There's a new pace to life in downtown Santa Barbara these days, not just for pedestrians, but also for bike riders.
"This is ideal," says Kent Epperson, Director of Traffic Solutions. "This is the kind of atmosphere we want to create."
Along with SB Bike and the Coast Coalition for Sustainable Transportation, all three organizations are asking bike riders between Haley and Cota Street to dismount and walk their bikes or skateboards.
That thoroughfare can sometimes shrink to only about 14 feet between one outdoor restaurant patio and another.
"It's now a shared environment, a different kind of environment," Epperson says. "We have to adjust as bicyclists to this new environment."
Sharon Roe is a resident who walked her bike through the area, complete with a dog in the basket.
"I love it, it feels like little Europe to me," Roe says.
Other blocks may also be implementing a dismount zone as well.
