Can you imagine the outrage that would erupt on the streets of Portsmouth if the city imposed a bicycle ban? It is hard to even consider the idea without snickering at the improbability. Why then, does the city’s long-time expulsion of skateboarding, another popular Seacoast sport, seem so acceptable?

The skateboarding ban perplexes City Council member Laura Pantelakos, who wonders why the city allows bicycles, scooters, Segways, inline skates and roller-skates, but prohibits skateboards. “I feel it is discrimination against skateboards,” Pantelakos said. “It’s not right.”

During last month’s council meeting, Pantelakos asked fellow councilors to review the current city ordinance that makes skateboarding illegal everywhere in Portsmouth, with the exception of the Greenleaf skatepark and Rye Airfield.

On Nov. 10, the city’s legal department issued a memorandum strongly advising the council to maintain the ban in the Central Business District and recommending that the ban be kept in place throughout the city. 

Deputy Police Chief Len DiSesa says the ban is important for public safety. He believes skateboarding is more dangerous than its wheeled peers. “Skateboarding is different from in-line skating,” DiSesa contends. “Skates are attached to your foot. You are not going to fall off the skate.” Skateboards, on the other hand, pick up speed quickly and can dart in and out of traffic, he explains.
Not everyone is in agreement that the current laws provide optimal safety. In order to ride legally, skateboarders are required to transport themselves on high-traffic roads to the Greenleaf park, located off of Lafayette Road, far from downtown.

Skateboarders Duncan Cowgill and Mike O’Leary, of Portsmouth Middle School, said they do not go to the skatepark because of its inconvenient location. “It’s hard to get at,” Cowgill said. “Our parents don’t like us going there because of the busy roads.”

The two 14-years-old boys typically ride their skateboards to school and then look for a place downtown to ride recreationally at the end of the day.

Though these skateboarders are engaging in illegal activity, they are also embracing a lifestyle that City Councilor Ken Smith would like to see more of. Smith is on the Safe Routes to School Committee, a group that looks at different ways to “get kids out of cars.” Councilor Eric Spear shares Smith’s interest in discovering and using non-traditional forms of transportation. Spear notes the health benefits of physical activity and the environmental advantages of emission-free transportation.

While DiSesa recognizes that skateboarding a mode of transportation, he says that most of the complaints police receive involve property damage. “It is the graffiti that comes with the culture,” he said. Skateboarders will rub wax on curbs and railings so that they can perform various tricks and, often, the boards leave markings, peel paint or scratch surfaces.

Spear recommends dividing skateboarding by usage: tricks or transportation. If tricks are the primary problem, perhaps the ordinance could be amended so that “everyone has to keep all wheels on the ground.” Smith suggests limiting tricks to the skatepark, while legalizing travel by skateboard.

Police contend that this sort of ordinance would be difficult to enforce. According to city law, skateboarders must wear protective padding when riding, but DiSesa reports that “skateboarders tend not to follow those rules,” which leaves him doubtful that boarders would follow the “no-trick” policy.

If the council insists on amending the law, the Police Department’s fallback position is to allow skateboarding on some neighborhood streets. Police and council members are in agreement that Portsmouth’s central business district should remain off limits to skateboards due to congestion and complaints from business owners.

However, not all downtown businesses are anti-skateboarding. Ricky Aldecoa and Joseph Martin, of Kittery, Maine, are regular riders in the downtown area. They say that certain business owners don’t mind their skateboarding, as long as they stay away from the front doors. The boys have been riding at one particular spot for a year without any complaints from the business owners. Although they are occasionally harassed by police, Martin said, “We don’t really care, though. We just love doing it.”
Though not a skateboarder herself, Pantelakos declares that, “Kids have a right to enjoy what they enjoy.”

The Traffic and Safety Committee will meet to discuss the issue on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 8 a.m. in City Hall. The public is also welcome to contact any of the Portsmouth City Council members. Visit www.cityofportsmouth.com for contact info.