E-Bike Safety Community Town Hall: City of Irvine

 

E-Bike Safety Community Town Hall Saturday, November 22nd at 10:00 AM Location: Las Lomas Community Center

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

Join Congressman Dave Min and Councilmember Kathleen Treseder for a community discussion on E-Bike safety and how residents can stay safe while out in the community. With the increase in unsafe E-Bike behaviors, Congressman Dave Min and Councilmember Kathleen Treseder will be joined by representatives from the UC Irvine Police Department and the Irvine Police Department. Learn about local enforcement efforts happening in Irvine, hear safety tips, and get updates from Congressman Min on transportation safety initiatives at the federal level. 📩 For questions, contact: kathleentreseder@cityofirvine.org CLICK HERE TO RSVP

FUNDING FOR LB TRAFFIC SAFETY

In 2008 Laguna Beach  appointed a City Task Force to study and make recommendations to reduce congestion and improve traffic safety for Laguna Beach. Members of the Complete Streets Task Force consisted of LB residents and neighboring beach cities volunteers, we coordinated with the LB Planning Commission to find money and develop plans to adopt approve and implement COMPLETE STREETS POLICY for Laguna Beach. 

In 2012 The City responded  THERES NO MONEY FOR THAAAAAT.

In 2014 forward thinking city staff in San Clemente applied for, won grant money and won  a "Best in State" Award for their multi-modal street safety plan and adopted Complete Streets Policy. 

Today the LB PATCH declares "$168,000 Grant Awarded to the LBPD for Traffic SAFETY".  The LBPD grant will allow law enforcement to:

• DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on stopped suspected impaired drivers.
• High visibility distracted driving enforcement operations targeting drivers in violation of California's hands-free cell phone law.
• Enforcement operations focused on the most dangerous driver behaviors that put the safety of people biking or walking at risk.

The public remains under the illusion that congestion and traffic safety is an enforcement problem and grant money must be the means to improve traffic safety. Law enforcement grants do nothing to address the issue of mobility policy or road infrastructure. 

These measures correct motorist behavior, they do not  fund a multi-modal plan to improve traffic safety with new infrastructure (bike-lanes, pedestrian furniture, traffic calming). Grant funding for Complete Streets Policy is available if the City applies, instead this grant funds LBPD law enforcement. 

If the City of Laguna Beach Has No Money for Thaaaaat, then where does all our money go?  These charts show where Laguna's city budget compared other beach cities.

 

 

 -LS

New Law Youth eBike Sales Prohibited

New California eBike Legislation 

New California legislation prohibits the sale of Class 3 eBikes to individuals under the age of 16, a violation of this prohibition is punishable by a fine not to exceed $250. Signed by the California Governor and filed with the Secretary of State July 28 2025 the new law is presently in effect. 

eBike Classifications 

eBikes are bicycles with electric motors to assist the rider, they are separated into three classifications according to their operating capability like this:

• Class 1 eBike motors provide assistance only when the operator is pedaling, these bike motors are speed and assistance limited to 20mph.
• Class 2 eBike motors provide assistance whether the operator is pedaling or not, these bike motors are speed and assistance limited to 20 mph.
• Class 3 eBikes provide a speedometer and a motor that provide assistance when pedaling, these motors are speed and assistance limited to 28mph. 

eBike Safety 

AB 965 aligns the sale of eBikes with the permitted age of use for young operators and critically protects our youth under the age of 16. The measure is a safety-first fix by increasing parent involvement in making the purchase decision for their children's transportation choices and safety. 

