Recently, in an effort to save a little gas and reduce my footprint, I decided to ride my skateboard to my downtown office.
While riding my skateboard, I was pulled over by the Durango Police and told it was illegal to ride skateboards on any street within the city limits.
Wow, this was news to me. I have been riding a skateboard in Durango for 20 years and never heard a single word about it being illegal to ride on city streets.
Thinking this must be some sort of joke, I contacted Amber Blake, Director of Transportation and Sustainability for the City of Durango.
When presented with the situation she said that “In reality, the only place in Durango it is legal to ride a board with wheels is at the skate park.” When it was mentioned that I was using my skateboard as a mode of transportation she agreed that there was “no good reason” for this law to be in effect.
If it is illegal to ride skateboards on any street in the city, I ask why there are symbols on the corner of every sidewalk corner in the downtown corridor to “DISMOUNT,” showing a person with a skateboard?
If I can’t legally ride my skateboard on the street, what am I supposed to be dismounting? I appreciate that skateboards don’t belong on the sidewalks any more than bikes do, but making it illegal to ride a board with wheels on a city street is simply ridiculous.
Sven Brunso
Durango
