As a 30-year resident of Laguna Beach, I have observed that the influx of road racing bicycling has increased on the roads of our community. From single riders, riders in pairs, or packs of hundreds on any given day but especially weekends, bicyclists contribute to unsafe and hazardous situations on our busiest streets.
A large number of these cyclists seem to use their own judgment as to whether they should obey the laws as designated by the Department of Motor Vehicles. As stated in the DMV laws concerning bicyclists, they must “obey all traffic signals and stop signs,” “should ride single file on a busy or narrow street,” and “must signal all their intentions to motorists and bicyclists near them.” There are times on the weekends when Coast Highway, Glenneyre or Laguna Canyon looks like a part of the Tour de France. These cyclists choose to ride three to four wide, pass and jockey for position, and disregard the traffic laws applicable to them.
I hope that the controversy started over a few downhill skaters will be an encouragement to Laguna Beach law enforcement to ticket bicyclists who choose to put themselves and motorists in danger by disregarding the DMV laws applicable to them.
Bill Deline, Laguna Beach
What makes Pearson and Iseman smarter than the PTC? The PTC are proven traffic experts specializing in Laguna Beach. They crunched the numbers and came up with regulations that fit the bill for this issue. They are not going to keep all skateboarders safe, just like all the traffic lights, stop signs, lighted crosswalks etc., do not keep every pedestrian safe.
I personally was at a closed meeting with Councilman Boyd, VERY bright members of the PTC and SNAG members. PTC members and Mr. Boyd vehemently expressed to SNAG that their war against skateboarders was wasted energy. They recommended that SNAG put their money and efforts towards fighting drunk drivers and child molesters if they wanted to do something good for the community. SNAG refused to listen… Choose “Board over Bored”!!!