By David Stoughton Santa Monica
The front page of the July 8 edition of the Santa Monica Daily Press features a photograph of a man on a Segway — that cool two-wheeled motorized vehicle one sees on Santa Monica sidewalks (where bicycles are prohibited) scattering pedestrians at its somewhat menacing 10 mph speed — leading a group of five other Segway riders along the beach bike path. The caption reads: “Jason Stemmler, tour guide and instructor for Segway Los Angeles, leads a group of visitors on a tour from Santa Monica Beach to Venice Beach and back.”
From the perspective of somebody like me who actually uses the bike path for, of all things, riding a bicycle, people like Mr. Stemmler and his students are a real pain in the rear tire. Not only that, Segways, motorized bicycles, motorized scooters, motorized anything on the beach bike path are prohibited by the Santa Monica municipal code, which states, in pertinent part: “3.12.560 Prohibited vehicles in the area where bicycle riding is permitted by section 3.12.550, no vehicle of any type shall be permitted except unicycles, bicycles, bicycles with training wheels, wheelchairs, and single-person tricycles operated by a person 18 years of age or older.”
This ordinance, along with other regulations, is posted at numerous locations along the beach.
I’ve witnessed SMPD beach patrol officers enforce this ordinance against various scofflaws driving motorized vehicles on the bike path. Evidently Mr. Stemmler and his students have thus far escaped their notice. Perhaps someday soon they won’t.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 19, 2005. Read the original PDF.