Bikes Banned in Skateboard Park

COURT HOUSE – Bike riders and parents showed up to urge Township Committee to reconsider an ordinance banning all types of bicycles from the township’s skateboarding park. But at the end of the day, the ordinance prohibiting the use of bikes in the township’s skateboard park was passed on its second reading during Township Committee’s March 5 meeting.
According to the township the decision to ban bikes was made to help curtail injuries and cut down on damage to the skateboard park.
“I’m just curious as to what other arrangements have been considered,” said Brenda Messick. “Is there any possibility that you would consider one day a week or something for the kids who want to ride bikes.”
“There is both a safety component and a damage component to this particular situation that we are trying to address,” responded Mayor Dan Lockwood.
Over the past few months several serious accidents have occurred at the skateboard park, two resulting in injuries that required the victims to be transported to trauma centers via Medivac helicopter.
“The injuries aren’t necessarily because we have skateboards and bikes together, but there are kids who are doing tricks on bikes and are getting severely injured or adults as well.”
Township Recreation Director Chuck McDonald told Committee that injuries have occurred to bikers themselves as well as bikers colliding with skateboarders.
“After doing research with other municipalities as to what they allow and when, the scales are kind of tipped in that they don’t allow bikes for the reason of safety and the yearly cost that it increases your maintenance fees by allowing bikes in your skate park,” said McDonald.
According to McDonald, he received a letter from the company that designed the township’s skate park stating there would be a 10 percent increase in yearly maintenance fees “because of the wear and tear that the bikes cause that skateboarders and scooters do not.”
Some municipalities, like Ocean City, have torn down their skate parks.
“I don’t want think we want to get to that point, but, we have to do something otherwise someone is going to get really, really get hurt,” said McDonald.
“That’s our effort, we’re just asking for basic common sense,” said Lockwood. “We’re trying to make common sense decisions on behalf of residents and this seemed to make the most sense. Let’s not totally nuke the program, let’s just try to extract the bikes and see if we can have a little bit of success with the park.”
When asked if something else would be put in place for the bikes, Lockwood responded that there probably would not be.
Matt Blue, a professional biker, told Committee he had been going to the township skate park for the past six years.
“I learned so much at that park,” he said, “Back flips, flares, tail whips, bar spins, turndowns, tabletops… pretty much everything. The bikes don’t actually mess up the ramps.”
According to Blue, the kids who go there aren’t professional, they just go to have fun. How would you like it if I ride on your grass or something and you’d be pretty mad because there is a skate park. I’d rather go to the park and fun; do a couple of grinds, do a couple of flips.”
“I understand the point you are trying to make,” responded Deputy Mayor Tim Donohue. “It’s a valid point. But what we’re looking at is the big picture, dating back several years, in the conduct of the park.”
“You get hurt,” said Blue. “I got battle scars. You try to get back up and do it again. It’s always going to happen.”
“What we need to prevent is somebody getting seriously hurt and the conclusion that we’ve come to is that we can make the park safer, it will never be 100 percent safe, but we can make it safer if the bikes aren’t there.”
Donahue said that the park was built as a skateboard park.
“You can ride bikes there, trust me” said Blue.
“I understand what you are saying, but the fact that we won’t allow bikes does not give you permission to ride on someone else’s property. That’s not a cause and effect. But we’ve had issues with the park ever since it opened. The skateboard park is a self-policing park. It’s up to you guys who use the park to make sure you wear your helmets and pads. This isn’t the perfect solution.”
Donahue suggested the bikers get together to help develop a better solution to the problem rather than the bike ban.
“We’re not trying to freeze you out or punish you,” said Donohue. “But we have to look at the greater good of the community and we have to try to prevent these injuries from getting worse and worse. It’s not something that we want to do; it’s something that is our responsibility to do.”