continued. “Just because somebody feels uncomfortable about the presence of somebody else, if there’s not a demonstrable public-safety record there, I don’t believe it’s appropriate to ban somebody’s access for something that’s legal to a public space.”
A handful of people spoke in favor of the ban, including several senior citizens, arguing the public walkway is safer with only pedestrians. Some residents also worried that City Hall would make itself vulnerable to added lawsuits by legalizing skating on the Promenade.
“It’s the police department’s opinion that because of the intense number of people that can be on the Promenade on foot — especially persons that are either young, elderly, disabled or tourists that really have this wide-eyed look about them, it’s almost like Disneyland’s Main Street — that those people, even though the in-line skates are in fact attached to the people’s feet, are still a hazard,” said Santa Monica Police Department Sgt. Ira Rutan, who oversees patrols downtown and on the Promenade.
Rutan added accidents on the Promenade would be inevitable, even for skilled skaters. Since January of 2003, Rutan said his unit has issued 5,709 advisories to bikers, skateboarders and skaters on the Promenade, with an average of eight or nine warnings a day. Only 70 citations have been handed out, and four of them have been to in-line skaters, he added.
The proposal, which would have tested lifting the ban for a year, garnered support from Feinstein and City Councilwoman Pam O’Connor. Mayor Richard Bloom voted to keep the ban, as did City Councilmen Ken Genser, Bob Holbrook and Kevin McKeown. City Councilman Herb Katz was not present. Katz and McKeown had backed the concept at an earlier meeting, but McKeown said he changed his mind after hearing from numerous residents on the subject and, with Katz absent, the proposal failed by a vote of 4-2.
Last week’s meeting was the last for Feinstein, who, after eight years on the council, placed ninth this November among 14 candidates running for four open seats on the Santa Monica City Council. Three incumbents were re-elected, alongside challenger Bobby Shriver.
An emotional Feinstein spoke at length about his tenure on the Santa Monica City Council at the start of Tuesday’s meeting. Despite a difficult loss at the polls, Feinstein said he was excited to leave behind the responsibilities of the council and focus energy on himself. For at least six months, he’ll make few commitments, Feinstein added.
“We only grow personally when our freedom is expressed in a context,” said Feinstein, referring to a night after first being elected in 1996 when the responsibility of being a councilman hit him.
“The longer I stayed in office, I always tried to just do my job as well as I could, despite my personal biases, by saying, ‘What is the best thing for the community at large?’ and using that as my personal barometer,” Feinstein added. “I really, really, really am thankful for the honor and privilege to do this.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 29, 2004. Read the original PDF.