••• This e-bike madness has gone on too long, and it might even be getting worse. I don’t mean on the State Street Promenade, although obviously that’s a problem, but on streets throughout the city. Young riders are consistently in traffic lanes where they have no business being. Why is society allowing children to drive motorized vehicles in the streets with no training? And is there any enforcement by the SBPD? (Side note: I’m consistently amazed at what a minimal street presence the police have in this city.) Does someone have to die before anything changes? Given that the city and state are unlikely to institute licensing, the burden falls on parents. If you’re not sure what that means, try following E.’s lead: “I gave my kid the DMV manual—had her study it for two weeks with me grilling her and then made her take all of the online practice tests. I also made her pay for her bike and if she’s ever seen without a helmet or on her phone, it’s gone!” Of course, this might entail having to tell your child no. P.S. Perhaps realizing that a left turn at this intersection was a bad idea, these two ran the light and continued on the sidewalk.
••• Through November 3 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art: “all works by [Robert] Rauschenberg in the Museum’s collection, including two ca. 1950 photographs, most of which are on view for the first time, including the monumental 1968 three-part ‘Autobiography.'” Below: “For Ferraro” from 1992.
••• Westlake Village’s Conejo Hardwoods is opening a showroom at 824 E. Haley Street, According to yesterday’s Architectural Board of Review consent agenda.
••• The merchants of E. De La Guerra Street are holding an open house today (Tuesday, July 9) from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.: “Eight participating merchants will have special offers and discounts on merchandise, services and experiences. The fun starts with a complimentary yoga class at 4pm in the Casa de la Guerra courtyard sponsored by Sol Seek Yoga. Cold beverages and wine will be available and customers are eligible to win fabulous prizes by visiting a minimum of five businesses which will be tracked by a passport. The participating businesses are Lovebird Boutique, Jamie Slone Wines, Longoria Wines, Bluemercury, Casa de la Guerra, The Space, Sol Seek Yoga, and the Santa Barbara Historical Museum.”
••• The Santa Barbara Cigar & Tobacco shop at 10 W. Figueroa Street has closed.
••• Press release: “Caltrans has re-opened one lane of Hwy. 154 between San Antonio Creek Road and Painted Cave Road following repairs to pavement cracking discovered on June 21 during an ongoing emergency slip-out repair project. Travelers will encounter one-way reversing traffic control via a 24-hour traffic signal installed near San Antonio Creek Road and Painted Cave Road.”
••• Vintage fans will want to check out Favorites, a new shop at the corner of State and Figueroa. The merch tends to be from the early 2000s and older, with some more recent stuff mixed in.
••• The signs about a closure of E. Mountain Drive through mid-November are indeed for the bridge replacement at Cold Spring Creek. You can still access the Cold Spring trailheads, at least from the east side.
••• The county’s Planning and Development department sent the Rosewood Miramar Beach a letter insisting on more information regarding its proposed expansion. The letter is long (and I didn’t include all of it), but a lot of people are invested in the matter, so here you go…. P.S. I look forward to the response requesting “information on how the shops are consistent with the following use: ‘Light commercial uses (i.e., barber and beauty shops, gift shops, restaurants, etc.) normally associated with the needs of visitors, provided such commercial activities are so designed and limited as to be incidental and directly oriented to the needs of visitors and do not substantially change the character of the resort/visitor-serving facility.'” When the resort has 20-plus shops, the pretense that they’re for the needs of hotel guests gets awfully hard to maintain. It’s a mall, babe.
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As a lifelong cyclist, and someone who has seen up close and personal what a car can do to someone on a bike, I seriously cringe every time I see a kid on an e-bike riding dangerously or with no helmet on. Even worse – the “helmet on, but not clipped” and “helmet hanging from my handlebars” look seems to be catching on. Someone needs to come up with the e-bike version of Red Asphalt and start showing it to kids. Alternately – the police need to start ticketing these kids. A moving violation on a bicycle is just as valid as one in a car, and can put points against a drivers license or a future one. Maybe the threat of not being able to drive a car would talk some sense into these kids. Ahhhh to be young and feel invincible…
I’m perplexed why local government leaders and the police seem to show little interest in these children and their parents. I’d like to see action before terrible accidents happen.
I used to ride a regular bike every day here in Santa Barbara. Unfortunately I had too many near collisions with people passing me on the right on e-bikes (with no warning, and coming up at high speed). I got spooked and stopped riding. I miss it a lot and it was a big part of my life. Downtown, I definitely don’t feel safe walking in the “promenade.” We stick to the sidewalks. I think multiple kids will have to die before anything is done with regulating e-bikes and who rides them and where. There are dashcam videos that come up pretty frequently on Reddit from other SoCal communities like Irvine of kids blasting through red lights at massive intersections and nearly dying.
