Downtown Ventura ban on bikes, skateboards starts Wednesday

Wes Woods II, Ventura County Star
·1 min read
A man rides a skateboard through Main Street in downtown Ventura on June 21. Skateboards and bikes will no longer be allowed on Main Street starting Wednesday, July 26, 2023.
A man rides a skateboard through Main Street in downtown Ventura on June 21. Skateboards and bikes will no longer be allowed on Main Street starting Wednesday, July 26, 2023.

Skateboards, bicycles, e-bikes and scooters will no longer be allowed in a five-block area of downtown Ventura starting Wednesday as a ban approved by the City Council last month takes effect.

Where?

The change centers on Main Street Moves, the pedestrian-friendly program on Main Street that started during the pandemic.

The automobile-free zone stretches from San Buenaventura Mission to Fir Street. One block of South California Street, between Main and Santa Clara streets, is also closed to vehicles.

To remind riders of the new rules, the Ventura Police Department and nonprofit Downtown Ventura Partners have installed signs that say: "Pedestrian Area Walk Your Wheels."

Why?

As various forms of wheeled transportation have increased in popularity, so has concern for public safety due to "high-speed riding in the area," police Chief Darin Schindler said in a statement.

“While we still want the public to enjoy riding, we ask that riders dismount in downtown Ventura's Main Street Moves area," Schindler said.

Since January 2023, Ventura police officers have responded to more than 50 incidents involving bikes in the Main Street Moves area, officials said, including more than a dozen collisions. The department has also received dozens of calls reporting bicycle-related accidents and disturbances.

What happens to rule-breakers?

Violators will receive a warning from police on their first offense.

Subsequent offenses will be considered an infraction, which could result in a ticket costing between $100 to $500 for repeated offenses.

Some uses exempt

The ordinance will not apply to wheelchair users, children riding tricycles, people with disabilities or anything with the primary purpose of transporting children.

To read the ordinance, which was adopted June 26, or for more information about Main Street Moves, visit CityofVentura.ca.gov/MSM.

A man on a bicycle passes through Main Street in downtown Ventura on June 21.
A man on a bicycle passes through Main Street in downtown Ventura on June 21.

Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Downtown Ventura ban on bicycles, e-bikes, skateboards begins