“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.”
— Eric Nagle, Arlington Heights resident working to ban skateboards on SW Fairview Ave
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.”
