Last Christmas, volunteers knocked on the door of a South Bay home, arms laden with gifts.
The door opened to a woman who burst into tears. She’d forgotten her children were receiving Christmas gifts from Pedal Beach Tours that year. She had been too busy caring for her husband, who had brain cancer.
“She was beside herself and so grateful for Pedal Beach’s help in making her children’s Christmas happen,” volunteer Meryl Loeb told the Coronado City Council at its April 21 meeting.
That is one of many stories of Pedal Beach Tours, and the reason its founders are fighting to get back on the road.
Pedal Beach Tours is a Coronado charity that offers pedicab tours of the island and says it has been shut down since January after the city declined to renew its operating permit — caught, its founders say, in rules designed to crack down on reckless e-bike riders, not slow-moving sightseeing tours run by conscientious professionals.
Every dollar collected from Pedal Beach’s tours, including tips, funds Christmas gifts and holiday meals for underserved children in the South Bay. Last Christmas, the nonprofit delivered gifts to 67 kids and provided a complete holiday meal for 25 families.
But Pedal Beach Tours says it can no longer get a permit to operate its single pedicab on two key stretches thanks to the city’s new restriction on motorized mobility devices on certain pathways. Those two stretches, the organization says, are key to the major landmarks Pedal Beach tours showcase: the beachfront path in front of the Hotel del Coronado and the promenade between the Bluewater Boathouse Seafood Grill and the recreation center.
“Pedal Beach Tours has been caught in the net to corral those e-bikes that are a real danger,” volunteer guide Cyril Light, a physician, told the City Council, adding that he understands the challenge of reckless e-bikes and the need to protect pedestrian safety. “That is not what Pedal Beach is about.”
The Pedal Beach pedicab is a pedal-assisted three-wheeler, so it falls into the broader category of “motorized mobility devices,” which the city restricts in certain areas (mobility aids for disabilities are excepted). When the city enacted the new rules in January 2025, much of the discourse centered on e-bikes and safety concerns related to speed and sidewalk use. Supporters of Pedal Beach say that the pedicab operates at low speeds and in a controlled manner, and should be considered differently under the rules.
“I have guided 86-year-old guests who are wheelchair bound, along with mothers nursing their children, as well as guests who are disabled,” Light said. “You won’t see me doing any wheelies on my pedicab.”
Founder Jeffrey Davis, a former Coronado High School principal, brought the permit issues to the council alongside several volunteer guides asking for two specific exemptions: permission to operate on the previously approved routes, and reinstatement of an A-frame advertising sign on Orange Avenue in front of the Banc of California, a sponsor of Pedal Beach.
Davis said the sign was confiscated after the city determined that Pedal Beach didn’t have a business on Orange Avenue. That sign, Davis said, generated nearly half of the nonprofit’s bookings.
“For more than a year, we’ve been unable to renew our permit with the city of Coronado,” Davis told the council. “Despite numerous attempts to do so, Pedal Beach Tours and Charities is now shut down.”
Because Davis and his supporters spoke during public comment, council members, by rule, could not comment on the matter during the meeting. However, Davis requested that the matter be placed on a future agenda for discussion. At the time of publication, the city of Coronado had not yet responded to a request for comment.
Still, the situation has drawn frustration from the volunteers who give their time — and in some cases, travel considerable distances — to run the tours. Light, the physician who spoke in support of Pedal Beach, said he drives three hours from the Los Angeles area to lead the tours.
But for now, the Pedal Beach pedicab isn’t going anywhere.
“We need your help to correct this unintended consequence,” Davis said.
After 7 years operating, I have had to re-adjust my Coronado Beach Cruiser Experience e-bike tour (those colorful Woody beach cruisers) to Coronado’s extremely busy streets. My bikes are all limited 10mph max, but rarely exceed 6-7mph on boardwalks. I’ve ALWAYS operated a personally guided tour to ensure my business has a respect for the community and local laws.
I feel as though my guests are EXTREMELY exposed to frustrated drivers trying to move around us while we use roads without bike paths. We have to use Orange Ave to get around the Del. We can’t go as fast as cars so drivers pass within inches.
BECAUSE of this rage, I instruct my group to take the entire lane so drivers must change lanes to pass. It’s safer. But don’t be frustrated. That’s where e-bike riders have been pushed to.
Since you haven’t banned all bikes, businesses that can answer to the City and CPD should be allowed to be permitted with the agreement to guarantee speeds in these areas and/or when required, to walk them through busy areas (all bikes).
