Editor,
In the ‘80s and ‘90s, we used to skateboard the sidewalks and streets, packs of us sometimes 15 strong. The police loved us! As Laguna got more popular and MTV took over, the City Council squeezed skateboarding off the streets and sidewalks and downtown area of Laguna Beach, without a people’s vote.
As each year goes by the City Council seems too manipulate the laws so that the areas and space are becoming literally non existent. At this rate, skateboarding part of Laguna Beach culture will soon be extinct. And still no skate park! And where’s the money and interest for the last 20 years for the skate park? How can you sit there and ban after you said “no ban” and you were going to follow the PTC study?
P.S. Me and my roommate were skateboarding in the street by Whole Foods on March 23 around 10 p.m. going maybe 5 mph, safe no cars anywhere and two officers were dealing with a drunk bum and his shopping cart. The rookie officer jumps in the street and blinds us with his flashlight. Mind you, we don’t drink or do drugs and are 43 years old! Demands us to get off our skateboards and begins to interrogate us.
He was the one that endangered us. We could have fallen and got hurt! As this was going on, guys on mountain bikes were riding by doing wheelies. I asked the officer to look. He said that’s ok, no problem with them in the street doing tricks.
Skateboarders are not criminals. I’ve lived in Laguna Beach over 34 years now and have a honor roll student in the high school! I ask you to follow the original safety laws set forth by the PTC, which promotes safe riding and enforceable rules. And no ban on any hills of Laguna Beach!
Michael Spencer Taylor,
Laguna Beach
The loss of freedom is something that is being chipped away a little at a time, this happens so some bureaucrat can have us all follow the “rules”. And what are those rules? They are controls thought up by the effete snobs of the world, people that think they know what we should think and how we should live our lives and “they know what is best”…
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