Laguna Beach City Council all set to enact new skateboarding ordinance
The year-long heated debate regarding a ban on down-hill skateboarding, also known as speed-boarding, in Laguna Beach, California, is expected to finally get resolved at the City Council meeting on 5
April. The Council has managed to design a skateboarding ordinance that has been deemed satisfactory by both, the skateboarding community in Laguna Beach as well as the residents demanding a ban on the sport. The ordinance is expected to be enacted after
getting passed unanimously.
There had been a dead-lock over the issue for a long time, as neither the skateboarders nor the residents were willing to make any sort of compromise. Laguna Beach offered the most ideal roads for speed-boarding and the skaters were not willing to let anything
come between them and the desirable terrain. The residents on the other hand, demanded a ban on down-hill skateboarding on any street with a grade of five percent or more due to security concerns.
However, the lawmakers finally made a breakthrough by managing to convince both the parties to relax their stance a little. Keeping the interest of both skaters and residents in mind, the Council came up with the most satisfactory solution to the issue.
The new ordinance bans eight streets based on their grade and number of driveways. The sport has been prohibited in all the streets from sundown until an hour after the sun rises. The skateboarders are required to keep their speed to nothing more than 25
miles per hour or the traffic limit, whichever is lower. The skateboarders are obligated to give way to traffic and obey traffic signs and anyone under the age of 18 has to wear a helmet. Anyone failing to abide by the new regulation will be fined.
The new regulations may seem a little strict, but the skaters are quite satisfied with the Council’s decision.
“Some are upset with losing any hills,” said Mark Golter, a Laguna Beach resident who won the world down-hill skateboarding championship in 2002 and 2003 and competed at the 1998 X Games, when the sport was featured as an exhibition. “Realistically we're
lucky we didn't lose all our hills.”
The whole clash between the skaters and discontent residents started a year ago with a resident complaining to the police about the skaters creating a traffic hazard right in front of his house. However, the police dismissed the complaint by pointing out
that the skaters were not guilty of any violations. California’s Vehicle Code considers skateboarders as pedestrians and them treats them accordingly.
The tension however did not diffuse there. Soon after that incident, a group by the name of Skateboarders Neighbourhood Action Group came into existence. It comprised of the residents who demanded a ban on skateboarding on streets with a grade greater than
three percent. Such a ban was already existence in Los Angeles Country and nearby Newport Beach.
The skaters and residents seemed to have reached an agreement to avert an outright ban in October. However, Laguna Beach city Council member, Kelly Boyd, accuses a few members of SNAG for rejecting the agreement and pressing for a ban on skating on streets
with a grade greater than five percent. This in effect would have banned all streets used for speed-boarding.
With skateboarding already banned in the city’s downtown and boardwalk areas, and surfing finding itself outlawed in most of the city’s beaches, kids in Laguna Beach seemed to be getting stripped of their freedom. Boyd condemned an outright ban on skateboarding,
saying, “Too many rules and regulations. We have to stop banning everything that young kids have to do. We can't just keep taking some of their freedoms away from them.” He did however support a proper regulation of skateboarding, especially speed-boarding.
The ordinance will be passed on 5 April and may be considered a victory for the skaters, as the ball is really in their court now. The law will be keeping a close eye on the skaters and reviewing the results of the new ordinance after six months
to determine if it has been effective in removing the security concerns of the residents.
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