No room for skateboarders

The Weber State University Board of Trustees has stronger enforcement for the ban on skateboarders on campus pavement and sidewalks, while changing the policy to allow bicycles in these areas.

“There was a policy that has been in place for years in regards to skateboards and it also banned bicycles,” said Kevin Hansen, associate vice president for Facilities Management at WSU. “The only real change is that now we put up signs so that there’s stronger enforcement against the skateboards. And we’re allowing the bicycles because of the demand for bicycle use to support energy conservation.”

Stephen Suave, a junior majoring in pre-engineering at WSU, has already had experience with the campus’ strong enforcement of the ban.

“Yeah, I used to skateboard a lot until a couple times the police came and told me to leave,” Suave said. “We were out by the football stadium, just skating a stair set. A police officer came and told us that we weren’t allowed to do that, and took our names down. They said, ‘You’re not allowed to skateboard on anything that is a sidewalk or pavement. You’re allowed to skate on the blacktop,’ which I guess is the roads.”

However, despite the stronger enforcement, some skateboarders have found ways to continue skating without getting into trouble for it.

“He didn’t have us verify our names,” Suave said. “I know a kid who’s had the police talk to him several times and he’s given them a different name each time, because they always say, ‘If we catch you again you’ll get in trouble’ or something like that.”

Hansen pointed out that one of the primary concerns he and the WSU Police had was for the safety of other persons on campus.

“They present a safety hazard to pedestrians, because we have so many pedestrians walking across our campus … and sometimes there’ve been some near misses,” Hansen said.

Suave did not agree that skateboarders pose much of a risk.

“Skateboarders are slower, so I don’t see how they’d pose more of a danger to other people,” Suave said. “And bikes are these big metal objects, so if you collide with someone on a bike it’s more dangerous than with a skateboard.”

However, Hansen states he’s had complaints concerning pedestrian safety, among other things.

“We had complaints from all over campus,” he said. “The skateboarders were causing a lot of havoc.”

Suave also commented on the ban being lifted from bicyclists while remaining imposed on skateboarders.

“I think it’s completely unfair because it’s just another mode of transportation,” Suave said. “I’m sure if I rode a scooter on campus, which is basically a skateboard without the wheels — I don’t see a problem with that.”

According to Hansen, the ban was also enacted due to property damage.

“The skateboarders damage property,” Hansen said. “They grind and they’ve been causing significant damage to some of our infrastructure.”

According to the policy, skateboarders are allowed to skate on the roads around campus. However, Suave had some concerns about the safety of skateboarders themselves.

“I think it’s just that, when skateboarding, it’s bad to be in the road because cars are dangerous, and the road is usually not very good on those tiny little wheels so you can‘t really roll,” he said.

Hansen made the request for signs and stronger enforcement to the WSU Board of Trustees after receiving the numerous complaints, in collaboration with the WSU Police.