SCOTTS VALLEY > Scooters may soon be allowed at Scotts Valley Skate Park
On the night of Thursday, Jan. 19, the Scotts Valley Parks and Recreation Department held a public meeting to determine whether or not to officially allow scooters in Scotts Valley Skate Park. Over the past couple months, the issue came to a head as older skaters expressed annoyance over the park being crowded by younger kids on scooters.
As of now, the park does not officially allow scooters, and over the past few weeks, police have been issuing citations to anyone bringing their scooters in. As many younger kids and parents stated at the meeting, scooters are taking off in popularity, and by not allowing them to ride at the park, they are left without anywhere to really use them.
“This is an important park because it is one of the safest skateparks for all people to enjoy,” Suzanne Silverglate, a pro-scootering parent, writes in an email to GT. “It is the only skatepark that I will leave my young teen to skateboard and scooter. The only push back anyone has seen has been from the skateboard community. A lot of the scooter kids are in elementary school and do not understand the etiquette of the park, so they cut in front of the skateboarders and are sometimes oblivious to the needs of others.” Silverglate says this has caused some abusive behavior on behalf of some of the skaters.
“It is coming to the point now [where] some of the skateboard kids are pushing the scooter kids off their equipment,” she says. “The SV Skate Park is really large and I feel it can accommodate both skaters and scooters.”
Many younger kids who came to the meeting to support being allowed to bring their scooters into SV Skate Park spoke to the room about wanting to get along with skaters, and also about needing a place to scooter at. Skaters who were opposed to allowing scooters in, a group that included sponsored skaters who rode for the SC Boardroom, explained that for skaters who are seriously practicing, that the kids on scooters pose a safety issue.
Some compromises posed by parents and other older skaters included having younger skaters take classes about skate park etiquette and also posting rules and marking the pavement to indicate where kids should not go so that they don’t get in the way of skaters doing tricks.
Park commissioner Conrad Sudduth mentioned that the scooter users are part of the new generation of people going to the skateparks, and that, as such, the city should find a way to allow both scooters and skaters the opportunity to get along with each other in a safe environment.
After some discussion, the commissioners decided to recommend the allowance of scooters at the SV Skate Park to the Scotts Valley City Council, and to post signs with park rules and etiquette. The motion will be heard by the city council within the next few weeks.
