Ross Street Goes Back to Cars After Halloween. What Was Santa Rosa Testing?

"I don't think every experiment or, you know, pilot has to become permanent to be worthwhile," Pauline Block, chair of the Downtown Action Organization, told KRCB's Shandra Back three days after the pilot opened. That leaves Ross Street with an unusual status for the next three weeks. The block between Mendocino Avenue and the parking lot exit behind 427 Mendocino has been closed to cars since August 14 and reopens after October 31. Nobody has said publicly what follows. The food trucks, bands and Sunday markets you see there are the experiment, and the measurement Block described is simple. Do people who come downtown for one thing stay for another?

The street Santa Rosa decided not to close

Ross Street was never the first choice. In April 2024, the Press Democrat reported on a City Council discussion about closing part of Fourth Street to vehicles each season. The stated aims were a walkable, bikeable stretch and more visitors downtown.

According to the Press Democrat's July preview of Ross Street Live, city staff spent early 2025 collecting input from downtown businesses, a community survey and a City Council study session. They also looked at programs in San Mateo, San Jose and San Diego. Some local businesses worried a Fourth Street closure would hurt them, and after that opposition the city turned to a smaller pilot on Ross Street in late 2025. The Downtown Action Organization, the nonprofit that manages the Downtown Santa Rosa Community Benefit District, formed an ad hoc committee that November and reached an agreement with the city on June 4.

Block put it plainly to KRCB: "There were a lot of perspective to consider on the earlier concept, and we really wanted to find something that was giving us an opportunity to test some of the ideas, but maybe on a smaller scale." City spokesperson Misti Wood told the Press Democrat the program would serve "as a test of expanded pedestrian space and community programming in the downtown core, while allowing the city and its partners to gather feedback and assess impacts."

Ross Street is the smaller version of the Fourth Street idea, run as a test whose results stay on the table after it ends.

Who built it, and who paid

The pilot came from the businesses on the block. Downtown Santa Rosa's Ross Street page lists Cooperage, The California Theatre, Flagship Taproom, The Lost Church and the SoCo Market as organizers, with support from the City of Santa Rosa and the Downtown Action Organization. The eastern end of the street is closed to traffic. The lot at Mendocino and Ross holds the stage and the weekend gathering area.

The Downtown Action Organization's June 17 board minutes record that the city contract was signed and a $100,000 city check had arrived, while organizers were still looking for sponsors. The organization acts as fiscal sponsor. Its published records don't add up a final project cost or list every sponsor contribution. "We haven't really done anything of this scale," Cadance Hinkle Allison, the organization's executive director, told the Press Democrat.

The business owners framed it as a bet on nightlife and families. In CBS San Francisco's opening-night coverage, Flagship Taproom owner Kam Imran called the event a boost for downtown nightlife, and Downtown Action Organization board member Hali Lenox described it as a way to bring the community back together around food and an event open to kids. On KRCB, Press Democrat reporter Natalie Hanson said Josh Walden, owner and general manager of School of Rock Santa Rosa, saw the stage as an opening for student and up-and-coming bands.

The schedule is built to answer one question

The week has a deliberate shape. Lunch trucks run Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday bring live music from 5 to 10 p.m., and Sundays run from noon to 5 p.m. Block told KRCB the mix was intentional: "We're really interested to see, you know, what draws people downtown at different times and who we see come out to enjoy those different types of options."

These are the remaining evening and weekend dates, from Downtown Santa Rosa's event listings:

The Halloween page still says more performers will be "announced soon." The Hocus Pocus screening planned for October 11 was postponed with no new date, and the listing sends families to the October 18 E.T. afternoon instead. These are live listings, so check them before you head out.

Weekday lunch trucks for the rest of the run, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.:

• Week of Oct. 12: Galvan's Eatery Monday, MoMo Man Tuesday, Los Flippin Tacos Wednesday, Mariscos El Cora Thursday, Galvan's Eatery Friday
• Week of Oct. 19: Galvan's Eatery Monday, Patty Rosas Tuesday, Dino's Greek Food Wednesday, Drip Sandwiches Thursday, Galvan's Eatery Friday
• Week of Oct. 26: Galvan's Eatery Monday, Dang That's Good Tuesday, Streetdogz & Streetburgerz Wednesday and Thursday, Galvan's Eatery Friday

Staying downtown is the part being measured

Block was specific about what success means. "The main goal is to create reasons to come downtown, and I think more importantly than that, reasons to stay downtown," she told KRCB. She described someone who visits a favorite restaurant or shops first and then comes to Ross Street Live. She also asked whether someone who comes for music goes on to dinner.

Ross Street isn't the only new reason to stay. The Wanderlust Food Truck Festival started at Old Courthouse Square on September 3, with 15 to 20 rotating trucks and family entertainment every Thursday, as the Press Democrat reported at launch. The city's Courthouse Square calendar lists the remaining dates as October 15, 22 and 29, from 4 to 9 p.m. The launch article gave 5 to 9:30 p.m., so confirm the hours before you go. The same calendar has a Fall Fun Fest on October 23 from 5 to 8 p.m.

A few blocks of Mendocino Avenue have also gained a sit-down option. Capriciano Osteria opened at 505 Mendocino Ave. in August in the former Tipsy Taco space. Chef-owner Baki Bekci serves Italian and Italian-American classics, and the Press Democrat found it already packed a week after opening. A Friday that starts at Capriciano and ends at the 945 Band set is exactly the kind of evening the pilot is trying to count.

Getting there is a little easier too. On October 1 the city posted an illustrated parking guide for downtown and Railroad Square that shows public garages, lots, streets, landmarks and destinations.

What has been said about November

Not much yet. The latest Downtown Action Organization packet available, from its August 12 executive committee meeting, lists Ross Street as a time-limited special project ending October 31. It lists Courthouse Square enhancements as a separate, ongoing project. No attendance totals, survey results, business sales figures or post-pilot decision had been published as of mid-October.

The people involved have described different outcomes. Imran told CBS San Francisco he hoped a successful run would make the event a recurring one with room to grow. KZST reported in July that backers hoped the pilot might lead to permanent pedestrian spaces. Vice Mayor Jeff Okrepkie told the Press Democrat there was no clear timetable for revisiting other pedestrian locations, but that the pilot could serve as a real-world example. Block has said the feedback matters more than whether the closure becomes permanent.

For now, the Downtown Santa Rosa schedule ends with the Halloween lineup on Saturday, October 31, and the block reopens to traffic after that.

At Sonoma Coast Living, we follow downtown Santa Rosa decisions like this one because a closed block, a busy new osteria or a weekly food-truck night changes how a neighborhood feels to live in. If you'd like to talk about how these changes fit into the wider market from Santa Rosa to the coast, view the Luxury Market Report or call us. We're happy to share what we're seeing.