Skateboards nixed on streets, again
A heavy rain that blanketed St. Joseph for the better part of two days kept skateboarders indoors — more effectively than a city law.
Originally, a city ordinance regulated skateboards, bicycles, in-line skates and similar devices. It stated that those devices couldn’t be used on sidewalks within a business district, in or around city parks (except where permitted) or in the city’s parking garages or lots. It also stated that skateboards and similar devices could not be used on any street.
Somewhere along the line, that last part was “lost” and for the last several years, riding a skateboard on the streets of St. Joseph was completely legal.
Sgt. Richard Wall with the St. Joseph Police Department recently witnessed an event that would change all that.
“I was out eating with another officer and saw a young man on a skateboard ride through a busy intersection,” Mr. Wall said. “He hit a rock in the middle of the intersection, which stopped his skateboard, and he went off and hit his chin on the curb.”
Mr. Wall discussed the legality of riding a skateboard in the street when he discovered that the section regarding riding on a street was no longer in the ordinance. Mr. Wall said he discovered that in the late 1990s, a group of families petitioned the original ordinance and had the section repealed regarding skateboards on public streets.
Mr. Wall then found a copy of the original
ordinance, including the extra section for street laws, and sent it along with a statement to the City Council, where it was once again approved last month.
“There’s just no reason not to have it,” Mr. Wall said. “We have plenty of skate parks in town. The streets are meant for cars, not skateboarders.”
Mr. Wall also mentioned the fact that there are no laws regulating the age one has to be to ride a skateboard.
“A 5-year-old could have been riding down the street on a skateboard,” Mr. Wall said.
Megan Tilk can be reached
at megantilk@npgco.com.
This story has 14 comments. Click here to join in on the discussion.
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where are the skate parks? just curious.
Posted by wr49tm on September 4, 2008 at 9:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)So what's next? No riding bicycles? No scooters (not the electric kind)? Nothing with wheels? St Joe does not offer enough alternate areas for children to ride without being driven to starting points. The city is definitely discouraging physical activity. This also goes hand-in-hand with the idea that the city needs to maintain its sidewalks. There are many places where a bike, skateboard or walker would be unable to traverse.
Posted by JoeBlumberg on September 4, 2008 at 10:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)Heritage,
The three city skate parks are at Hyde Park in the South Side, the Bode Complex in the middle of town, and on Mapleleaf Parkway up north (off St. Joseph Avenue and Grand Avenue -- get with it, dude).
Other unofficial skate parks abound.
From your filled-with-useless-knowledge City Hall reporter,
Posted by heritage on September 4, 2008 at 10:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)Joe
i know the "park" on the maple leaf. that is what passes for a skate venue here? what a joke. are the other venues at least bigger than a breadbox?
joe..... the filled with incredibly important items of interest guru!!!!!!!!!
by unofficial, do you mean bootleg?
sadly, this city sees skaters as some kind of threat. it is outdoor activity, not some kind of alternative universe. gmab!!!!!!!
Posted by 4wildones on September 4, 2008 at 11:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)common sense would dictate that if the city had any (at least 1 but preferrably 2-3) decent skate parks then kids would not look for skating adventure in business areas where I agree they do not need to be ramping steps and grinding on railings. However the city does not have a decent skate park, a skate park is more than a slab of concrete with 2-3 tiny litle rails or ramps. The "skate parks" the city has are a joke.
Posted by sj35 on September 4, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)Seriously? Am I reading this correctly--Sgt Wall saw a skateboarder hit his chin and now kids can't ride their skateboard on any public street? That's absurd. I'm all for safety, but that is overkill. Why would I take my kids to a skate park and pay a fee so they can ride skateboards? They ride their skateboards and bikes every day on our street in a nice quiet neighborhood and as their parent we've gone over safety rules.
Why not limit the law to busy streets (using common sense) or just find a better way to protect the people on your lunch hour. Hey there are kids playing football which statistically have 3.5 more injuries than skateboarders ---maybe you should ban that too. And don’t get me started on bicycles! They’re worse than playing football. In fact in 2004 there were 77 deaths from bicycles. (Stats for kids under 15) Yet there are still many parents allowing their children to ride these horrible things in our town. I can’t believe you haven’t stopped this yet! Oh that’s probably still a decision for a PARENT to make!
http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml08/08252.html
Posted by njones60 on September 4, 2008 at 11:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)One of my family members lost his license and he skates all over town, including to work, to the store, etc. He often takes the bus, but if that schedule doesn't work out for him, he skates. If he hits a rock and cracks his head on the pavement, that's his problem. That's certainly no reason to enact a law that won't allow a full grown man to choose skateboarding as his mode of transportation. He's not rail sliding down the front steps of City Hall, he's going to work, obeying traffic laws, and generally not bothering anyone. Sure, he's been hurt skating, but no worse than some of the accidents my son has had shooting hoops in my driveway. Should that be outlawed as well? It is not the government's job to protect us from ourselves.
Posted by ninja_man on September 4, 2008 at 11:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)skateboarding is not a crime
Posted by heritage on September 4, 2008 at 1:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)correct me if i am wrong, but is there no gravity at the sanctioned skate parks? can't you fall and bust your chin there just as well? or is there some kind of magic mojo there which will catch you before you fall!!!!! i just went down to the pitiful postage stamp of a so-called park on the mapleleaf, just to check it out . what a joke!
Posted by StJoeMoe on September 4, 2008 at 2:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)I'm all for banning skateboards on public streets - I support it!
I see absolutely no good that can come from a skateboard in traffic.
Ha!
Posted by devinbroncs123 on September 4, 2008 at 2:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)This is strupid. They are skateboarding. And yes all of the parks in St. Joe are a joke. They atre literally slabs of concrete with a small halfpipe and a couple of rails. They are garbage.
Posted by 4wildones on September 4, 2008 at 9:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)the stabbing took place at Hyde Park and one day I was there with my son (I'd never leave him there) and some kids were smoking something other than cigarettes in their car right there at the park. Definitely not a safe place and not because of kids falling on skateboards.
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