Sheldon:
Thanks for giving my letter all that space. And I appreciated the precise and detailed response from Jennifer Buckley, Senior Community Outreach Specialist (I marvel at the titles they conjure up in local government offices.)
It was part informative and part Orwellian details based on info provided by Parking and Mobility Program analyst Sergio Albarran.
In olden days they might have gone straight to the nitty gritty: Something like, “because we are deeply in the red as a result of huge loss of all that Main Street parking meter income, it was decided to try and retrieve some of those losses by extending parking meters.”
Thank you.
Ivor Davis
Breeze:
Grandma got run over by an E-bike
Last February grandma was run over by two girls on an E-bike while walking on the State Beach Recreational trail. Witnesses said the girls were “out of control” and traveling 10-15 MPH. Grandma was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. She sustained significant injuries.
E-bikes are relatively new. Current regulations are inadequate. Reasonable regulations are needed.
There are three classes of E-bikes. Class 1 and 2 go up to 20 MPH and Class three to 28 MPH.
There are four classes of bike lanes. Class 1 paths are exclusively for bicyclists and pedestrians and are away from main roads. The others are integrated with existing streets.
California defines E-bikes as a bicycle. The rules pertaining to E-bikes are similar to those regulating regular bicycles. A license or liability insurance is not required. E-bikes are heavier and faster than regular bicycles and are potentially more dangerous.
California Vehicle Code prohibits Class 3 E-bikes from Class 1 recreational trails. However, it provides an exception for local jurisdictions to allow this.
There are a myriad of different rules pertaining to E-bikes. Ventura has a municipal code that allows class 3 E-bikes to ride on class 1 recreational trails and they may go where regular bicycles can. E-bikes are allowed on the Promenade and the blocked off part of downtown Ventura. The Ventura County rules only allow Class 1 and 2 E-bikes on its class one trails like the Ojai Trail. The California State Park rules allow only class 1 E-bikes on the Class 1 San Buenaventura State Beach trail. The State of California allows class 1 and 2 E-bikes on class 1 trails such as the Rincon Trail.
These conflicting rules are a well kept secret and are largely not followed. Better and more widely known rules would create safer conditions for everyone.
Steve Blum
Editor:
Thank you for bringing this to attention (minors working in industrial plants). There were thirteen Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. that were discovered by the Dept of Labor and were employing minors.
This reminded me of the early 2000’s when the Koch Bros. created America for Prosperity and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), mainly for members of large corporations who sent Republican lobbyists to Congress trying to ‘bend the laws’ of our nation. ALEC’s members are corporations who control about 13 states’ legislatures.
During this time Animal Rights organizations had taken pictures inside a meat packing plant. Those state Republican legislatures passed laws that would make it a felony to take pictures in meat packing plants. Claiming that company patent secrets would be leaked when in fact they were worried that the pictures of how animals were slaughtered would outrage Americans.
I am encouraging Breeze readers to dig a little deeper into the corporations that continually break the laws. Find out which companies they are, what organizations and political parties they represent, and what organizations they are members of. And when you vote for your local, state, and national representatives, think hard on whether your choice will be representative of corporations or people.
Diane Garber
The only one who can tell you “you can’t win” is you and you don’t have to listen.
~ Jessica Ennis
