San Diego

Coronado Declares Dockless Bikes, Scooters Public Nuisance

You’ve seen those bright green and yellow bikes you can rent and leave where ever you want.

The so-called "dockless" bikes have become more popular, and troublesome, in places across the county. The Coronado City Council declared dockless scooters and bikes a public nuisance at a meeting Tuesday night.

Dockless ride companies aren't even permitted in the city, but because you can ride and drop them off anywhere, they make their way to the island.

City leaders went out and took pictures of unattended bikes and found 48 on Monday alone.

On Tuesday the City Manager shared enforcement plans for how police will tag bikes in the public right-of-way with notices to remove property. If they’re not removed within two hours, the public services division will impound them and possibly slap the company with fines upwards of $100 per bike.

Some residents are concerned if that's a good use of police resources.

“We have service officers,” police captain Laszlo Waczek said. “They do parking enforcement and animal control, primarily. They'll be doing most of the warning notices.”

It’s not the concept of transportation rental that Coronadoans are fed up with, it’s that the bikes and scooters are being left like litter on protective beaches, left on lawns and left blocking parking spaces.

“If you need a bike rent a bike. It might be $3 difference but it's going to a business, a local business in Coronado and helping us pay our taxes,” one meeting attendee said.

Two managers from OFO, the company behind those bright yellow bikes you see around town, addressed the council and said paper warnings on the bikes would make compliance difficult.

Instead, they suggested a notice via email or a phone call.

OFO said it would work with the ferry company to put the brakes on bikes coming from San Diego to Coronado, and said it is willing to work with both San Diego and Coronado to try and mitigate the problem.

The company released a statement Wednesday from Katie Stevens, head of public policy, about the issue.

"At OFO, we strive to empower 'anyone, anywhere' with access to sustainable, convenient and affordable transportation options. We know that the dockless bike share model succeeds when there is close partnership and open dialogue with cities," Stevens said. "We appreciate the City of Coronado's concerns and have already suggested ways in which we can more closely collaborate without requiring the use of public resources. We look forward to continuing to work together."

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