Letter: Mariposa Street Bridge belongs to the public

I was disappointed when the Burbank City Council voted 5-0 in February to reverse itself on its sensible Mariposa Street Bridge compromise, which it had passed in December, also unanimously.

The December ruling would have allowed bicyclists and horseback riders to continue to share the publicly owned bridge, as they had for the previous 77 years. Bike riders would have been permitted to use the bridge by walking or carrying their bikes across it.

The council later rescinded the compromise ruling because of the intense public pressure put on council members by the horse stable business nearby that insists on controlling the bridge. They rallied people who like to refer to themselves as “the equestrians,” who have a great deal of local political power and packed four City Council meetings to testify by the dozens, saying bike riders do not belong on “their” bridge.

The council relented and voted to ban even the mere possession of one’s own bicycle on the bridge.

The law passed by the City Council in February made it unlawful for bicyclists to cross the Mariposa Bridge in any manner, whether riding, walking, or carrying a bike, despite the legal opinion of City Atty. Amy Albano in December that such a law would not be enforceable.

Burbank police have refused to issue me a citation for continuing to walk my bike across the bridge in a safe manner, with no horses ever on the bridge or nearby. Although I have not been given a citation for my act of civil disobedience, I am respectfully prepared to receive it so that I may be able to go to court and allow a judge to decide the merits of what I believe is an unjust law.

Doug Weiskopf
Burbank