Why Don’t These Beach Bollards Prevent Vehicles From Driving on the Boardwalk?
By Nick Antonicello
Venice residents and stakeholders know too well the consequences of unbridled access by vehicles to the boardwalk and Oceanfront Walk.
The photos here were taken by a local this past Saturday (9/30), and according to sources this situation occurs “several times a day.”
Apparently both GOOGLE and Apple Maps instruct drivers down OFW, and apparently the bollards on Rose are not operational.
The situation at the beach has been accurately described as a “bureaucratic swamp,” especially in lieu of the 2013 deaths caused by a crazed driver on the boardwalk. A Los Angeles jury convicted a 39-year-old male driver for deliberately driving his car into a throng of individuals on the Venice boardwalk in 2013, killing an Italian honeymooner and injuring 17 others.
The driver, Nathan Campbell, a native of Colorado, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the Aug. 3, 2013, death of Alice Gruppioni, an Italian tourist who was visiting California with her new husband, Christian Casadei.
Campbell was guilty on 17 counts of assault with a deadly weapon and 10 counts of leaving the scene of an accident as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Apparently a drug deal that went sour agitated Campbell, and sought to run down his dealer when he got back into his vehicle, jumped the curb and swerved past barriers and sped down the boardwalk which led to the death of two innocent victims in both Gruppioni and Casadei.
Now a decade later, cars are still finding their way on the boardwalk and something needs to be done before another accident or tragedy occurs that can be prevented.
If the crowds and tourists are to return to Venice and the boardwalk, both residents and tourists need to feel safe.
The time is now to ensure these bollards are operational, functional, and serve as a reliable deterrent to drivers not familiar with the area and understand that driving on Oceanfront Walk is not only dangerous to all pedestrians, but illegal with dire consequences.
Nick Antonicello is a thirty-year resident who is a member of the Oceanfront Walk Committee of the Venice Neighborhood Council. Have a take or a tip on Venice, contact Antonicello via-email at nantoni@mindspring.com
