Pier Review

By CHERI RAE - July 2, 2009

According to every guide, website, book and magazine article, no visit to Santa Barbara complete without spending time on Stearns Wharf. And why not? The old wooden wharf with a colorful history has everything a visitor might want—a jaunty nautical ambience; remarkable views of the city nestled against the dramatic backdrop of the rugged Santa Ynez coastal range; a variety of shops, educational outposts and eateries; even wine tasting and a palm reader. It’s a place to relax and enjoy the moment.

Once you finally get past the auto emissions, bumper to bumper traffic and the parking lots that take up much of the structure.

Every description of Stearns Wharf coyly avoids one important fact: taking a long walk on the long pier requires navigating around, through, beside and in front of an endless throng of automobiles.

With all its emphasis on walkability, sustainability, and innovative solutions to alternative transportation; with its Green Team, Car-Free and Green Business programs, Santa Barbara might talk the talk, but when it comes to Stearns Wharf, it sure doesn’t walk the walk.

A community that boasts its environmental credentials at every opportunity has really smudged its carbon footprint when it comes to the pedestrian experience at the Number One tourist attraction in town. There’s just no getting around the fact that a stroll on Stearns Wharf would be a lot healthier and more romantic and far more eco-friendly, er, green, without its two narrow, noisy lanes of traffic separated from pedestrians by just a few inches of raised wooden curb, and its enormous parking lot situated on the wooden planks.

Santa Barbara Car-Free, a project of the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, encourages environmentally aware visitors to “Take a Vacation from Your Car”—even offering discount hotel packages for those who arrive by train. Its website notes, “Vehicles are a major source of smog pollution and greenhouse gases contributing to global climate change.” And the Green Santa Barbara website, a project of Simple Shoes and the Santa Barbara Conference and Visitor Bureau and Film Commission, notes, “A walk out onto Stearns Wharf is a Santa Barbara must.” Neither organization mentions the unhealthy and decidedly un-green reality of inhaling exhaust fumes of vehicles making their way onto the wharf, then carefully skirting around them most of the way.

If I were one of those visitors who made the time and effort to arrive car free, I wouldn’t be too happy about sharing my vacation from my own car with so many of them in the way.

My neighbor and I played tourist in our hometown the other day, and walked out onto Stearns Wharf, just like visitors are encouraged to do. Maybe it was the sight of the huge silver Hummer swerving around the slow-moving SUV or the frequent pedestrian bottlenecks at that no-walkers’ land between shops and the parking lot that finally prompted my mild-mannered companion to exclaim, “This is like walking on a strip mall on stilts.”

But all that changed once we got out past the restaurants, the bait and tackle shop and the clever pirate cruise concession, out past the kerthumping wooden boards straining under the weight of urban assault vehicles and the municipal parking lot. There’s a peaceful vibe out there past the cars, interrupted only by the sound of birds; the delighted squeals of little kids and their adoring parents; the pleasant babble of a dozen different languages spoken by visitors. With views unobstructed by traffic and the feeling of being finally close to the ocean itself, the end of the wharf stands in stark contrast to the cacophony of the rest of the place. Here the promise of Santa Barbara’s green scene is fulfilled.

And that’s how it should be for the entire 1,950-foot length of Stearns Wharf. Allow early morning and late night truck deliveries for merchants and restaurateurs; add our fleet of electric shuttles—including our currently mothballed Wharf Woody—for those who can’t or won’t take a walk; encourage pedal power, and turn the parking lot into a vibrant destination for local artisans, musicians and performers. Use the example of Surf City, aka Huntington Beach, with its mellow vibe the entire length of its pedestrian-only 1,856-foot concrete pier—with an always-bustling Ruby’s Diner at its terminus.

No question that walking on the wharf is an important part of the Santa Barbara experience; it could—and should—be so much more. Stearns Wharf could be transformed into a more environmentally friendly destination in line with the much touted green objectives of our community—all it takes is a few steps in the right direction.

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Pier Review : 7/2/2009

What you are looking for in a pier can be found out at Goleta ... 1450 feet of non-commercially developed pedestrian only access with unrestricted views of the ocean and mountains.

pierhead

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: 7/2/2009

"Every description of Stearns Wharf coyly avoids one important fact: taking a long walk on the long pier requires navigating around, through, beside and in front of an endless throng of automobiles." - I think most people would insert "homeless" instead of automobiles. Maybe you went out there when it wasn't feeding time for them or something. Every time i go out there i feel like I'm in skid row.

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: 7/2/2009

I've navigated the pier for almost 40 years now and sure, it would nicer without the cars, but it's not that bad as it is. I also appreciate when I'm taking my elderly parents to dinner at their favorite restaurant that I can drop them off right in front, and then park close by. Don't forget that everybody is not able to walk the length of the pier; would you deny them the enjoyment of being able to experience the whole thing?

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: 7/4/2009

Cheri Rae - you are such a downer. I love the wharf. Anytime any of my family is visiting all they want to do is go to the wharf.

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