City Panel Endorses Venice Beach Crackdown

The city Transportation Commission, seeking to ensure the safety of pedestrians on Ocean Front Walk in Venice and elsewhere, endorsed a proposed ordinance Thursday designed to crack down on reckless skateboarders, roller-skaters and bicyclists. The panel also approved a second ordinance that would let the Transportation Department establish broad restrictions over such activities.

Both ordinances must be approved by the City Council. Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, who represents the Venice area, last year suggested the ban on the “reckless operation of human-powered wheeled vehicles” in a compromise aimed at finding a way for skaters and pedestrians to coexist on the popular beachfront without endangering each other.

Her proposal was prompted by the repeal by the council of a 10-year-old ordinance banning skateboarding and roller-skating along Ocean Front Walk, which has been largely ignored.