Monday, June 30, 2003
Officials say skateboarders pose a threat to pedestrians.
By ROB MEYER
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Skateboarders and in-line skaters can no longer use downtown to show off their skills.
City council passed an ordinance earlier this month banning the use of skateboards, in-line skates, roller skates and scooters in a 1-mile radius of downtown.
That 1-mile radius is defined as within a mile of the city's central square district, said Councilman Artis Gillam Sr., D-1st. The area also includes parts of Youngstown State University.
Gillam said he sponsored the ordinance because of complaints from North Side residents, YSU and city police.
The skateboarders "don't have the courtesy not to run into pedestrians," he said. "Someone could get seriously hurt."
But according to two skaters who frequent the downtown area, the city has the wrong idea.
A skater's view
Erik Cassile, 17, a West Side resident, skated downtown for three years.
He stopped after city police questioned him and two friends while looking for suspects who vandalized a police car. Two months ago, police cars in an East Boardman Street parking garage had antennas broken and windows broken. Lt. Robin Lees said police suspect skateboarders, who have been known to use the parking garage to practice tricks.
Erik and his friends were in-line skating near the Mahoning County Courthouse when officers picked them up and took them to the station. Police took their pictures, fingerprinted them and took prints of their shoes. Cassile said the officers told him they had shoe prints of the police car vandals and wanted to see if his or his friends' shoes matched.
"We don't even wear shoes downtown; we wear our roller blades," he said.
Other run-ins
That was one of three run-ins Erik has had with city police over the three years. He also has run into YSU police in that time, too.
"We've had problems with the city, but we're just trying to have fun," he said. "We have no intentions of harming anything. We even offer to clean or fix things up if we make a mess. If we mess up some mulch around a tree, we'll fix it."
Josh Bolstein, 18, of Hermitage, Pa., also has skated downtown.
"It's completely ridiculous," Bolstein said of the ordinance. "If I lived in the city, I'd probably stop skating during the day, but I'd go down at night and do it."
Bolstein said skaters go downtown to have fun, not damage city property.
The ordinance also says that skaters must wear a reflector visible from 300 feet away after dark.
Violators of the ordinance face a first-degree misdemeanor.
YSU
John J. Gocala, YSU police chief, said that violators on campus probably would get a ticket for a first offense. He also said that only the center of campus is off-limits to skateboards. YSU will post signs if it adds more areas to the ban, he said.
Gocala said skateboarders pose a threat to pedestrians walking to and from classes but acknowledged it's not a major problem.
"This is a college campus with people of all different ages," he said. "These skateboarders fly around people and startle them. They drop their backpacks and their books. We have to take a positive approach to these peoples' safety."
rmeyer@vindy.com