Year in Review 2022: Council puts brakes on greening of Hermosa Beach
by Kevin Cody During a party last month for Hermosa’s newly elected council members, a Strand resident complained to Police Chief Paul LeBaron that e-bikes riders speeding on The Strand aren’t being cited. “Not true,” another Strand resident who overheard the remark said. He complained he had recently been cited. E-bikes are perceived as both liberating (free parking, anywhere), and a menace (10-year-olds riding two to a bike, with no helmets, blowing through stop signs). Chief LeBaron acknowledges e-bikes, because of their speed, are more dangerous than pedal bikes. But during a December 13 report to the city council, he said data shows e-bikes to be less dangerous than popularly perceived. Of the 15 bike accidents reported through October of this year, only four involved e-bikes. None of the four resulted in serious injury, he said. Their growing popularity is evident from the fact that there are more Hermosa shops selling e-bikes than there are selling surfboards. To address e-bike problems, real and perceived, the city launched Bike Smart Hermosa in November. The campaign enlists three E’s to encourage bike safety– education, enforcement and engineering. If nothing else, the…
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