Sandpoint send ban on skateboards to the curb

SANDPOINT — Local skateboarders who have longed to legally cruise the streets of downtown Sandpoint are celebrating after the City Council voted to legalize all non-motorized transportation in the downtown core, ending a 20-year prohibition.

By amending its current ordinance, the council is opening up downtown streets to all forms of human-powered transportation, a right previously given only to bicyclists.

The amendment won approval on a 4-2 vote, with council members John Reuter, Michael Boge, John O’Hara and Stephen Snedden voting in favor of the changes and council members Helen Newton and Carrie Logan dissenting.

Reuter, who introduced the changes, said the amendment reflects activities already happening downtown and will not affect pedestrians.

“This does not modify the ability for any of these modes to travel on sidewalks,” he said. “Bicycles are still not allowed on sidewalks, skateboards aren’t allowed on sidewalks. Anything that’s not a pedestrian is not allowed on sidewalks.”

Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood said he will carry out any laws the council passes, but said he has concerns about how to properly enforce the rules of the road with skateboarders.

He cited the use of reflective devices, which he said the law requires of vehicles on the street, as a key concern.

“We’re starting to enter some realms and some areas here that are going to be complicated, to say the least,” he said.

The majority of council was receptive to the changes, but Newton said she doesn’t see the benefit of changing the law.

“The comments that I have received about this since it appeared in the paper can mostly be boiled down to one phrase: Are you people out of your minds?” she said.