 

"This new law will work in conjunction with other bills and regulations, attempting to curb accidents and injuries. According to data from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, children 14 years and younger accounted for 36% of “micromobility injuries” from 2017 to 2022." (see Assembly Woman Diane Dixon 72nd District 2025 Legislation TBD)

 

-LS 

PARKING AS A SOCIAL DEFECT

 

Click for Amazon Book

From the back cover:  

"Parking, quite literally, has a death grip on America: each year a shocking number of Americans kill one another over parking spots, and we routinely do ridiculous things for parking, contorting our professional, social, and financial lives to get a spot. Since the advent of the car, we have deformed our cities in a Sisyphean quest for car storage, and as a result, much of the nation's most valuable real estate is now devoted to empty vehicles.  Parking determines the design of new buildings and the fate of old ones, traffic patterns and the viability of transit, neighborhood politics and municipal finance, and the overall quality of public space. Is this really the best use of our finite resources? Is parking really more important than everything else?"

 Several points bear repeating for Laguna Beach: 

• we have deformed our town for the incessantly reoccurring quest for car storage.
•  our town's most valuable real estate is devoted to empty vehicles
• parking determines the fate of old buildings
• parking determines the design of new buildings
• parking determines municipal finance
• parking determines the overall quality of public space 

 Should parking be the best use of our finite resources? 

Is parking more important than everything else?  

 

 

-LS 

 

 

EXCLUSIVE: LAGUNA BEACH AFFORDABLE HOUSING POLICY

BEFORE POLICY

 

 

 

 

AFTER POLICY

 

 

 

FINISHED UPGRADES FOR 7-TENTS
 

 

 

 FEATURES

• 7-units with shared Vestibule
• Shared amenities 
• Asphalt flooring 
• Walk to downtown
• Senior Center Suzi-Q EZ access 
• Whole Foods and Banking Services
• Car-free living in Laguna Beach  

RIP an Opportunity Squandered

-LS

Distracted Motorists Wake-up Call

 

 G I V E   A   S I G N A L!!!

 

 

eBike Road Safety Course June 7

Join us for e-Bike Road Safety Training at the old Christmas tree parking lot, that's City Parking Lot-10 on June 7 by appointment only. To make your appointment contact Park Ranger Kirk-Johnson at jkirk-johnson@lagunabeachcity.net

 

 -LS

LB GENERAL PLAN NON-COMPLIANCE

During the Laguna Beach City Budget Workshop held 13 May 2025 a whole presentation slide was devoted to the LB General Plan with the admission the Plan needs updating for decades but remains in a neglected catatonic state.  The LB General Plan contains city policy guidelines presented in 10-volumes or Elements, it is our State mandate and resident contract to achieve community goals by following the guidelines therein.

Our City General Plan is wholly out of date and inconsistent between plan Elements, it has arrived in this state because our city does not follow policy mandates from the State Legislature. Here's an example concerning our city mobility plan:

• Our Land Use Element was last amended April 12 2022 
• Our Circulation Element written in 1974 was last updated in 1999 - 26 years ago

 

 The corresponding sections from California Legislature Statutes follow below and are easily verified:

Article 5 Section 65089.6   says a Congestion Management Plan CMP may draw State legal action if not followed.

Article 5 Section 65300.5  says the Legislature intends the General Plan and parts thereof are an internally consistent and integrated statement of policies for CLB.

Article 5 Section 65302  says the Land Use Element shall receive annual updates, particularly in areas subjected to flooding. It also says the Land Use Element shall be correlated with the Circulation Element for consistency, therefore both require annual updates. If inconsistent, the GP is non-compliant.

Article 5 Section 65302 (2)(A) says (what Complete Streets Policy says) beginning January 2011 upon revision of the Circulation Element, the legislative body (City Attorney) shall plan for a balanced, multi-modal transportation network that meets the needs of all roadway users.

From these examples the City fails compliance with their LB General Plan in several ways:

1. No annual reviews of all Elements
2. Consistency between Elements
3. Persistent neglect of major Elements to hide noncompliance
4. Failed to meet compliance deadline dates

In the May16 LB City Council meeting the City introduced Safe Streets Laguna to address vehicle collision injuries and fatalities. The Legislature says we should do the following:

• Incorporate the Federal Highway Administration’s Safe System Approach
• Develop bicycle plans, pedestrian plans, and traffic calming plans
• Identify bicycle corridors
• Eliminate fatalities
• Address all micro-mobility devices street users enjoy
• Set goals for initiation and completion of all actions identified in the plans within 25 years of the date of adoption of the modified circulation element

You can take Laguna's persistent issues like parking, traffic, undergrounding, promenades, budgets and trace the origins back to non-compliance with the State mandates. 

