Downtown businesses want more enforcement of skateboard ban

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Downtown businesses want more enforcement of skateboard ban

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

WENATCHEE — Pat Palmer was just closing up his downtown shoe store last Thursday evening when he says he was nearly run down by a skateboarder riding on the sidewalk.

Pat Palmer

“He was coming down (the sidewalk) about 100 mph,” Palmer said. “Sometimes they slow down a little, but a lot of time pedestrians just have to get out of their way. ... You tell them not to ride on the sidewalk and they could care less.”

The near-miss was timely as Palmer had already planned to speak with the Wenatchee City Council that night about what he said is an increased number of skateboarders and bicyclists riding on downtown sidewalks. He would like the city to do something, either through more signs or police patrols.

“They are fast, they are dangerous and they are endangering our customers,” Palmer told the City Council.

They are also illegal to ride downtown. A city code adopted in 1993 prohibits riding boards on streets or sidewalks anywhere in the central business district. The district is between Chelan Street and Columbia Street, and between Fifth Street to the north and Kittitas Street to the south.

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Elsewhere in the city, skateboarding is not allowed on roads that have sidewalks, and boarders must always yield to pedestrians when riding on sidewalks. They are allowed on the shoulder of roads with no sidewalks. The code also states that skateboarders are not allowed to ride in such a manner that endangers anyone else.

The penalty for violating the city’s skateboarding code is $103.

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Police Chief Tom Robbins told the council that he almost got hit by a skateboarder downtown recently, and Councilwoman Karen Rutherford said she had a close call, too.

Mayor Frank Kuntz suggested that Wenatchee police do some emphasis patrols for a couple of weekends.

“Once they’ve gotten some tickets and had some boards taken away ... that should help,” Kuntz said.

Rutherford also asked city staff to check into the cost of adding new sidewalk signs.

Linda Haglund, executive director of the Wenatchee Downtown Association, said she does believe that bikes and boards on sidewalks are a problem. But she doesn’t know if more signs is the solution.

“It is a serious issue because the skateboards are bigger now, the kids on them are bigger and stronger, and they don’t listen to anybody asking them to get off,” she said.

She added that she’s been told of “tons of close calls” but hasn’t heard of a pedestrian actually getting hit by someone on a skateboard or bicycle.

Haglund said the problem of bikes on sidewalks is complicated because it is dangerous for people to ride bikes on downtown streets. She said downtown businesses and city officials will work to address that as they develop a new streetscape plan for downtown.

But, she said, the city should continue to ban skateboards and longboards downtown, and police should enforce the rules by confiscating the boards of lawbreakers.

“If a couple of kids get their skateboards taken away and their parents have to come get them, that might send a message,” she said. “There’s nothing like that kind of message.”

Avid skateboarder Derrik Kinzebach, a sales clerk at Revolution Snow & Skate in downtown Wenatchee, said Monday that he used to ride on downtown sidewalks. He said most people who ride their skateboards downtown know its not allowed, “but they just don’t care.”

But he said many of the skateboarders he knows are good enough riders to maneuver away from pedestrians.

Kinzebach said the downtown area is attractive to boarders because it has a lot of urban features that are nice to ride on, such as ledges.

“A few of the banks have some good stuff,” he said. “When you’re filming and recording, it’s always better to get urban features.”

He said he usually goes elsewhere in the city to ride, “but every now and then I’ll catch myself downtown.”

“I’ve been told to leave, and you just leave,” he said. “You don’t give people grief. You just go. ... I think there are good reasons you shouldn’t skateboard downtown.”

Last week was the second time Palmer has asked the council to address what he sees as a problem of skateboards and bikes on downtown sidewalks. After the first time, he met with city employees but nothing was done. He’s hoping this time will be different.”

So far, it appears to be working.

The Wenatchee Police Department sent out a news release on Friday stating the skateboarders and longboards are in danger of getting them boards confiscated and getting fined if they ride downtown.

“Our concern is our customers,” Palmer said.

Haglund added, “We all care about the customers that come down. We want it to be a great experience for them.”

Michelle McNiel: 664-7152

mcniel@wenatcheeworld.com

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» 16 comments on this story

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Trisia 6 months, 3 weeks ago

I understand that it's dangerous for pedestrians and even the boarders and cyclists to ride downtown on the sidewalks, but I agree with Haglund. If we're banning these types of transportation from the sidewalks downtown, then we need to provide them with an alternative, safe way to commute around that area. It's dangerous with all of the cramped, parked cars that constantly back in and out for cyclists and boarders to ride safely along the road. It's difficult for drivers to see other cars when they back out--imagine trying to see something that's smaller than a ton of metal.

Karen Rutherford proposed signage to enforce the ban--what about signage to increase the awareness of the bikes and boards using the road? A huge component of this issue (people riding on the sidewalk) is the lack of safety and awareness of people using, or ability to use, alternative modes of transport downtown.

