Update on West Hills skateboarding ban: Concerned neighbor speaks out

As we shared yesterday, there’s an effort underway to ban skateboarding on the steep hills in and around Washington Park and the Arlington Heights neighborhood. I’m watching this issue closely because the roads under consideration for prohibition are also popular for people who enjoy riding bicycles downhill. I’m also interested in this issue because of the precedent it could set for how the City of Portland decides to ban certain road uses in response to neighborhood concerns.

Commissioner Randy Leonard and Arlington Heights Neighborhood resident Eric Nagle say the ban is necessary due to safety concerns. Nagle paints a dire picture of the situation. He claims skateboarders are running into cars and getting seriously hurt with increasing regularity. I have been in touch with Nagle to hear more about his side of the issue. He emailed me about it today saying, “What we’re trying to put an end to is the dangerous, crazy skateboarding that’s exploded in the neighborhood in recent years.”

Nagle added that there have been 10 collisions between skateboarders and cars at the corner of SW Fairview and Kingston alone. He shared five specific incidents with me that happened between June of last year through last month.

Today, the Portland Mercury looked into what the stats say about collisions in the area. Here’s how they frame the issue:

“The idea is driven by neighbors’ worries that with the increasing popularity of skating the steep streets, tragedy is inevitable—skaters are crashing into cars and it’s only a matter of time before someone dies.

But state statistics show a different story: That major skater-involved vehicle crashes are actually very rare.”

I tend to not put a lot of trust into State and City traffic collision data because it notoriously under-represents everything but motor vehicle-related collisions. Here’s more from Nagle about what doesn’t get reported:

“Literally hundreds of times in recent years, people driving through the neighborhood have had “near death experiences” with skaters, in which they’ve had to slam on their brakes or steer to the curb to avoid a skater coming around a curve in the wrong lane. It’s happened to me several times, and it’s happened to many, many others. The only reason a skater hasn’t died in our neighborhood is because, so far, drivers’ reflexes have been quick enough. That good luck can’t last forever.”

I also asked Nagle about my concerns that his efforts to ban skateboarding might creep over into downhill bicycling and Zoobomb.

“Neither I nor anyone else in the neighborhood, as far as I know, is trying to put an end to Zoobomb. Not now, and not in the future. Zoobomb as it’s practiced these days really isn’t a big deal. It’s generally a 5 or 10 minute burst of bike traffic down Fairview at 10:45 on Sunday nights. And bikes, as we all know, are an uncommonly quiet form of transportation. The Zoobomb noise issue, with all the yelling and horn-blowing, was worse in the past, but the “ride like a ninja, not like a pirate” ethic seems to have taken hold among the majority of Zoobombers, with the occasional annoying exception.”

Nagle claims that he worked in good faith with the skateboarding community but once they learned unpermitted events were being organized, they broke off talks. “After months of negotiating with skaters and the city for this exceedingly modest program, we learned that the skaters were continuing to organize and promote illegal skate races in the neighborhood, and we decided we’d had enough. They just weren’t acting in good faith.”

While we wait to see how this issue unfolds, I want to share the text of the ordinance that will be in front of City Council on June 27th. Read it below (Note: This new ordinance amends existing city code. Underlined portions are the new language and striked-through text is old language that would no longer apply.):

Here’s a map of the roads where skateboarding would be prohibited if this ordinance passes (Please note: When originally published yesterday, this map contained an error. It showed SW Kingston being closed all the way from Tichener to the Zoo. That was incorrect. Sorry):

ORDINANCE No.

Amend Code to prohibit the use of skateboards or other similar devices in the neighborhoods surrounding Washington Park (Ordinance; amend Code Section 16.70.410)

Section 1. Council Finds:

On December 27, 2000, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 175211, prohibiting the use of in-line skates, skateboards, scooters, or other similar devices powered exclusively by human power upon any sidewalk within a specified bounded area;

In recent years, skateboard traffic has increased, especially the Washington Park neighborhood as a consequence of its unique position between the Washington Park MAX station and the Goose Hollow MAX station, which allows skateboarders to use the MAX as a shuttle to perform repeated high-speed runs through the neighborhood;

Skateboarders use neighborhood streets as a venue for an extreme thrill sport, and not as a means of transportation for which the streets were designed;