These are motorcycles. License them. And yes I am an avid motorcyclist and bicyclist. If is has a throttle its a moto.
Agree! Why does it matter if the motor is electric or gas?
I have a different take on these ebikes… the popularity of these bikes in recent years is something we should embrace as an alternative to our car-centric culture. I think it’s great that kids (and us adults!) are able to get around town on their own without relying on cars – hopefully it’s a habit that sticks into their adulthood. That said, I agree that cars and bikes do not mix. Education on the rules of the road can help, but what’s missing are additional Class IV protected bike lanes (e.g. Cota St.) and Class I bike paths (e.g. Modoc Rd.) that can serve as obvious alternatives to sharing the road. Clearly there’s demand for it and I think we can all agree the status quo isn’t ideal – I’d just hate for the solution to be to continue to prioritize cars over healthier and more sustainable alternatives.
Please be aware that there are different types of e-bikes. The problems are coming from the Class 3 ebikes that have throttles and they are indeed just like mopeds. Class 1 ebikes are pedal assist only: no pedal, no power. There are no throttles and they are great for getting in shape as the rider is always trying to minimize battery consumption. Class 1 ebikes should not be targeted by regulations that go after the class 3 throttle bikes that terrorize State St.
A few days back, I’m heading up Milpas. A kid on an ebikes, with 2 younger kids riding as passengers, rubs a red light, cuts me off and proceeds to zig and zag in traffic. No helmets on any of them. Tried to get away from them but it was as if they were taunting drivers and trying to get in an accident. So infuriating.
One anwer fits all: Who is paying for the e-bikes? Who is enabling their minor children to buzz around on e-bikes? Who will be first in line to sue and demand action when their child is injured (or worse) in an accident involving an e-bike?
Frequently seen around town, especially State St and the Mesa: 3 young kids (mostly girls) on a Rad Bike hauling a… All 3 texting, including the driver. No enforcement. We need bike police, especially in those areas. Parents need to be held responsible with hefty fines. And throttle bikes should be included in the Class B license, or maybe a new class created. Incredibly dangerous are dares that take kids through red lights and stop signs when they don’t have the right of way. Not only deadly dangerous for the kids, but also very unfair and devastating to car drivers who may end up killing a child even when following all traffic rules.
I feel that class 3 e-bikes with throttles should be banned for minors and licensed for all others.
Unfortunately because of the proliferation of e-bikes which many are just e motorcycles in disguise HELMETS need to be mandatory for all bike riders just like motorcycles. Law enforcement does not have the time to differentiate whether the bike rider is 17 or 23
Bike riders, whether electrically motorized or not, need to exercise basic etiquette: pass only on the left, and call it out verbally or with a bell. These obnoxious children growing up in a generation that no longer have physical conflicts with peers are graced by Santa Barbara motorists, who while not perfect (I’m not either) are among the most polite I’ve ever experienced as a cyclist. Note that children under the age of twenty nine on ebikes do not have a developed frontal cortex. No manners, no ebike. Amusing how they all ride the same type of bike, with the same helmets, all unbuckled the same, all with one fist wrapped around the iPhone, and my experience is there is no separation across gender which are the more rude and self-indulgent. Don’t bother going to the parents to complain: the sociopathic child does not fall far from its tree. As for a solution, if the bike has a throttle, it should be licensed to someone a minimum twenty nine years of age. Separate subject, but, mountain bikers on Santa Barbara hiking trails, whether electrically motorized or not, whether adult or child, likewise lack basic frontal cortex function and etiquette. All motorized bikes should be prohibited from hiking trails in Santa Barbara County.
Here’s two incidents from yesterday morning. First was around 8am, I was driving down Anacapa, I turned right onto Gutierrez street where the right lane was coned off for construction of that gawd-awful five story building. At least ten cars in front of me when suddenly a guy on a Rad bike flies by me in the coned off lane! He was in the lane with the construction workers! I thought, “aren’t traffic fines doubled in construction zones?” Where’s a cop when you need one? The second was a few hours later and I’m on Cabrillo heading to the harbor, before I got to State street two guys on motocross e-bikes pass me on the right and stop for the red light, both were wearing regular motocross helmets. The light turns green and they take off, I caught up with them after a block as the front guy slowed down. I’m passing him, he’s riding in the bike lane, and he pops a wheelie and continues to ride in the bike lane. (For a second I thought I could tap him with my truck since he did have a full motor cycle helmet on but of course I didn’t.) I will admit that I drifted into the bike lane for the remainder to the red light at Castillo. I put on my turn signal to turn right and they did not try to pass me, I think they got the message that I might be a little cray-cray. . . And it’s not just kids, I’ve had two encounters with old men on those big wheeled bikes as I walked on the sidewalk on Montecito street. I guess the bikes are too big to pass cars on the right so they take the sidewalk and come close to hitting me! Last, I own five bikes and one is a e-mountain bike. I hate it, don’t ride it and should sell it.
