Scooters on the Coronado bridge

On November 12, Steve Paen saw a photo of two people riding Lime scooters on the Coronado Bridge; he wasn’t impressed; he’s seen this before.

“These riders were heading into Coronado,” he said.

Last month, Paen who works at McP’s Irish Pub on the island, saw a larger group of motorized scooters on the two mile long bridge.

“I wish I would’ve been able to snag a picture,” he said, “but I was just trying to abide by the ‘hands-free’ law while driving. On October 4 at around 10 as I was heading into work, I saw what looked like seven or eight kids riding Lime scooters down the Coronado Bridge in the slow lane and heading inbound to the island. They didn’t seem fazed at all with the cars whizzing by them. I can only imagine the max speed on those things is 15 mph, but put against me traveling at 55-60 mph: it’s not very safe for both the scooter gang and [us drivers] having to share the freeway.”

Paen added that the “teenagers” weren’t wearing helmets, mandatory in California for anyone operating motorized scooters under 18.

Michael, an avid scooter rider, saw the photos of the two Lime scooters on the bridge. “They [probably] got on from Cesar E. Chavez Parkway before it hits Logan Avenue (by Chicano Park),” he said.

According to the Department of Motor Vehicles website: “On roads without bicycle lanes, motorized scooters may operate where the speed limit is 25 mph or less.” …. but the speed limit on the Coronado Bridge is 55 mph, and there are no bike lanes.

A NBC 7 San Diego news report in March: “The Coronado City Council declared dockless scooters and bikes a public nuisance at a meeting …. [and] 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.”

Paen, from Pacific Beach, has seen some crazy stuff done with the motorized scooters in his neighborhood — including a guy riding a Bird scooter down a steep cliff which lead to Law Street Beach where he “munched it” real bad.

“Bird scooters cut down on traffic and help the environment, but on the other side of the coin you see stuff like this.”