Skateboarding is not a crime

 

You’re skating your favorite hill when “Johnny Law” rolls up on you. It turns out someone called reporting skateboarders on “their” hill. After a lecture explaining the laws (which vary from city to city) you are issued a ticket for being a pedestrian in the roadway.

“Here’s your lift ticket,” says the police officer. Your day which was going good so far just got expensive. All the fun you were having is drowned and a damper is thrown on your day.

This ticket was issued on a road with no sidewalks, no bike lane and cyclists riding up and down the road. No one is worried about the cyclists. They are free to roam and do their thing while you are treated like a criminal. Skateboarders are unfairly singled out although a skateboard can be used for transportation as well as recreation while bicycles are used for mostly recreation.

Skateboarding has been around since the 1950′s. As the sport began to increase in popularity, its sub culture grew and law enforcement looked at these kids as punks and criminals.

Police officers, security guards and concerned citizens are constantly harassing skaters. A fun run down a hill shouldn’t turn into a lecture about the danger of the sport and how many people are killed participating in it nor should it become an issue about who owns the street. The amount of cyclists killed every year is far greater than the number of skateboarders.

A stereotype about skaters is that they run around spray-painting everything and destroying stuff, breaking into places and stealing. Sure there are criminals and punks who skateboard, but this doesn’t mean that all skateboarders fall under this category.

It is a sport that requires a great deal of balance and athleticism. Most people will have a hard time standing on the board let alone riding it down hills and flipping it in controlled spins through the air.

Southern California has a thriving multimillion dollar action sports industry, yet people still want skateboarding banned in their cities. They want the streets to themselves for the few times they drive up and down each day.

We view the world differently than most people. Each city is its own playground.

Every skateboarder shares one thing in common. We have all felt the pure thrill and joy of riding around town with nothing but a piece of wood and wheels between you and the road. It is one of the best feelings in the world. The adrenaline is flowing, you can feel the wind whipping against you as your shirt flaps behind you and at that moment nothing else matters.

Skateboarding in certain areas is like being in a war zone. It is you versus everyone else. No skateboarding signs litter city streets. “You are not allowed to have fun here,” is how I read the signs. You must be ready for any situation, even the occasional pissed off parent.

The sport is rapidly growing and acceptance for it is slowly increasing. Skate parks are being built so people have designated places to go. Skateboarders are still looked at as punk kids, when in reality it is just your normal everyday person trying to enjoy their lives and the sport they choose to participate in.

What is better than a sport with no rules, where you are free to do what you want all while having fun doing it? – Leecifer

Photos by: Leecifer

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Skateboarding ban in Laguna Beach, Ca

The birthplace of downhill skateboarding is considering a ban on eight of the city’s steepest, windiest streets, spearheaded by a group of residents.

The group of Laguna Beach residents, led by Alan Bernstein, 62, oppose skateboarding down “their” hills and are trying to push for the city to place a ban to stop the sport.

Bernstein lives on Bluebird Canyon Drive and says that skateboarders zip by his home at high speeds. Between him and other Bluebird Canyon residents hundreds of near misses, brutal crashes and broken bones have been witnessed.

Drivers have reported close calls, having to swerve to avoid oncoming skaters. Many who have called the police to report these incidents found out that the skateboarders were doing nothing wrong according to the police officers.

Many feel as though it would be a liability issue, using the example of a woman who sued the city of Mission Viejo for brain damage her son suffered after a fall. He was not wearing a helmet.

Skateboarding in Laguna Beach has been around since 1957 and many consider it to be the birthplace of downhill skateboarding. With crews like the “Tuk ‘N’ Roller’s” bombing the streets in 1959 to the history of Oak Street going all the way back into the ‘70s when the Oak St. Surf Shop began selling nylon wheels.

In the ‘80s the popularity of the sport grew exponentially and someone cruising down the street with a surfboard under one arm was quite a common sight. Now it is more common to see riders traveling down roads at speeds averaging 40 mph sporting stylish helmets and specialized gloves with plastic attached.

As of right now skateboarders are considered pedestrians. Getting caught will bring you a pedestrian in the roadway citation.

After already holding several meetings pertaining to the issue, Laguna Beach city council met again March 29 to discuss the ban.

Interested people stood in line and respectively waited their turn to speak. Many spoke for the ban and many spoke against it. Both sides were very passionate for their cause.

After several hours the city council voted to ban skateboarding on eight of Laguna Beach’s most dangerous roads.

•Third Street between Park Avenue and Mermaid Street

•Diamond Street north of Carmelita Street

•Crestview Drive

•Temple Hills Drive

•Bluebird Canyon Drive between Morningside Drive and Cress Street

•Morningside Drive between the intersections of Rancho Laguna Road and Bluebird Canyon Drive

•Summit Drive between Katella Street and Bluebird Canyon Drive

•Alta Vista Way between Bonita and Solana ways

New regulations are also to be put in place. These include requiring skateboarders to stop at stop signs, limiting speeds to under 25 mph or the speed limit if it’s lower, yielding to traffic and keeping to their lane.

The idea of creating a road to the water tower designed for downhill skateboarders was discussed as a possible alternative for boarders to use.

As the sport’s popularity is growing, so is support for having no ban on streets. Younger kids are gaining their parents support in helping to practice the sport safely.

People opposed to the ban argued that they should have similar rights as joggers and bikers who are often seen traveling down these roads with no helmet.

The council will then review the issue again in six months time. -Gravity Rider

Related Articles

• You: Bringing Skateboarders Doing 60 to a Halt (nytimes.com)
• Laguna council votes to ban downhill skating (abclocal.go.com)
• Laguna Beach OKs skateboard ban on some streets (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Laguna Beach Skaters Banned From Bombing the Hills (laist.com)
• Talega New Years Event Jan 22-23 (adrenaline-fueled.com)