Long Beach police urges bikers to slow down

The Long Beach Police Department spends a lot of time urging motorists to slow down on city roads, but now officers are finding themselves doing the same for speeders on the Boardwalk.

Since the police can’t be everywhere at once, the department last week began placing large, yellow barriers along the bicycle lane so cyclists and in-line skaters must ease off the speed to get around them. The barriers are between the Lafayette and Laurelton Boardwalk entrances.

“We’re using them as a calming measure to slow people down,” police commissioner Ron Walsh said. “We were getting a ton of complaints about speed and unsafe conditions.”

The Long Beach Boardwalk is a hotspot for activity during the summer months and warmer weather, attracting all kinds of visitors, including those on skateboards, electric bikes and others who treat the bike lane as a racetrack. That has become a cause for concern for the Long Beach men and women in blue.

The city council lifted a ban on in-line skates on the Boardwalk last July after several years of discussions.

The council’s action came after Josh Janov — a 51-year-old who has skated since he was a kid — told the council he could see no good reason why skating wasn’t permitted on the Boardwalk, which already has a bike lane.

But those racing down the bike lane — especially when the Boardwalk is filled with people during the summer — can create a hazard. In fact, Walsh will go as far as to say the boardwalk is “really for slow cruising.”

The yellow barriers police installed each have a small, white sign stating, “The boardwalk is for slow cruising only.” These signs and barriers, Walsh added, are simply serving an “educational purpose” about the Boardwalk’s rules.

The barriers are accompanied by police “specials” — officers-in-training for a lack of a better description. They also often work many of Long Beach’s city events, like National Night Out.

The special officers are there to monitor bikers and give out tickets if necessary.

Rich Rothberg enjoys riding his bike, running — and, sometimes, walking — on the Boardwalk. But one recent Monday, he found two young kids on powered scooters, one wearing earbuds and speeding down the bike lane.

“I am definitely for anything that could help slow people down on the Boardwalk,” Rothberg said. “Anything they can do to help is good. But will it be enough?”

City spokesman John McNally said the city council has backed Walsh and his department’s efforts to address safety not only in the bike lane, but on the Boardwalk as a whole.

The barriers won’t be a permanent fixture on the Boardwalk, however. They are only up for the time being to get people used to the idea, Walsh said, and are “there so people have to slow to down to go around.”

He wants people to understand that even in the bike lane, “pedestrians always have the right of way.”

The department is currently discussing ideas for additional signage to be added the bike lanes to inform people of the speed limits.

“We have received a lot of compliments about the barriers so far,” Walsh said.