Newport Beach : Vote Bans 3-Wheelers From Some Walkways
Newport Beach residents soon will be able to stop dodging three-wheel cycles careening along beachfront walkways. The City Council has banned the vehicles from the sidewalks between the Balboa and Newport piers.
The council’s unanimous approval of the ordinance was prompted by complaints from Balboa Peninsula residents, who said the two-seated, three-wheel bikes were almost deadly when ridden on sidewalks.
Residents who spoke in favor of the ban included one man who said he had been hit at least six times by the bikes. He said the three-wheelers generate plenty of velocity when propelled by a pair of “college boys.”
Brent Sage, one of the managers of Oceanfront Wheelworks, which rents the bikes, said the business employs a roller-skating patrol to keep riders off the sidewalks, but after the ordinance goes into effect next month, the shop will no longer bother.
Sage said, “The real problem isn’t the three-wheelers, but the people riding them.” He said he wasn’t worried that the restriction would hurt the shop’s bike rental business.
The new ordinance bars all tricycles except those of senior citizens, handicapped persons and children.
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