TodaySkateboard restrictions suggested
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Article RatingWest Locust Street skateboarders can expect to hit a roadblock if Mechanicsburg Borough Council acts on residents' complaints.
Councilman Jack Winchell called for tough action in response to a letter submitted Oct. 30 by Kevin and Angela Jayne, who live in the first block of the street.
The couple asked council to consider posting "no skateboarding" signs in the areas of West Locust Street registering a high proportion of complaints.
Letter read
At Monday's council meeting, Kevin Jayne read excerpts from the letter outlining the problems residents experience. The letter alleges that groups of unsupervised children, generally skateboarders, are:
* "Yelling at the top of their lungs (often times expletives)."
* "Refusing to move from the street for the passing of an automobile."
* "Skateboarding for hours at a time in the middle of the street."
* "Waxing and otherwise doing damage to the sidewalks and curbs."
Kevin Jayne added that children playing ball in the street have hit parked cars and houses.
On summer nights the skaters are outside residents' bedrooms, screaming and yelling, she said.
Protests are met with verbal abuse not just from the children but from a few of the parents, frightening many elderly residents from voicing complaints for fear of reprisals, Kevin Jayne said.
He said calls to borough police have yielded little beyond occasional screaming matches between officers and a few of these parents.
Numerous run-ins with officers have taught the skaters that the worst they can expect is a written or verbal warning, neither of which have a lasting effect on them or their parents, he said.
Fines suggested
Aside from calling for "no skateboarding" signs, the Jaynes suggested that, since the skaters tend to gather at a specific house on the street, the borough should make the "host resident" responsible for the behavior of the children by imposing a fine.
In response, Police Chief David Spotts said officers have been called to the area numerous times but, without research, he can not speak to specific complaints.
By the time officers can respond to a complaint, the skateboarders often are gone — or they scatter upon approach by police, he said.
Council President Brian Rider asked if posting "no loitering" signs would help, but both Spotts and borough Solicitor Edward Schorpp said that would not be legal.
The courts have been clear that such a restriction is not allowed in a public area, Spotts said.
Winchell suggested council consider tough action not just for the skateboarders on West Locust Street but those active downtown. Skateboarders have been known to use Main Street as well as the parking lot of his business as a shortcut, he said.
The chief added he was at a meeting recently in Williamsport, where officials have painted some sidewalks a different color so the skateboarders know where not to skate.
He added his department keeps a list of skateboarders who have been given warnings. The idea is to cite skateboarders who violate the rules after being warned.
