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Politics & Government

Skateboarding Restricted at Eight Locations

Ordinance is headed for a second reading April 5.

After two hours of presentation, public comments and discussion, the Laguna Beach City Council voted Tuesday night to prohibit skateboarding at eight locations in the city it deems hazardous to both skaters and residents.

Police Chief Paul Workman and council member Kelly Boyd recommended that 11 summary points be affected, with Boyd offering modifications.

The 11 points require that skateboarders stop at stop signs, yield to traffic and move to the right, go no faster than 10 mph through uncontrolled intersections, and not do "acrobatics," or luge-style crouching, among several other limitations.

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Boyd, who took it upon himself to put together a committee to find solutions to the skateboarding situation, said, “I look back at our City Hall records and ask how many skateboarders have been injured or killed. Not many. Our crosswalks on Coast Highway have had more injured or killed.”

Later, Boyd said drivers around town should “slow down and get off the damn cell phone."

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Two time speed-boarding world champion Kevin Reimer came from his home town of Vancouver to ride Laguna Beach's  hills and testify at the City Council meeting Tuesday night.

“I support the Parking and Traffic Committee findings,” Reimer said. He also referred to another way of looking at the sport, saying, “It should be called ‘slow-boarding’” because of the braking control used by good speed-boarders

Said Laguna resident Alan Bernstein: “We don’t believe that skateboarding is a crime, but we would want to ban speed-boarding on steep hills and extreme race courses through residential areas. That’s what this is all about.”

Boyd's modification of skaters using the police firearms range access road will be granted a six-month review process, though Police Detective Larry Bammer spoke against it on several counts. Vandalism that has already occurred by non-skaters ranked high on the list.

The ordinance is headed for a second reading April 5 and, if it proceeds from there, will become enforceable city law 30 days after that.

Fines would escalate from $25 for the first infraction, $50 for the second, and $100 for each one after.

The eight areas where skating has been banned are:

  • Third Street between Park Avenue and Mermaid Street
  • Diamond Street north of Carmelita Street
  • Crestview Drive
  • Temple Hills Drive
  • Bluebird Canyon Drive, between Morningside Drive and Cress Street
  • Morningside Drive, between both intersections of Rancho Laguna Road and Bluebird Canyon Drive
  • Summit Drive, between Katella Street and Bluebird Canyon Drive
  • Alta Vista Way, between Bonita Way and Solana Way

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