PeterWhitley 6 months, 3 weeks ago

It doesn't help when people use hyperbole to discuss a very real problem. The skateboarder was NOT going about 100 miles per hour. They were probably going about 10 miles per hour. Maybe they were late for work, or class, or had to go to the bathroom. As a lifelong skateboarder, I can safely say that few skateboarders WANT to make life uncomfortable or unpleasant for anyone else.

Skatepark advocates in the Wenatchee Valley have been struggling for years to get more skateparks built for local youth. They have been stonewalled by the Parks Department and struggled with a hysterical public. Their sole accomplishment, the small spot at Kenroy near Eastmont, is an unmitigated success. Wildly popular, maintenance-free, and inexpensive to build.

So, rather than investing more public dollars into increased enforcement of a problem that will not go away, (and simply drive your skateboarding youth into a more distant place within your community), treat this as an opportunity to come up with a sustainable, successful solution.

Dudleydoright 6 months, 3 weeks ago

If the downtown merchants want it policed then they should hire security not tax payer funded cops. The tax payers pay for their parking, have to tolerate their "street fairs" where the downtown is closed and more. Start paying for what all other business except the downtown have to pay for already!

lonedog3 6 months, 2 weeks ago

AMEN!! best comment here!

maxpress 6 months, 3 weeks ago

It is easy to pick up and carry a board through the few blocks. A $50 fine would pay for a security guard or reserve officers time. One of the reasons I do not shop on the ave is because of the skaters and bikes on sidewalks.

PeterWhitley 6 months, 3 weeks ago

Where do you shop instead?

maxpress 6 months, 3 weeks ago

Nevermind, its $103 fine. That should work.

kyook 6 months, 3 weeks ago

As an avid cyclist as well, I agree with LiveFreeorDie in regard to riding on the streets of downtown, in fact if I can avoid it I will. The city streets are NOT BICYCLE FRIENDLY at all. If I can't avoid it, then I will ride on the sidewalk but at a virtual crawl (2-3mph) through the downtown core. I have never even come close to a collision with a pedestrian nor have I had anyone say anything to me that even bordered on a rebuke. If I need to get from one end of town to the other then I use the Loop Trail or Western Ave.

What we need is more common sense and less unenforceable/unenforced laws.

I would venture a guess that Pat Palmer and the other people that are complaining about the bikes are not riders themselves and, consequently, they have no idea about the issues that confound bike riders in Wenatchee.

redorblack 6 months, 3 weeks ago

If you look through the other stories of the day... Car drives through park, benches etc.. accidents, deaths... none related to the "100mph" skateboarders. Yet when a driver brakes the law, they get a summons/ticket. They don't get their means of transportation confiscated even when acting recklessly. I don't skateboard, and think laws like this are grumpy old people shaking their fists at those darn miscreants. The city ought to respond by getting rid of their ban on skateboards and leave it to judging the behavior... if they are actually endangering someone recklessly, charge them with that. If someone is running on the sidewalk do you take their Nikes? If I claim I almost got hit by someone going 100mph in a wheelchair, will you outlaw mobility devices in the business district?

PeterWhitley 6 months, 3 weeks ago

I would tend to agree with the idea here. Consider if the first few paragraphs of the story above were written from the skateboarder's point of view.

"I was skating home from school, thinking about my homework, when this guy comes charging out of a door at about 100 miles per hour. I went around him, then he started yelling at me. He seemed pretty angry about something. It was scary so I got out of there as fast as I could. There should be a law preventing crazy people from jumping out and yelling at kids!"

mleeds 6 months, 3 weeks ago

Since our community doesn't have enough skateparks, our community is a skatepark. Many people (youth and adult) are using skateboards and longboards for transportation just like bikes. The City of Portland, OR has set an excellent example of dealing with this issue by creating bicycle/skate lanes for those using their boards primarily to get from point A to point B. For the many skaters looking for fun features to skate and for filming (as referred to by Derrik Kinzebach), the more quality skateparks we have the better. I would be happy to consult with the City and Police Dept. with constructive ideas if they would contact me. Bottom line- Ignoring the issue won't make it go away and neither will fining and confiscating all of these kid's skateboards. They need safe and legal places to go. Not be shut out even more. For many young skaters especially, this is their life! Thanks Pete and the Tony Hawk Foundation for your continued support. Mike Leeds Community for Wenatchee Valley Skateparks Skaters for Public Skateparks

by Mike Leeds

iansfolks 6 months, 2 weeks ago

Skateboarding, like many other forms of recreation, is evolving. Longboards are used for transportation more frequently now. I suppose that you can grind on a longboard, but that would be a bad choice considering that the cost of a decent longboard can run upwards of $250-$300 or more. In reading the ordinance, it states that skateboarders, outside of the CBD, must use sidewalks where provided and ride facing traffic. This is exactly the opposite of what we teach for bicyclists, telling them that they need to ride with traffic. This creates a visual impairment for motorists at intersections when a bike or skateboard appears so quickly from the righthand side. The northern boundary of the CBD is 5th Street. Maybe if they push the boundary to 2nd Street, kids could legally skate to the indoor park at Revolution! Bottom line is that, as this form of recreation evolves, the city should look at alternatives to accommodating this form of transportation rather than restricting it even more.