The power of pedestrians

BY CHERI RAE
As the co-author of the guidebook, “Walk Santa Barbara,” I once wrote, “…Santa Barbara is one of the nation’s most walkable cities. In fact, Santa Barbara is more pedestrian-friendly than most Euro-towns and lacks only international signage and some imaginative civic promotion to become one of the world’s great walking destinations.”

Today it’s a different time, a different place.
As a consultant for an upscale British walking company that once offered a four-day walking vacation in Santa Barbara, I’ve had plenty of experience squiring well-heeled walkers around town. These folks, who traveled from different states, even different countries to enjoy Santa Barbara on foot, invariably appreciated local architecture, neighborhoods, beaches and trails. But when it came time to take the requisite walk downtown, even though I led them through what’s left of the once-graceful paseo system, almost to a person these walkers were appalled. Their most common observation was some variation on, “State Street could be so nice if it weren’t for the traffic. All these cars destroy the ambience.”
Their comments invariably launched impassioned comparisons and discussions about wonderful walkable cities and towns with thriving commercial districts, sidewalk cafes, street performers and a relaxed pace focused on human—not vehicular—activity. Think Florence, Siena, Salzburg, and closer to home, think Portland, Boulder, Seattle, and Santa Fe. Just a hundred miles away, think Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade.
Actually, for a few hours on a few blocks every Tuesday, during the weekly Farmer’s Market, we can experience just how State Street’s typical auto-centric frenzy is transformed into a pedestrian-friendly destination. A quiet, gentle spirit settles in, and a relaxed atmosphere prevails. All too soon, it’s over and the cars reign once more.
Santa Barbara attracts an enormous number of visitors, especially on weekends; so many drivers and pedestrians on State Street are unfamiliar with the place. Drivers may become easily distracted by missing a turn, or trying to figure out directions to where they’re going. Pedestrians may miscalculate their feeling of security, particularly when engaged in conversation. Accidents happen when confusion enters the scene.
At a time when this city has become obsessed with high-density, “mixed-use” development downtown, and so-called “traffic calming” in certain neighborhoods—but ignoring it in others—downtown traffic feels more congested and more dangerous than ever. In view of the tragic pedestrian-vehicle accident last weekend when many lives were shattered in a split second, it’s time again to re-think the State Street weekend traffic jam and close the street to cars from Victoria Street to Cabrillo Boulevard.
I know all the arguments: the merchants want the traffic; they think it’s good for business. That might have held up when mom-and-pop shops lined our city’s main shopping street, with on-street parking available in front of them. But with our numerous parking garages accessible only by the one-way streets parallel to State, today’s chain store proprietors cannot make that claim sound credible.
Then there’s the argument that the bumper-to-bumper weekend traffic from downtown to the beach is somehow lively and vibrant. I frankly don’t quite get the appeal of thumping rap, the scent of exhaust, or the revving of engines, especially when attempting a quiet conversation or trying to enjoy the aromas and flavors of a pricey meal at a sidewalk cafe.
I’d say the safety issue trumps both of these concerns. As one who often walks downtown during the week for meetings or to run errands, I’m more familiar than I want to be with the bad driving behavior and poor pedestrian habits on display on our ever-busier main street: Drivers talking on cell phones, making illegal left turns or impatient right turns; pedestrians jaywalking, darting into the street and crossing on a red light evidently believing they’re invincible, or simply loping along, tuned into the I-Pod instead of the street scene.
It’s time to separate walkers, shoppers and diners from cars on State Street. We can open it to pedestrians, bicyclists and our electric trolleys to allow mobility for those who don’t want to—or can’t—walk the distance. And park the cars in the lavish structures created just for that purpose. Our busiest street needs some real “traffic calming,” and our pedestrians need protection.

Questions? Comments? E-mail Cheri at letters@santabarbarafree.com.