HUNTINGTON BEACH : Council May Allow Walked Bikes on Pier

For the first time in recent years, city officials may allow bicyclists to walk--but not ride--their two-wheelers on the pier.

The city staff is expected to recommend such a policy when a proposed ordinance returns to the City Council for final approval next month.

The new rule is aimed at helping bicycle owners who now have to park their vehicles and risk theft and loss if they wish to take a stroll on the pier.

Bikes have long been taboo on the pier, whether pushed or pedaled. An updated ordinance that went to the City Council last week would have continued that ban.

But Councilwoman Grace Winchell sidetracked the plan, arguing that bicyclists should feel secure and be able to accompany their bicycles as they walk on the $11.5-million concrete walkway.

She said the ordinance, as initially proposed, would hinder bicycling at a time when it should be encouraged.

Community Services Director Ron Hagan said he will probably go along with Winchell’s wishes and recommend that cyclists be allowed to push their bikes as they stroll the pier.

Hagan said Marine Safety officers want the total bicycle ban to continue. The officers argue that previously, bike riders had a tendency to walk their bikes about halfway, then ride the rest of the way, when they thought nobody was looking.

Hagan said there were four reports of pedestrians on the pier being struck and injured by bicyclists in the two-year period before the pier closed for repairs.

Hagan said an alternative to allowing bikes on the pier would be for the city to construct closed bicycle lockers, similar to airport luggage lockers. Rental fees would eventually recover the cost, he said, but the initial expense to the city might be a major obstacle, given the city’s recent budget woes.

Under the proposed ordinance, overhead casting by fishermen and cleaning of fish on benches, seats or the deck of the pier would also be banned.

Feeding wildlife would also be prohibited--not so much for animal safety, but for cleanliness.

The ordinance would authorize Hagan, who has authority to prohibit surfing, to also curtail fishing if conditions become dangerous.

What’s more, the proposed rules would allow the pier to reopen an hour earlier--at 5 a.m.--at the request of fishermen. The pier would continue to be closed at midnight to discourage vandals and for cleaning.

Other city ordinances already ban dogs, in-line skates and roller skates.