Confusion sparked over skateboarding downtown
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on August 23, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Skateboarders ride on the sidewalks that line Center Street Thursday night. Confusion on behalf of the city and skateboarders about ordinances has caused issues in recent days, including threats from Goldsboro police officers that boards would be confiscated if the skaters did not stop.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Brian Foster celebrates on his skateboard after he received a phone call informing him and other skateboarders that they are allowed to ride on sidewalks in downtown Goldsboro.
Goldsboro police officers have begun stopping skateboarders in downtown Goldsboro after downtown merchants reportedly lodged complaints against skaters with the police department, but there is confusion over whether or not there is a specific city ordinance preventing skating downtown.
Goldsboro Police Chief Mike West, who was at the Governor's Highway Safety Symposium in Raleigh last week, said when reached by phone Thursday morning that he gave an order to his officers before he went out of town to stop skateboarders that were traveling on sidewalks in downtown Goldsboro and "advise them" of where they could skateboard downtown.
Skating on the sidewalks could potentially endanger people leaving businesses on foot and also damage the brick sidewalks, West said.
West said there is a city ordinance preventing such activities on the downtown sidewalks, and said he did not instruct his officers to tell people to not skateboard downtown.
"I told the officers to keep an eye out for skateboarders and cyclists, and if they see them to stop and advise them about the ordinance," West said. "I didn't tell officers to go out and tell people they couldn't (skateboard downtown)."
Yet, many skaters and cyclists are saying that is exactly what has been happening to them whenever they try to skate or bike downtown.
Thursday night, as more than a dozen skateboarders gathered downtown around "Dreamsicle" -- a piece of public art in the roundabout at the intersection of South Center Street and East Chestnut Street -- an officer pulled up, stopped and told the skateboarders they were not allowed to skate downtown.
The officer said it was a "new city ordinance" that dictated people could not skate downtown, but could not provide an ordinance number.
That same officer returned approximately one hour later -- after skateboarder Brian Foster inquired about which city ordinance specifically banned skateboarding downtown -- and said skateboarding on the sidewalks was allowed, which contradicts what West said earlier that same day.
In the city's code of ordinances, which can be found at http://www.amlegal.com/codes/client/goldsboro_nc/, skateboards are never specifically mentioned. Bicycles, however, are specifically banned on sidewalks anywhere in the city in Chapter 73.05 of the city's code, which says that riding a bicycle on any sidewalk in the city is prohibited.
Goldsboro city clerk Laura Getz said Friday there are no new ordinances on the books about skateboarding, and only one ordinance that specifically mentions skateboarding.
The ordinance that does mention skateboarding bans holding on to vehicles while skateboarding or bicycling.
Mrs. Getz confirmed that there are no ordinances banning skateboarding anywhere in the city, including downtown.
There are "No Skateboarding" signs in only one part of downtown, which is in Cornerstone Commons.
Many skateboarders who skate both downtown and at the city's skate park on East Ash Street feel that skating downtown should not be disallowed in any form.
"I live and work downtown, I've been skating for most of my life, and I never block traffic," Foster said. "Half of the officers tell us we can't skate at all downtown, then drive off with no explanation, and the other half tell us we can skate, but not on the sidewalks, and now they're telling us to stay out of the road and stay on the sidewalks."
Several skateboarders, and people that support skateboarding downtown, said they did not understand how skateboards were any different than bicycles, which are allowed in the bike lanes on the roads downtown.
"I don't see how skateboarding is any different than riding a bike downtown," said downtown resident Beecher Britt.
Many skateboarders said they skate downtown at night because it is a well lit, pleasant and safe area to be, and the city skate park on East Ash Street is not lit whatsoever at nighttime, forcing many of them to run their car's headlights to illuminate the park while they skate.
If the city skate park on East Ash Street had lights for nighttime skating, they would not come downtown as much to skate, they said.
"About two months ago I started skating down here," said Shon Bess, who is an airman stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. "Skating down here is the main thing I can do to get away from the base and relax."
Elijah Ovalle said he just started skateboarding three weeks ago, and began skating downtown right after he first picked up a skateboard.
"It's never really been a problem before, but it's went down hill recently and they're saying we can't skate here," Ovalle said. "It's a form of transportation, just like a bicycle."
Shoal Sullivan began skateboarding when the city's skate park opened in late 2015 and then began skating downtown shortly after.
He said officers initially told him to stay clear of Historic Union Station on Carolina Street, but he is recently being told not to skate downtown whatsoever.
"I think it's stupid because anyone should be able to skate here -- these are public roads," Sullivan said. "I always get out of the way if there's a car."
West said if there is not an ordinance delineating rules for skateboarding in the city, the city might need to look at creating one to better define what is and is not allowed.
Dom Medina, who is a New Jersey native, said he has been skateboarding in downtown Goldsboro for six months and has only been stopped once.
When West sent the order out to his officers late last week, Medina was out of town. When Medina came back, skating downtown was suddenly disallowed.
"The first time I was stopped the officer said if we weren't bothering anyone then we can skate and to just stay out of the way," Medina said. "But I came back and suddenly we can't skate anymore."