Close encounters with out-of-control or obnoxiously loud pedicabs on the waterfront promenade opposite San Diego Bay, which some people have argued is a routine occurrence that regularly threatens the safety of tourists and locals alike, should soon be a thing of the past.
Tuesday, Port of San Diego Commissioners unanimously approved a new law that bans all forms of motorized transportation — pedicabs, e-bikes, rented or personal scooters — from pedestrian walkways, parks and piers along San Diego Bay, with exceptions for ADA devices and Segway tours. Commissioner Michael Zucchet was absent.
The approved ordinance, which goes into effect on Dec. 14, is less severe than a previously proposed version and creates room for pedal-only pedicabs to traverse limited portions of the high-traffic Embarcadero boardwalk.
“We have to regulate, that’s just all there is to it,” Commissioner Frank Urtasun said. “There is an abuse of the system and we can’t just turn a blind eye to that. We’re going to have to move forward with some sort of regulation here to make sure that it’s safe not only for the people (who) are riding but the people (who) are walking the sidewalks.”
The San Diego Unified Port District spans 34 miles of tidelands with bayfront territory in five member cities: San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and Coronado. The agency’s motorized mobility device regulations, as they’re called, apply to pedestrian areas including parking garages across district tidelands, but the popular waterfront boardwalk between West Laurel Street and the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel is the most impacted region.
While the new regulations also apply to all motorized vehicles, the port, citing safety concerns, has crafted a pedicab-specific program to address complaints and manage compliance.
“The main issues from the public and tenants are pedestrian safety around motorized pedicabs and other mobility devices, loud music from pedicabs, customer complaints regarding confusing and excessive rates, and access to and from businesses that are often blocked by pedicabs,” Kristine Love, who manages parking for the port, told commissioners.
Under the new system, a pedicab operator will be required to have an active permit with the city of San Diego or another member city, enter into an annual operating agreement with the port, post rates inside and outside of vehicles, and pay an annual fee starting at $183 per pedicab in the first year. Pedicabs are also prohibited from playing amplified music.
The annual fee partially offsets the port’s annual cost to ister the pedicab program. The charge should cover 25 percent of $183,000 in anticipated expenses, assuming the participation of all 250 pedicabs permitted to operate in the city of San Diego.
The agency says it will take an education-first approach to enforcement. However, those who flout the law may be subject to a penalty up to $5,000.
The approved law, unlike past draft iterations, does carve out some sidewalk areas where pedal-only pedicabs are permitted. The non-motorized vehicle type can, for instance, ride legally on the boardwalk north of Seaport Village to the B Street Pier and south of Seaport Village to the Hilton Bayfront. The port also maintains that all pedicabs can use streets, surface parking lots and bike lanes to traverse the entirety of the Embarcadero, and has prepared maps to assist operators.
“Through a combination of streets, parking lots, promenades and pathways there is a path for both pedal-only pedicabs and motorized pedicabs to navigate from the Coast Guard Station on the north end of Harbor Drive to the Hilton Bayfront Hotel on the south end,” the staff report prepared for Tuesday’s board meeting states.
Pedicab drivers objected to the changes, which they say will affect their livelihoods and hamper people’s enjoyment of the water. Some described themselves as entertainment providers and pushed back against claims that their presence on the boardwalk is a safety hazard. Others took umbrage to the fact that the rules don’t apply to Segway tour operators. And company operators said they cannot legally enforce behavioral requirements on the independent contractors who drive their vehicles.
“We are not transportation … . We are entertainment. We improve San Diego (tourism) and show (tourists) around,” said Riza Korkusuz, a pedicab driver. “All the cabs, all the Uber drivers, all the Lyft drivers going to (the) Shell, going to (the) Hyatt, going to (the) Marriott, they create more traffic. (The port) allows them. We are green energy.”
The new rules were applauded by waterfront hotel and venue operators, who spoke about their experiences observing wrong-way drivers or near-miss incidents between pedicabs and children.
“We cannot welcome guests from around the world if we cannot promise safety and well-being,” said Maria Pelayo, an executive with the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego. “Earlier this year, I personally witnessed an incident in which a motorized vehicle drove onto the sidewalk. The speed in which he was driving was not only inappropriate, but it was also unsafe. Around the corner … there was a mother with her child … . If the mother had not pulled her young child toward her, the pedicab would have hit him and then we would have witnessed an awful accident.”
The newly adopted ordinance expands the scope of the port’s existing but rarely enforced policy, which already prohibits pretty much anything with wheels on the Embarcadero boardwalk area near Seaport Village. In 2018, the city of San Diego, a close neighbor to the port district, banned pedicabs from riding on downtown sidewalks and operating near Petco Park for three hours before and after games.