Many skateboarders who use such streets frequently violate traffic laws by staging races, running stop signs, veering into the oncoming lane, speeding, failing to wear lights and reflectors and/or safety helmets and padding, and failing to yield to pedestrians;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:

Section 16.70.410 of the City Code is amended as follows:
  
A. No person may use roller skates, including in-line skates, skateboards, scooters, or other similar devices powered exclusively by human power upon any sidewalk within the area bounded by and including SW Jefferson, Naito Parkway, NW Hoyt and 13th Avenue. The middle and bisecting sidewalks in the Park Blocks are considered sidewalks for the purposes of this subsection. The penalty for failing to follow the rules of this subsection shall be a maximum fine of $25.
 
B. No person may use roller skates, including in-line skates, skateboards, scooters, or other similar devices powered exclusively by human power upon any street, roadway or sidewalk on 1. SW 5th or 6th Avenues between SW Lincoln and Burnside; , and on 2. NW 5th or 6th Avenues between Burnside and Union Station. The penalty for failing to follow the rules of this subsection shall be a maximum fine of $25.

C. No person may use roller skates, including in-line skates, skateboards, scooters, or other similar devices powered exclusively by human power upon any street, roadway or sidewalk on 1. SW Fairview Boulevard between SW Knights Boulevard and SW Kingston Avenue; 2. SW Kingston Avenue between SW Tichner Drive and the Washington Park entrance; 3. SW Tichner Drive between SW Kingston Avenue and SW Marconi Avenue; 4. SW Marconi Avenue; 5. SW Park Place between SW Marconi Avenue and SW Wright Avenue; 6. SW Lafayette Place; 7. SW Hampshire Street between SW Lafayette Place and SW Champlain Drive; 8. SW Champlain Drive between SW Hampshire Street and SW Rutland Terrace; 9. SW Rutland Terrace; and 10. West Burnside Street from Skyline Boulevard to SW Vista Avenue.
 
D. C. All persons under 16 years of age shall wear protective headgear when using roller skates, including in-line skates, skateboards, scooters, or other similar devices powered exclusively by human power upon any street, sidewalk, or bridge. The penalty for failure to wear protective headgear as required in this subsection shall be a maximum fine of $25.
 
E. D. All persons using roller skates, including in-line skates, skateboards, scooters, or other similar devices powered exclusively by human power upon any street or sidewalk between the hours of sunset and sunrise must be equipped with and use lighting equipment that shows a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front of the device.

F. All persons using roller skates, including in-line skates, skateboards, scooters, or other similar devices powered exclusively by human power upon any street or sidewalk between the hours of sunset and sunrise must be equipped with and use lighting equipment that has a red reflector or lighting device or material of such size or characteristic and so mounted, carried or worn as to be visible from all distances up to 600 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of headlights on a motor vehicle. The penalty for failing to follow the rules of this subsection shall be a maximum fine of $25.
 
G. E. Persons using roller skates, including in-line skates, skateboards, scooters, or other similar devices powered exclusively by human power upon any street, sidewalk or premises open to the public shall be subject to the provisions applicable to and shall have the same rights and duties as the driver of a bicycle as provided by the Oregon Vehicle Code, except when those provisions by their very nature can have no application. The penalty for failing to follow the rules of this subsection shall be a maximum fine of $25.
 
H. The penalty for failing to follow the rules of Subsections A.-G. shall be a minimum fine of $115.

I. F. A copy of a citation issued for violation of this section by persons under 16 years of age shall be mailed to the parents or guardians of the cited person at their home address, if known.
 
G. The Portland Police Bureau shall monitor and maintain a record of injuries and deaths attributed to riders of roller skates, including in-line skates, a skateboard, or other similar device in the City of Portland and report their findings annually to City Council. The first report shall be made on or before October 1, 2001.
 
H. Before this ordinance takes effect, the Bureau of Transportation shall consult with the OMF Risk Management Division to minimize claims resulting from defects in City streets.
 
I. The Council directs Bureau of Transportation staff to meet with members of the Police Bureau’s traffic safety division to recommend and designate “preferred skating routes” in the downtown core area as well as throughout the rest of the City. Bureau of Transportation will report these recommendations back to Council by March 1, 2001. Signage and informational materials will be prepared for distribution by April 1, 2001.

Stay tuned.