FARMINGTON — Skateboarding in Meetinghouse Park is prohibited under the town’s ordinance that governs roller skating, skateboarding and scooter riding. The purpose of the ordinance is to protect the public health and welfare.

Police talk a lot to kids using those types of transportation, warning them that it is not only illegal in town parks but also in public or leased parking lots and some streets. The ordinance was adopted in 2004 and amended in 2005.

Skateboarding,, roller skating and scooter riding are forbidden on Broadway from High Street to Front Street, and Main Street from Anson Street to Academy Street. Other streets where skateboarding is prohibited are from Church Street from High Street to Main Street, and from Wilton Road from the Temple Stream to the Wilton town line.

Police had been giving verbal warnings, especially since many kids say they didn’t know skateboarding is prohibited in certain areas of towns, Deputy Chief Shane Cote said.

That is going to change, he said.

Some of the exchanges between police and those on skateboards are becoming confrontational, he said.

Some of the youths think police are picking on them and infringing on their rights and believe that they can skateboard wherever they want, he said.

The town has an ordinance that outlines guidelines for safety reasons.

There are a lot of pedestrians and traffic congestion in the downtown area , presenting a dangerous situation for pedestrians, drivers and skateboarders, Cote said.

Police are considering requesting that the ordinance go even further with more areas being prohibited from these types of transportation, he said.

There has been an uptick in complaints over the summer and police are taking them seriously and doing more enforcement, Cote said.

“We are paying more attention to them,” he said.

Two riders received written warnings Saturday and Sunday for violating the ordinance.

The first offense of violating the ordinance is currently a written warning, Cote said. But police are considering requesting a change that would make the first offense a fine, he said. Currently the second offense is a $10 fine, third offense is $25, fourth is $50 and fifth and subsequent offense is $100.

Even if you are on a road that doesn’t prohibit skateboarding, he said, skateboarders need to stay as far to the right as possible. There is no skating on the sidewalks, he said.

If there is a car behind a skateboarder, let the car go by, he said, otherwise the skateboarder could be facing a charge of obstructing of a public way.

There have even been instances with people using the empty wading pool to skateboard in at Hippach Park after the park closed for the day, Cote said. There is no skateboarding in the empty wading pool at Hippach Park at any time, he said, and anyone caught doing so will be issued a summons.

There is no skateboarding, rollerskating and scooter riding at any time after dark on either the road or sidewalks, according to town ordinance..

Parks and Recreation Director Steve Shible is buying more signs for certain areas to make people more aware of the town’s rules, Cote said.

dperry@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link