The Lompoc City Council has many things to consider throughout the year; some are very important like improving Police Department staffing to address crime prevention or how to clean up the city.
On Sept. 6 the council held a public hearing to determine if they should change the municipal code to allow the riding of bicycles on city sidewalks. Other important matters could wait.
When I was a kid so many decades ago, I had a bike; it was my pride and joy until the stickers on the weeds that were prevalent in the San Fernando Valley claimed the tires’ inner tubes and I didn’t have enough money to keep up with repairing and replacing them.
In those days there were very few improved sidewalks where I lived, no designated bike paths, hardly any adults riding bikes, and you rarely saw bikes on the streets.
Today it’s much different; bicycles, e-bikes, skateboards, and motorized wheelchairs are means of transportation for many. Skateboards have wheels, they travel fast, and they are allowed on sidewalks, and so are motorized wheelchairs.
But skateboards and motorized wheelchairs are not the same as bicycles in one important way; the city attorney noted in his staff report that: “The California Vehicle Code (CVC) contains the state laws that specify where and how bicycles must operate. For the most part, bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicle drivers.”
These rules were developed as bicycle riding on public streets for recreation became more popular and there was a need to establish “rules of the road” for riders. For example, bicycles must stop at stop signs and signal their intent to turn — some riders do, and some don’t.
The city attorney went on to say, “Individual cities and counties control whether bicyclists may ride on sidewalks.” The city currently prohibits bikes on sidewalks.
When I was stationed in Europe in the 1960s and ’70s bicycles were a primary mode of transportation. They had been since before World War II and the transportation corridors were designed to separate bikes from people and cars. A bell was required on every bike, and people would ring the bell when approaching a pedestrian to warn them they were going to pass when the route was shared.
Lights, front and rear, are required, but bells or any other audible device is not required in the United States, and although some riders will warn you when they approach from behind to pass, many don’t.
The Lompoc City Council recently approved a plan to improve the main transportation corridors of H Street and Ocean Avenue to allow sharing of the sidewalk for both pedestrians and bikes. This would only be after a lengthy CALTRANS project is completed to reconfigure and repair the existing sidewalks with lane markings, directional and traffic safety signs, and remove obstacles (such as tree limbs) from the route of travel.
Many pass-thru riders travel H Street on their way to Santa Maria, Goleta and beyond because they didn’t know other, safer through-routes exist. Sure, the designated bike path map is somewhere on the city’s website, but who is going to look at that while avoiding traffic on busy H or Ocean.
Another recent factor is: “The growing popularity of electronic bikes (e-bikes) is also a concern. They are faster and quieter than regular bikes.” The city attorney noted that “Allowing bicycle riding on sidewalks would also allow e-bikes on sidewalks, enhancing the dangers cited above to pedestrians and motorists.”
So, would it be a good idea to change the rule to allow bikes on sidewalks? A better, cheaper and simpler solution than allowing biking along H Street and Ocean Avenue would have been to add directional signage at various spots along the two roads showing bikers where the nearest, safer, and already established bike routes are.
These allow safer travels for the biker and for other users of the right-of-way infrastructure. Councilman Victor Vega was looking for a “now solution,” and this sure sounds like one, but it wasn’t part of their discussions.
Councilwoman Gilda Cordova had a different opinion saying it “didn’t make much sense to throw bicyclists on the sidewalk and make it more chaotic.”
Considering that the city doesn’t have an appropriate level of General Fund revenue to maintain streets to a good condition as measured by the national standard Pavement Condition Index, I seriously doubt they would ever have enough funds to allow the safe use of sidewalks by bikes and pedestrians. Besides, CALTRANS has already begun the process of improving the main transportation corridors.
Sometimes it’s best just to leave things alone; and that’s what they did on a unanimous vote.
— Ron Fink, a Lompoc resident since 1975, is retired from the aerospace industry. He has been following Lompoc politics since 1992, and after serving for 23 years appointed to various Lompoc commissions, retired from public service. The opinions expressed are his own.