If the council would like to bring experts in who ride the island daily, in all conditions, to help formulate a strategy that will work, let me know. Happy to help.
Until then, we’ll see you on the road.. at 10mph. Please be nice. We have no choice.
Coronado teens (where are the parents?) consistently speeding on e-bikes in the streets, and often on sidewalks, need to be ticketed/banned. There is no CPD enforcement. Pedal Beach Tours should be allowed to return to business.
Teenagers (where are the parents?) speeding consistently on e-bikes need to ticketed and/or banned, not Pedal Beach Tours. There is no e-bike speeding enforcement by CPD.
It has now been a little over a year since the City of Coronado banned e-bikes from the
beach boardwalk, the Glorietta Bay promenade, and city sidewalks.
What impact has the 2025 law had on the balance between community access and public
safety?
Coronado has long been known as a bicycle-friendly city. In recent years, electric assistance
has allowed a new generation of older residents to return to bicycling. For many people
with limited stamina or mobility challenges, an e-bike or tricycle has made it possible to
once again enjoy riding around our island.
Many islanders invested in e-bikes precisely because Coronado is such a beautiful and accessible place to ride.
Critics argue that e-bikes are simply too fast and pose a danger in pedestrian areas. To some extent, they have a point.
Younger riders, in particular, have not always shown the maturity or discipline to keep speeds down in crowded spaces. Keeping fast-moving bikes off busy sidewalks has likely improved safety.
But many responsible riders purchased e-bikes simply to make the short 1–2 mile ride to the boardwalk easier, then pedal leisurely at the same pace as other bicycles. Today, those riders are no longer allowed to enjoy a small but beautiful part of our island, even when riding responsibly.
The current policy focuses on banning a type of bicycle rather than addressing the real issue: speed. After all, traditional pedal bicycles can also be ridden too fast on the boardwalk.
The boardwalk has always served as an important north-south cycling route. Detouring around the hotel is not simple, and the nearest bike lane is several blocks to the east. Walking a bike several hundred yards may seem minor, but it is a daily reminder that a once-accessible path is no longer available to many residents.
A more balanced approach might focus on speed limits rather than equipment bans. For example, a 5-mph speed limit on the boardwalk would apply to all bicycles equally while directly addressing the real safety concern.
Some also argue that e-bikes are heavier and therefore more dangerous. In reality, the size of the rider often has a greater impact on total weight than the battery itself.
Other coastal communities (like Manhattan Beach) have taken a more flexible approach. Technologies such as Bike / No Bike signals allow cities to restrict cycling only when pedestrian traffic is heavy or during special events.
Rather than banning bicycles along the entire boardwalk, Coronado could consider
implementing a controlled zone in the busiest section—perhaps between the beach shack
and the colorful surfboards—where riding restrictions adjust to pedestrian activity.
This type of approach could maintain public safety while preserving access for responsible riders.
Lastly, the council’s decision now pushes more bicycles onto Coronado streets. And with that, local Coronado youth. There has been a significant increase in e-bike/car accidents. Maybe we as a community have responsibility to teach our younger riders the rules. First offense, ticket. Second offense, bike impounded.
Don’t punish the responsible riders by banning us. Every time I have to walk my bike 400 yards while people ride by me, I think of those council members and what they’ve done.
“To some extent they have a point?!
They are reckless. Obviously you aren’t a walker or runner in town. I challenge you to take a walk around town in the morning while kids are on their e-bikes rushing to school. And, e-bikes continue to be on the sidewalks and boardwalks.
My wife doesn’t have that luxury. She relies on a walker but likes her e-trike. This is about speed and lack of enforcement.
More fair to everyone if they were to ban ALL bikes rather than try to determine from a distance if a bike is electric or not.
“To some extent they have a point?!
They are reckless. Obviously you aren’t a walker or runner in town. I challenge you to take a walk around town in the morning while kids are on their e-bikes rushing to school. And, e-bikes continue to be on the sidewalks and boardwalks.
This is so sad! I hope they will place it on the agenda immediately and restore this great service! As a good faith gesture, the city should donate the monies lost during this time.
E-bikes are the problem not a guided tour bike.
Shame on Coronado City management and POLITICIANS who voiced no support or understanding of Davis and Pedal Beach PEDICAB.
What a positive endeavor! I support you Jeff!