WELL THE END OF SUMMER IS HERE and I’m about to take off for my first jet skiing trip to the Colorado River. It will be three days of manly men eating like the cheeseburglar, burning fossil fuels and being free of my cell phone. For three days we will be tourists in the state of Arizona. We’ll do touristy things like go to an Indian casino, buy a tank top, see the London Bridge and generally escape the pressures of regular life. I like being a tourist, I prefer it when I can be a good tourist because my hosts have made it easy for me to fit in.
I love being on the road, I love traveling and I love other travelers, I enjoy striking up conversations with tourists from around the world who flock to the wonderful southern California weather and attractions. I enjoy sharing my knowledge of the local scene with people who are looking for a fabulous Italian restaurant for really good pasta, or the local hole in the wall Thai restaurant.
It’s wonderful to share the wealth of our city with the world.
The good side of having tourists is that they bring with them additional wealth to pour into our businesses, and that keeps the local economy running along nicely. Think of how many bike rental shops, restaurants, gift shops and clothing stores are kept alive by the constant stream of Germans, Japanese and Kiwis, and you’ll realize how important it is for us to be good hosts.
Part of being a good host however is gently letting your guests know the rules of your home. This is something that we don’t necessarily do so well, and by “we”I mean the City Council.
We have a problem with the tourists in this city, not with anything major, but with a consistently present problem that no one seems to want to address.
Now we’ve done a good job of letting the Germans know that they cannot smoke their cigarettes in the parks, and we’ve kept the French and Spanish women from going topless on the beach, but there is one topic that we have failed miserably at informing our international guests about.
It is the fact that the bike path, is to be used by people on wheels.
On the one hand I could fault the numerous tourists and get angry at them every time they block my way on the bike path. I could yell and scream at them, I could buy an airhorn and scare the bejeezus out of some French frolicker, but that doesn’t really do any good, and just makes me look like an ass.
The problem is that with all of the educational campaigns we have in this city, and all the controversy over “saving the trees” or “protecting the homeless” and “eradicate the homeless” we don’t deal with the issues that are front and center each and every day and are causing people to be sent to emergency rooms and opening the city up to lawsuits.
Almost every time that I am on the bike path, during the day, I nearly run someone over, get knocked off of my bike, have to make a short stop, all because of people who are walking on the bike path. I understand that people want to walk along the beach. That’s why we have a boardwalk.
There are two, mostly separate, solid surfaces for people to use. The one is for people to walk on, and the other is for people to ride on.
I probably wouldn’t mind as much, if there was equal enforcement of the laws. But there isn’t. The police in our fair burg are very diligent about enforcing the no bikes on the boardwalk ordinances, which means that I can be assured if I ride when I am not supposed to, I will be paying a hefty fine.I’m okay with that.
What I’m not okay with, is that the law also states that the bike path is for bikes and that pedestrians are prohibited. That law is not enforced. At all. Ever.
If the Chief of Police can produce one, just one, ticket that was issued to anyone this summer for walking on the bike path, I’ll give away 200 donuts. The ticket must have been issued prior to this article being published.
I have lots of friends in this town, and most of them have a story about being on the bike path and the dangers that are present when people are walking on it. Our City Council should actually ride a bike on the path and see how dangerous it is. Rather than argue about the wisdom of replacing trees, with trees, they should actually do something valuable.
We need to inform our guests that walking on the bike path is prohibited, and dangerous. It’s part of being a good host and helping our guests to fit in.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 21, 2007. Read the original PDF.