New skate laws to be enacted in Capitola Village following skateboarding fatality
The northern California beach town of Capitola will be implementing new regulations on September 24 to restrict skateboarding in the village.
The city official voted unanimously in favour of the restrictions last week, which included the tightening of existing rules that restrict skateboarding and expansion of “no skateboarding zone” in the village. The skateboarders will have to yield to the
pedestrians and obey stop signs and traffic signals. A failure to comply by the rules will lead to a $103 citation and confiscation of skateboards.
The city officials also talked about giving the skateboarders a place to skate safely and are considering building a public skatepark.
The Mayor of Capitola, Dennis Norton, said, “We restricted areas in the [Capitola] village for safety purposes. But it's important to note that skateboards are used for transportation and recreation. We need to provide an opportunity for kids to skate safely,
and we are looking to put a skatepark in Capitola that is geared toward younger skaters.”
The recent resolution by the council officials comes in the wake of the skateboarding accident that occurred in the village on July 5. A 17-year-old male, whose name is being kept anonymous, was riding down Cliff Drive at a speed of approximately 20 miles
per hour, as Maryann Slettehaugh, an 83-year-old wife of George Slettehaught, crossed the street on her routine walk through the village. The elderly woman was hidden by the skateboarder’s view because of a large truck stopped at the intersection.
Reportedly, the local skateboarder ran the stop sign and collided with Slettehaugh, who sustained severe head trauma and internal injuries from the collision. She was airlifted to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, where she passed away just
before midnight.
The local skateboarder was not arrested but was given a citation for breaking the law by skating in Capitola Village, where skateboarding is illegal. However, the legal fate of the 17-year-old is not yet clear, as the district attorney is yet to make a decision
on whether to file criminal charges.
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