Redondo Beach About Town
Council comes down on Bird
Shared mobility devices, including Bird scooters and similar e-scooter and e-bike services, are now banned from the City of Redondo Beach following the approval of an urgency ordinance at Tuesday night’s Redondo Beach City Council meeting.
The ordinance, which took effect immediately after its unanimous approval, bars the devices from being left on public right-of-way or public property. The devices are also banned from being offered for use anywhere in the city.
A secondary ordinance, with the same language, was introduced for its first reading, and acts as a belt-and-suspenders approach to ensure the effectiveness of the ban. It will take effect 30 days after its second reading.
Bird introduced a “pop-up” for its scooters for three days in December, scattering 200 scooters in South Redondo, and offering up 30 minutes of use, free of charge. City Hall was not informed of the pop-up ahead of time. Residents and elected officials alike were incensed; at a Dec. 18 meeting, the City Council berated the company, saying that Bird “poisoned the well” for other companies.
Bird representatives present at the meeting were not expecting the pushback they received on social media, saying they had “never seen” such a negative reaction.
“Welcome to Redondo Beach,” quipped Councilman John Gran.
Bird sent letters to the City Council opposing the urgency ordinance, but their complaint fell on deaf ears. The Council approved both ordinances.
Healthy Minds workshop
at Main Library
The Beach Cities Health District, partnering with neurologists Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, will hold a workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at the Redondo Beach Main Library, 303 N. Pacific Coast Highway, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. discussing long-term brain health and ways to reduce dementia risk. The presentation will also discuss the Healthy Minds Initiative, a joint study between BCHD and the Sherzais that will explore the relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviors and brain health.
The workshop will also include a presentation by LA Found, an LA County initiative that provides voluntary systems of trackable bracelets for at-risk individuals with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or other cognitive impairments.
The workshop is free. For more information, visit bchd.org/healthyminds.