Problems with bike riders creating unsanctioned trails above the La Jolla Bike Path are continuing, if not getting worse, according to local volunteers who now are looking for ways to give their verbal enforcement added teeth.
The Kiwanis Club of La Jolla has a right-of-entry permit with the city of San Diego and provides insurance and financial responsibility for volunteers when they conduct cleanups of the area.
Kiwanian and Bike Path volunteer Glen Rasmussen said there is an ongoing issue with makeshift trails and jumps on the slopes alongside the trail.
“We have been experiencing some problems recently with kids on e-bikes getting up into the slopes and using shovels and picks and building jumps,” Rasmussen said at the May 26 meeting of the La Jolla Parks & Beaches board. “It’s a real mess. At one point, we paid a contractor $900 to repair the damage they did.”
He added that construction of the jumps has been harmful to the plants and wildlife there and contributes to erosion.
Local volunteer Debbie Adams said riders recently dug into “some very compromised” sections of slope made of river rock and dirt next to the Bike Path with pickaxes and other tools to build a jump.
“We’ll probably need to spend another bunch of money to get this remedied,” Adams said.
Rasmussen said he has discussed the issue with riders when he sees them doing it but that he wants to find more information that specifically outlines what is allowed on the slopes that volunteers can point to when talking to riders.
“We know the slopes have some sort of protected status, but what does it mean in terms of what activities can go on there?” he asked.
Because the Bike Path falls under different city jurisdictions, no one section of the San Diego Municipal Code outlines what is permitted and not permitted on the slopes.
The Bike Path is listed in the La Jolla Community Plan, which states the slopes “are protected by the environmentally sensitive lands regulations” and recommends that steps be taken to “retain the right of way primarily as an open area and retain significant portions of the adjacent slopes and hillsides in a natural, undisturbed state.”
However, there is no list of activities that are permitted or prohibited there.
Rasmussen said he hopes to get narrowed down what is legally prohibited so a section of the code can be referenced and the riders can be reported and cited, or so signs can be posted that list what is prohibited and refer to the applicable code section.
“We need someone to put their foot down” and conduct enforcement, Adams said.
The makeshift trails were first discovered in January, when volunteers saw that dirt had been moved to clear space and that small mounds and/or holes were created to jump over. In other cases, native vegetation was cut back to widen existing walking paths. Many of the paths have steep grades, and at least one ends at a street.
In some instances, mounds that were removed or holes that were filled were later re-established, volunteers say. In others, dead plants that were moved to block the paths were cleared away soon after.
More recently, the trails and ramps have become more advanced and defined, volunteers say.
The La Jolla Bike Path runs between Nautilus Street and Mira Monte and is used by cyclists and pedestrians. Only regular bicycles and Class 1 and 2 electric bikes are permitted on the path. Gas-powered motorized bikes, higher-speed Class 3 e-bikes and larger vehicles are not allowed.
Other Parks & Beaches news
Post-and-chain project: Less than a month after it got support from the LJP&B board, a project to install new post-and-chain barriers along Coast Boulevard at Whale View Point was completed.
New post-and-chain barriers are installed at Whale View Point in La Jolla. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)
In late April, the board approved plans to install natural-looking wooden posts connected by metal chains between the sidewalk and the bluffs to encourage pedestrians to stay off the cliffs and use beach access stairs.
The new barriers, completed May 26, are more consistent with others in the area and are intended to improve aesthetics.
The proposal was shepherded by the La Jolla Coastal Conservancy, working with the city of San Diego and LJP&B, which board President Ann Dynes said started it and paid for it.
The plan going forward, Dynes said, is to “raise some more money and … work our way up the coast” toward the Children’s Pool.
Next meeting: La Jolla Parks & Beaches next meets at 4 p.m. Monday, June 22, at the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. The agenda will be posted 72 hours in advance at lajollaparksbeaches.org. ♦