Cracking down on surreys

A city crackdown on surreys, the fringed-topped, four-wheeled vehicles that are a common sight on Newport’s Oceanfront Walk, has brought business to a screeching halt for local bike shops who depend on revenue from renting the crafts.

“I rent them to families, people from Europe, France, Spain, all sorts of people,” said Dale Head, who has owned Easyride Bicycle Rental and Sales since 2003. “This is going to drive two businesses into bankruptcy.”

Newport Beach has had an ordinance on the books barring surreys from the Oceanfront Walk since 1997, but it was never enforced. An informal committee of residents led by Councilman Mike Henn has lobbied in recent months to increase safety along the three-mile path, which snakes along the beach from E Street to 36th Street.

Bike shop owners have known there was a city ban on using surreys on the boardwalk for years, Henn said.

“There is an ordinance on the books and the citizens have a right to expect the city’s ordinance will be enforced — now all we’re doing is following through with the existing ordinance,” Henn said.

Head estimates that surrey rentals make up 30% to 50% of his business at his shop not far from the Balboa Pier.

He used to tell people who came in to rent surreys there was a city ordinance that banned riding the four-wheeled vehicles on the boardwalk, but it hadn’t been enforced in years. Now he has to tell prospective customers they risk getting a ticket.

“Most people walk away when I tell them that,” Head said.

Numerous residents have expressed concern about the safety of the large, hard-to-maneuver surreys on the boardwalk, Henn said. The crafts, some of which seat up to nine people, take up an entire traffic lane on the boardwalk and can cause accidents, he said.

The committee also has pushed for police to enforce speed limits on the boardwalk, and crackdown on skateboarders and motorized vehicles on the boardwalk.

The city crackdown on boardwalk safety wiped out Memorial Day weekend business at Debbie Rodgers’ Balboa Peninsula bike shop when officials chose the holiday to begin enforcing the surrey ban.

“We wait all winter for the revenue we get from Memorial Day. They’ve just chosen the worst time to do this, especially when the economy is so bad,” Rodgers said. “They’re not giving us the summer to have that extra revenue so we can work this out.”

City officials say they will reassess enforcing the surrey ban after the summer, but it might be too late for Rodgers, who has owned World Famous Balboa Bikes on East Balboa Boulevard for the past eight years.

“We want to work with the city, but we can’t wait for the end of the summer,” Rodgers said. “You might as well close the coffin in September.”

The bike shop is Rodgers’ only source of income, and she worries how she will keep the business afloat.

“Is there anyone out there who can help us?” she asked.

City officials have invited bike shop owners to be a part of the safety-enforcement committee, which will have another meeting later this month to discuss the issue, Henn said.

“I recognize there’s a potential impact to business owners, but I think the committee has taken a pretty reasonable view of things,” he said.