A loosening of rules has led to an increase in the number of skateborders rolling along downtown Victoria sidewalks, city staff say.
And bylaw staff are finding it “challenging” to stop the practice as boarders — no longer worried about having their skateboards impounded — often just keep rolling when the bylaw officers ask them to stop.
In a report to Victoria council, staff are recommending the city embark on a public education campaign followed by stepped-up bylaw enforcement to get skateboarders off sidewalks and onto the streets, in bike lanes where available.
Coun. Jeremy Loveday, a skateboarder, said he thought the city was already engaged in education and enforcement, so he was surprised by the recommendation. But, he said, he supports more enforcement.
“Sidewalks need to be safe for pedestrians. That’s what sidewalks are for. So skateboarders need to follow the rules and that means not riding on sidewalks.”
In February, councillors changed a bylaw — in place since 1991 — that prohibited riding skateboards on downtown streets. They also removed a provision that allowed police and bylaw officers to confiscate skateboards.
Since the changes, both police and bylaw enforcement have noted an increase in the number of skateboarders on downtown sidewalks, the report says, but there has been no change in skateboarding activity outside the city core.
“Feedback from bylaw officers suggest that many skateboarders are aware of the regulation, but know their skateboard can no longer be impounded and are less motivated to comply with the sidewalk regulations,” says the report.
Bylaw officers have issued no tickets for non-compliance since bylaw changes were made. They conduct regular patrols downtown and ask boarders to walk while on the sidewalk but find it “challenging” to educate the boarders as “skateboarders do not always stop when directed by bylaw services staff,” the report says.
Loveday finds that hard to believe.
“I don’t really buy into the idea that a person on a skateboard won’t stop now. I think they’d probably actually be more likely to stop because now they are not going to have their skateboard taken away,” Loveday said.
Since the bylaw changes, there have been two serious collisions between skateboarders and vehicles — both resulting in injuries to the boarders. Those collisions resulted in the only tickets to skateboarders issued by police since the bylaw changes.
The city’s new bylaw allows the use of a skateboard, roller skates, in-line skates, or a non-motorized scooter on city streets with an expectation that the same rights and responsibilities that apply to a cyclist apply to a skateboarder.
A change to the Parks Regulation Bylaw allows use of skateboards and similar devices on roads in parks and along designated paths. Rules of the road apply in the parks.
A fine under the Streets and Traffic Bylaw is $125, while fines under the Parks Regulation Bylaw range from $100 to $125.
City staff are recommending an education and awareness campaign in co-operation with VicPD beginning this month, followed by enforcement beginning Nov. 1.
Staff are also recommending a skateboard-specific education campaign early in 2017 to coincide with the completion of the separated two-way bike lane on Pandora Avenue, which broke ground Monday.
