Editor:
Yikes, bikes! There are three very dangerous spots along the beach that are dangerous to pedestrians.
1. The Venice Boardwalk is a freeway with bikes, three-wheel electric bikes, Segways, skateboards and skates. One old lady was run down by a bike and killed. I've seen another woman bowled over by a skateboard and a small dog was hit by a bike. A woman who had a clothing store was run down by an electric three-wheel bike and broke her hip. I've seen numerous near misses of children. There is no enforcement and the old signs are nearly illegible.
2. The turn off for bikes and the walkway at Bay Street next to the Casa del Mar used to have large no bicycle signs, but they disappeared during construction a few years ago. On a busy day, hundreds of bikes zoom by on the walkway. Could it be all the bike rentals got our tourist-dollar hungry city to forget pedestrians?
3. A few blocks north of the Santa Monica Pier, the walkway suddenly ends and pedestrians have to continue on the bike path. This is dangerous for both bikes and walkers. Maybe the rich homeowners there don't want people walking by their mansions? Please continue the walkway at least to the Annenberg Beach House, or Getty Villa.
These vehicles can be deadly to pedestrians, children and dogs. Our city has spent a gazillion bucks on new signs at the beach to redirect pedestrians away from the bike path, but not one new no bicycle sign. Your newspaper and our money-mad city is in love with bikes and tourism dollars. The bike rentals need to direct their patrons onto the bike path and explain the laws to the tourists from all over the world. The police can make the city rich in one day by ticketing all the vehicles on the boardwalk!
Martin Sampson
Santa Monica
