)
I contacted Strong Towns, a national urban planning advocacy group, only a few months ago to ask if I could open up a local chapter in my hometown, what they call a Local Conversation. After they gave me the go ahead, I wasn’t sure where to start; I’ve never run anything before, let alone a nonprofit. At first, I simply talked over coffee to a small handful of people from whom I began to receive a slow trickle of emails via the Strong Towns website. I also reached out to and assisted with advocacy work through other local groups with similar values (e.g., MOVE Santa Barbara County) and started to meet additional people who expressed interest in joining STSB.
Finally, in April, I decided to call a first General Meeting, generously hosted on State Street at my friend Dylan’s brewery, Wylde Works. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I came away smiling. Eighteen locals, all from different backgrounds and professions, came together to discuss planning topics like zoning reform, bicycle infrastructure, parking minimums, transit improvements, and building more affordable housing. And the best part: none of these people are planners professionally (well, except one).
Two months later, we’re not just sending in public comments. We have an active Discord server where members chat about, and brainstorm solutions to, local issues every day. We’ve formed a Parking Minimums Subcommittee and with the help of Thomas Carpenito at the Parking Reform Network, are currently carrying out a study to analyze parking reductions achieved by the Average Unit-size Density (AUD) program in Santa Barbara (results coming soon). Another of our members, Kira, a PhD student at UCSB, is designing our chapter’s website, where visitors will be able to see our stances on local issues, browse our resources and efforts to date, and also submit public comments on various initiatives.
On the Strong Towns website, the organization describes itself as “advocat[ing] for cities of all sizes to be safe, livable, and inviting … work[ing] to elevate local government to be the highest level of collaboration for people working together in a place, not merely the lowest level in a hierarchy of governments.” What makes STSB’s collection of software engineers, college and high school students, planners, writers, musicians, mechanical engineers, and retirees special is that we aim to carry out Strong Towns’ vision the Santa Barbara way. That means advocating to end parking minimums to lower the cost of developing housing since housing availability in Santa Barbara is critically low. It means advocating for more bike and pedestrian infrastructure throughout the city to both lower our collective carbon emissions in support of Santa Barbara’s 2030 Climate Action Plan, and to promote safe car-alternative transport in accordance with Santa Barbara’s Vision Zero commitment. It means meeting with local leaders and professionals at city council, the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District, and public works to understand local issues specific to Santa Barbara and share knowledge with the community. It also means ensuring that State Street is re-imagined the best that it can be, including space for people walking, cycling, and taking transit.
I’m sure that over the coming months, STSB will continue to grow as new members join. In the meantime, we’re conducting an observational study to see just how many cyclists bike down State Street every day, who they are, and why they’re there. Contact me (sullivanisrael1@gmail.com) if you’re interested in helping out. And in an upcoming piece in this three-part series, I’ll explain why STSB supports MIG Design Group’s “Flat and Flexible” design for State Street.
Sullivan Israel is a City and Regional Planning masters student, leader of the small-town nonprofit Strong Towns Santa Barbara, and urban planning enthusiast. You can read more of Israel’s writing over on Medium.
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