Pocono News Section

Skating Into Fines

Skating Into Fines - Tuesday, October 9, 2007 at 4:31PM EST

Reported by: Laurie Monteforte
Tuesday, Oct 9, 2007 @04:31pm EST

STROUDSBURG - Stroudsburg officials want to make the community safer, so they plan to fine anyone caught skateboarding on sidewalks in the borough but some enthusiasts think the plan is unfair.

Surf the sidewalk in one part of downtown Stroudsburg and you can get slapped with a $100 fine. Stroudsburg's Borough Council recently made a new rule, anyone cuaght skateboarding on Main Street could have to pay up.

Interim Borough Manager Barbara Quarentello explained, "We've been receiving a lot of complaints from the people who have businesses downtown, from people who are just walking downtown, that skateboarders just about knock people over."

Quarentello added skateboarding has been banned on Main Street for years but skaters who got caught didn't pay fines. Police simply took their boards.

Hans Ziegler co-owns the Arrival skateboard shop on Main Street. He, and customers like Tyler Reisenwertz, say the new penalty is too harsh. Ziegler said, "You're gonna stifle one more outlet of creativity when they're trying to go out and have exercise at the ame time. It's pretty ridiculous."

But the borough believes it's not about creativity, it's about safety. Quarantello explained, 'It's not that we're trying to single them out. We're just trying to make it safe on the sidewalk for everybody."

Skaters say the rule is especially unfair becaue if they want to go down Main Streetthey have to carry their boards but people riding bikes can still pedal their wheels. Ziegler said, "They're all forms of transportation. I don't see who any of them is any different than the other one. So if you're gonna stop one, you're gonna fine one, you have to do it equally throughout the whole thing."

Quarantello responded, "The bicycle portion of it is a different section of it. That does have a $10 fine attached to it. Council did agree that they would take a look at that and possibly increase the fine to equal that of the skateboarding fine."

While council figures out how to make sidewalk rules fair, downtown skaters will have to stick to side streets.

Skaters are especially frustrated with the new rule because Stroudsburg's skate park has been shut down for more than a week. Council blames vandals and says it does plan to reopen the park.