On Wednesday, May 2, 2012 the Los Angeles City Council voted to approve a “motion aimed at outlawing recess skateboarding or “bombing,”” according to a story in the LA Times.
On a 12 to 0 vote, the council instructed City Atty. Carmen Trutanich to draft an ordinance that would prohibit “unsafe” skateboard activity and limit riders to a speed of 25 mph. . . The proposal was initiated by Councilman Joe Buscaino, who described it as a response to the death of two skateboarders over the last year. Buscaino, the council’s newest member, said he wants to end downhill skateboard “bombing” — the practice of riding at high speeds, sometimes while weaving in and out of traffic — in his harbor district.
Ordinances that specifically single out skateboarding are bad for all kinds of reasons. Rather than create special rules that apply only to skateboarders the LA City Council should simply apply the rules of the road the govern bicycles and cars. Of course, that would be too simple and not nearly as headline grabbing.
[Link: LA Times]
