State Street Master Plan Vote Set for Tuesday

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) Santa Barbara City Councilmembers will talk about the State Street Master Plan again on Tuesday, but this time the council is expected to vote on the introduction with a final adoption in mid-September.

"We are bringing forward the final State Street Master Plan for introduction to be adopted by city council, this is the final moment for the long term vision and future of State Street, I have the plan hot of the press with me today," said State Street Master Planner Tess Harris, " I am really excited to be sharing with council and the community the final vision for downtown."

Designers will presented a plan to transform the stretch between Gutierrez and Sola Streets.

It includes expanded sidewalks, retractable bollards, and divided paths for shuttles, bicycles and pedestrians.

"This is the moment where we can come together and decide what we want our downtown to be for the next 50 plus years, this is an opportunity for downtown and not only for downtown but for all community members in the city of Santa Barbara, for residents, for visitors, it is really going to set us apart from every other city in California and the United States," said Harris.

The closure that began during COVID has been debated among different generations of residents, visitors and local business owners.

The city has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on consultants.

The re-design is expected to cost millions of dollars per block in the future.

One the plan is introduced it could be adopted a the next meeting September 15.

The Create State draft that has had some changes to intersections and other modifications has been out since April.

For a link visit https://statestreet.santabarbaraca.gov

Your News Channel will have a preview on the vote tonight on the news.