Newport officials look to beef up safety on boardwalk
With more summertime visitors traveling to the Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach officials are considering ways to regulate Segways, surrey cycles and other fast-moving modes of transportation.
It’s all in effort, they say, to improve safety.
Ocean Front, the boardwalk spanning three miles from E. Street to 36th Street, has long been a popular route for locals and visitors alike. Beachgoers cut across the paved walkway to get to the sand, keeping an eye out for passing inline skaters, families on bikes and joggers.
However, the inherent conflict between pedestrians and speeding bikes, surreys, skateboards, not mention hoverboards and Segways, has created safety concerns.
“The main issue is speed, and whether it’s an electric assist or racing bike, speed needs to be the focus of our enforcement,” said Councilman Keith Curry. “The key is making sure all of them operate within the speed limit.”
Join the conversation on Facebook >>
Hundreds of people crowd the Balboa Peninsula boardwalk in Newport Beach on the Fourth of July in 2014.
The City Council on Tuesday directed staff to develop possible regulations for Segways and surrey bikes, four-wheelers that accommodate up to four passengers. Ideas include a permitting system or limiting the days of the week those bikes can be ridden on the boardwalk.
Surreys are banned on the boardwalk because of their size and lack of maneuverability, but police have raised concerns recently about them being ridden along busy Balboa Boulevard instead.
The council also asked staff to come up with a plan for structural improvements, such as adding a bike lane or signs and widening the boardwalk, which is 12 feet across.
Mayor Diane Dixon indicated that regulations on the type of allowable uses should precede any structural changes.
Specifics could come back to the City Council for review in the next several months.
“Hopefully, we can start to get our arms around this now,” Dixon said.
Safety along the three-mile stretch has long been an issue. In 2008, the city formed a steering committee comprised of Peninsula residents, a local business owner, a City Council member and city staff to address safety concerns and additions like signage and striping.
The committee discussed widening the boardwalk and building a parallel bike lane, but did not recommend the options to the council.
The council, at the time, agreed to continue banning skateboards, motorized devices and surreys, maintain an 8 mph speed limit and improve signage and striping. Officials elected not to ban Segways.
More recently, residents have said they’ve witnessed riders speeding on electric bikes, Segways and riding surreys and skateboards, sometimes injuring passersby.
Confusion about what’s allowed is a key issue and regulations needs to be made clearer to the public, city staff said.
The relatively recent proliferation of motorized devices, which the city does not regulate on the boardwalk, has also spiked residents frustrations. Additional police are patrolling the area but residents say they’re not enough.
“It’s like the 405 Freeway,” said Peninsula resident Fred Levine. “We should be taking an aggressive approach to enforcement. We have signs up and additional police, however, it doesn’t seem to be working. Almost every weekend there are accidents, some are being reported, some are not, and it needs to be addressed.”
--
Hannah Fry, hannah.fry@latimes.com
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