Frankly, I find the e-bike riders considerably less annoying than the traditional spandex-clad cyclists who have no qualms about riding 2+ wide in the road with cars, not obeying traffic rules or signals, and not using the designated bike lanes even when they exist. Up to this point, I’d wager that the vast majority of people killed or injured on a bicycle are riding a traditional bicycle not an e-bike.
It would be great if everybody would stop trying to control everybody else. If that’s something we just can’t do then perhaps it would be an equally good idea to start requiring physical driving tests for people who get into accidents and for people over a certain age. Vision, hearing, reflexes, and mental acuity are all affected by age.
I miss the old days when it was the spandex riders hogging the traffic lanes. But those days have been gone for five or six years, now replaced by yahoos on ebikes riding with no regard for their own safety and others. (And again this morning I saw a girl riding fast on lower State street with her helmet unfastened.) PS, Your posts here are full of assumptions and your opinion, I posted exactly what I saw in the space of just a few hours on Monday.
Erik: If you can see the film Taking Venice (it just ran at the SBIIF Riviera), it is an excellent adjunct to the Rauschenberg exhibit at SBMAA. It tells the story of the Venice Biennale in the early 1960’s where Rauschenberg first became an international name. It has all sorts of behind the scenes art world skullduggery and is a fascinating story
I agree about the kids on these bikes. I have run across this problem on Micheltorena where it crosses San Andres. It has been at times when kids were getting out of school and I was surprised to see so many young kids riding E bikes. They weren’t riding properly and I made sure to stay way back, so I did not hit or get hit by them.
It’s even worse on the bike paths—which should be dedicated to traditional bikes, walkers and joggers. I have regularly had to deal with e-bikes accelerating at 30+miles per hour while biking. Someone is going to be seriously harmed if these e-bikes continue to use bike paths with impunity.
I agree these bikes are a real safety problem and it’s not only kids, I know adults who regularly drive them at unsafe speeds.
It sounds an awful lot like a bunch of grumpy people yelling “get off my lawn!” in here.
Perhaps there are more impactful or pressing issues we can focus on?
The issue here is that I don’t want to kill someone’s child, which seems pretty urgent to me.
A reasonable concern to be sure, and one that I suspect we all agree with. Where opinions may differ is where the responsibility lies. The conversation here seems
limited to controlling and regulating the bikes. Anecdotally, my observation is that most injuries and deaths related to motor vehicles are actually the fault of the vehicle driver, not the pedestrian (or cyclist). So in my opinion it may be more effective to shift the conversation to the cars from the bikes. To be clear, I do not own a e-bike, I’m not a frequent cyclist, and I love driving pretty much everywhere. I do take it as my responsibility to operate my vehicle safely and I expect other drivers to do the same. Unfortunately, I frequently observe drivers who are either distracted, inattentive, or perhaps incompetent. It’s my opinion that these individuals present a much greater danger to everyone.
This is a ridiculous argument. Every person you ask in Santa Barbara will be able to give you eye-witness accounts of these children on bikes (electric or otherwise) doing things that are a hair away from tragedy, prevented only by attentive, defensive driving techniques. You’re right, distracted driving is a problem, but that’s not what’s going to kill these children.
I respectfully disagree that this is a ridiculous argument. I am simply suggesting that we focus on the people operating dangerous machinery as part of the solution. Everything mentioned that these “kids” are doing has always been the case. So what’s the solution, banning or further regulating bicycles? What is the expectation, a cop on every corner to chase down children (and others) who don’t follow the rules?
Agree with SBSL. While everyone should observe the rules of the road at all times, given the power imbalance between cars and bikes should an accident occur, whenever I’m driving a car, I adopt a much more defensive posture around bicyclists – the same as I would when driving past schools or playgrounds in case a child ran out into the street. And FWIW, the same logic applies on bike paths with bike/pedestrian interactions (e.g. there’s no place for wheelies or other out-of-control riding on the State St. promenade)
It all starts at home. Simply just another example of poor parenting. I say let them keep doing it. More spaces at the mall to park at. On the road recklessness does not entitle one to have impunity over the law. Everywhere these days it takes a fatality to push lawmakers to do something.
I agree with the part about parents needing to be both responsible and accountable for their children’s behavior. I’m sure that won’t prevent every single kid from behaving poorly, kids will be kids after all. I’m equally certain that it would noticeably and significantly improve safety for everyone.
While under no circumstances do I want anyone to be hurt or killed, it certainly does seem to have an impact on the behavior of most observers and survivors.
Put a throttle on it and everyone will be hooligan.