Example #1:  the General Plan speaks to a Laguna mobility system that diminishes the use of automobiles.  The 13 June 2023 LB Agenda, "Parking and Transportation Demand Management Report" contains a proposal for 11-parking structures. The GP policy and plans are incompatible.

 

Example #2  What are the goals of a promenade, WHY build one? Experimental parkletts were installed without defining project requirements,  Promenade IV was designed before  hydrology engineering was performed. 

 

Build-up and tear-down is no way to implement General Plan policy. Getting our policy guidelines in order will identify project goals and insure everyone pulls in the same direction to meet those project goals.

The Laguna Beach Vision 2030 Strategic Plan cautioned:

   "If you don't know where you are going, you'll end-up somewhere else."

 

 -LS

Laguna's Park Avenue Two-Wheel Hazard

In wet or damp weather that black paint-strip is slick-as-snot - a technical term for a slippery road condition for road cyclists, e-bikers and motorcyclists.

 

On a damp day or when raining that black paint may "take you down" - another term for crashing. On descending Park Avenue this line crosses the driving lane in a curve right when you need your brakes to slow down . LB Public Works has been notified, until this condition is repaired, riding in the bike-lane is your safest route on Park Ave.  

UPDATE:   May 12 2025 The contractor in direction from LB Public Works have returned to this location and added an aggregate coating to improve traction in wet weather improving 2-wheel safety.

Thank You LB Public Works ! 

 

-LS

RIDE FREE METROLINK ARROW 22 April 2025

Ride Metrolink FREE on Tuesday 22 April 2025

 For details, promotions see their info page. 

 

 

LB Forest Promenade: a MYSTERY in HISTORY

Why build a Promenade  in the middle of iconic downtown Laguna Beach when:

• You don't know what problems it solves
•  
•  You don't know why you built it or its cost
•  
• You don't know when it is finished
•  
• You don't let Residents vote on it.
  

Here's a ride through local history to show how the Pedestrian Zone originated and the City collaborative projects that attempted to un-pave a parking-lot.

 

 PARK (ING)-DAY

September 17 2010 the City of Laguna Beach hosted PARK (ING)-DAY (YouTube video) to demonstrate how to de-pave a parking-lot. Organized by Transition Laguna the city and community closed lower Forest Avenue to car traffic for a pedestrian only experience to demonstrate the value of Community Space over Parking Space. 

 PARKLETT I

 November 2017 the Laguna Beach Beautification Council coordinating with the City of Laguna Beach installed a Parklett on lower Laguna Avenue to demonstrate the de-paving concept. Council members are L-R Lorene Laguna, Dora Orgill, Leah Vasquez, Ellen DeGeneres.

 

PROMENADE I

 In 2018 the Laguna Beach City Council approved the first downtown Pedestrians Zone  on lower Forest Avenue naming the intervention the Forest Promenade.

PROMENADE II

September 2022  the Promenade received an upgrade in furniture and an extensive expansion in scope, from South Coast Highway to Glenneyre. The location redecorated for the fall holidays.

PROMENADE III

 2024  The furniture is replaced again, better decking installed with curb transitions to prevent falls by pedestrians.

 

 

PROMENADE IV 

2023

Consultant have provided elevation and plan views of lower Forest Avenue for the latest concept in pastel colors for Promenade IV.  Plan views from Consultants SWA are TBD.

 

 

 Here are the latest plans for Promenade IV from Laguna Beach SWA Consultants, DKS traffic study and Arborists DUDEK.

Item 5.4 Staff Report
Attachment 1 - Resolution No. 25-0319
Attachment 2 - Application
Attachment 3 - Plans
Attachment 4 - Traffic and Parking Report
Attachment 5 - Arborist Report
Late Public Comments

 

-LS