San Diego Electric Scooter Ban In Mission Beach, Pacific Beach & LaJolla

What You Need To Know About The 2020 Law

By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com San Diego Blogger

Riding electric scooters – the popular but scorned devices from companies such as Lime and Bird – are illegal along the walking/running/biking path at San Diego beaches.

The scooters are not allowed along the so-called Boardwalk (although its concrete) from Mission Bay to La Jolla. Signs posted informing potential riders and companies that rent them are required to limit the speed to 3 mph, to discourage people who may try to violate the law from using them in these areas.

The law applies to all areas around the Boardwalk in Mission Bay, Mission Bay Park, Pacific Beach and La Jolla Shores. It will be enforced by police officers, who this past summer had their hands full stopping kids from riding the scooters.  Through March, offenders will be issued a warning. Beginning in April, they will receive citations.

Residents and businesses all over San Diego have complained to city councils about the scooters for several reasons: there were too many of them, people were riding them at high speeds relative to other foot and bicycle traffic and weaving through people on sidewalks and the beach path, and then discarding them all over the place, often in the middle of walking areas.

City Councils have responded with restrictions such as this in the beach cities or outright bans. This has greatly reduced the number of scooters and even forced three companies – Lime being one of them – to leave the city since September.

The time had come for Lime and others to leave and for those that remain, these restrictions could further erode the once-enthusiastic acceptance for them by customers and tourists.