Bicyclists on the Boardwalk
The “boardwalk” between the Newport Pier and the Balboa Pier will continue to be a hazard to pedestrians following the failure of the Newport Beach City Council to approve recommended measures to remove bike riders from the walk. It has been predicted that serious injuries, or even deaths, may occur from accidents caused by fast-riding cyclists who maneuver dangerously close to the men, women and children who are walking.
One solution that had been presented to the City Council was to authorize construction of a bike path separated from, but parallel to, the existing walkway. That would eliminate the risks that walkers now face and benefit both bikers and walkers.
Instead, the City Council voted to “improve” the present walk, leaving the present hazardous conditions to continue. As a citizen who has been walking to the Newport Pier on the boardwalk every morning for almost 30 years, I can attest to the dangers to life and limb from the bike traffic.
Safety is the most important consideration in this controversial issue, but the City Council has sidestepped its responsibility by opting for a cosmetic, Band-Aid program that will not in any way satisfy the overriding concern for pedestrian safety. Patching up the old walk will not do anything for them or for the bikers.
ROBERT LEE
Newport Beach
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