Skaters turn authoritarian with their "Gestapo" tactics to ban scooters

[sluggers]

Who's Swell on Wheels? In Turf Tussle, Die-Hard Skateboarders Diss Scooters

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444900304577579443292015690.html

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.?Skateboarders often thumb their noses at the rules. At the local skate park here, some teens defy park guidelines by skateboarding without a helmet or safety pads.

But there was one rule many liked to see enforced: that Scotts Valley Skate Park be used for "skateboards, in-line skates and roller skates only."

So last December, when hordes of younger boys atop kick scooters?those two-wheeled aluminum planks driven by handlebars?invaded the venue, they invoked that rule to a tee. Police were called in and at least 50 scofflaw scooterers were kicked out in one day.

Across the nation, a skateboarder-scooterer divide is showing up?and in the process is turning skateboarders' antiauthoritarian conventions upside down. That's putting many town halls, law enforcement officials and park commissions in a tough spot, as they are now being pushed to decide: Can scooters coexist with skateboarders?

It's a debate that officials in several cities are wrestling with.

Lincoln City, Ore., built a sign two years ago declaring "No scooters or BMX bikes allowed" for its skate park after a local skateboard lobby complained of the influx of scooter riders, says Gail Kimberling of the city's department of parks and recreation.

In Gilbert, Ariz., parks and recreation officers were overwhelmed by dueling scooter riders and skateboarders last year and kicked out so many scooterers that Senior Park Ranger Jody Becker says she lost count.

Damien Maloney for The Wall Street Journal
Skateboarder Pero Simic looked up as Daniel Shamshoian rode a kick scooter at Scotts Valley Skate Park in Scotts Valley, Calif., in early August

"It's not pleasant citing a little kid," she says. "Park rangers aren't supposed to be Gestapo-like."

The two-wheeled schism stems from how modern scooters made by Razor USA LLC and other companies have become the choice vehicle for a die-hard group of teens pioneering the rise of a new sport, called freestyle scootering. These nonconformists want equal rights to venues to, in scooter-speak, barspin (flip the handlebars in air) and benihana (grab the deck with back foot off).

But they must first get past skateboarders who got there first. After decades of getting chased off sidewalks and parking lots, boarders have won recognition, with cities building skate parks for them.

Some skateboarders now want to keep those spots to themselves, so they're appealing to the establishment by turning up at town halls and creating advocacy groups.

Among skateboarders' main concerns: They say scooterers don't follow etiquette, often zooming around in patterns that don't hew to skateboarding customs.

"It's a huge debate," says Heidi Lemmon, executive director of the Skate Park Association of the U.S., which says there are nearly 3,000 such parks in the country. She says the conflict has divided builders and designers of skate parks, some of whom argue that scooter bottoms damage the concrete.

Scooter purveyors blame skater snobbery. "I believe that most of those arguments have more to do with hubris and turf wars than actual fact," says Katherine Mahoney, vice president of marketing for Razor USA, which has sold 25 million scooters since June 2000.

Scooter riders say they're outraged at skateboarders' attitudes?and their suddenly authority-loving tactics. "I don't feel it's fair," says Silas Irish, a 14-year-old scooter rider in San Clemente, Calif. "It makes me mad [that skateboarders] are calling the cops on us. It's not cool."

Nowhere is the rift stronger than in California, which boasts at least 364 skate parks, far more than any other state, according to the Skate Park Association. The skateboard-scooter debate has divided at least half a dozen California cities. Towns like Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Costa Mesa and Rancho Santa Margarita have nixed scooters, while others like Temecula have approved scootering in skate parks.

In some cases, California officials have turned to social media to help mediate the dispute. In April, officials in San Clemente, located 70 miles from Los Angeles, set up rival Facebook FB -4.13% posts to ask the wheeling antagonists to weigh in.

One post asked Facebook users to speak up if they "believe that scooters at the skate court in San Clemente would not be a good fit," while the other asked users to "Please 'like' if you believe that scooters can coexist with skateboarders."

The tally was decisively pro-skateboard, with 87 people declaring scooters don't belong in skate parks while only 41 believed coexistence was feasible. In May, San Clemente's parks board voted six-to-one to ban scooters from the venues.

"The community has lots of opinions," says Sharon Heider, director of San Clemente's parks department.

Scooter riders aren't giving up. The parents of some frustrated scooterers have since formed a scootering lobby, called Freedom to Scoot. "I'm pretty committed," says Lisa Klipfel, whose son was kicked out of San Clemente's skate park.

Adds Freedom to Scoot founder Avelino Cortina III, whose three children ride scooters, "If they're not there [in a skate park], they'll be in the streets."

In Scotts Valley in northern California, local police say they booted scooterers out of the skate park after skateboarders called to complain. The discord quickly escalated to City Hall, where dozens of residents packed a parks and recreation meeting in January to argue the issue.

In this case, the ratio of scooter riders to skateboarders was flipped: 30 residents spoke in favor of legalizing scooter riding in the skate park, while only eight supported a scooter ban.

The result was a 4-to-0 vote by the parks department recommending the City Council legalize scootering, citing the need to share city facilities. The inclusion of scooters went into effect in March.

Some scooter riders are magnanimous about their victory. "I do think there will be a day when scooters and skaters can share the park," says 14-year-old Zach Donohue, a Scotts Valley resident who has been riding a scooter for two years.

For Joshua Useldinger, a 14-year-old skateboarder, things haven't been the same. On a recent day, he watched as scooter riders in Scotts Valley Skate Park outnumbered skateboarders by about four to one.

"It was kind of a slap in the face," he says of the town's decision to allow scooterers. "It's just scooter kids all day, every day."

[Stoop Kid]

I dont think anyone over the age of 7 should ride a scooter. Im so glad no one scoots in my area.

[TMKF]

Shits lame....Why don't these pussies just go skate street. Skateboarders should be against more rules not for them.

[j....soy.....]

If there was no scooter....there would be no skateboard....

[ChronicBluntSlider]

Scootererers usually are little kids and I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few of them end up skating. I don't know, maybe in the midwest or something there are six foot tall, deep voiced scootererers. I don't mind BMXers either, but it sucks if a bunch of them are at a park because  you can get fucked up crashing into one of them.

[Choad Muskrat]

Scooters

[Eschaton]

Fuck scooter kids and BMX, they just get in the way and fuck up spots. The scooters kids never are on the streets but they crowd the parks. The BMX kids just ride around in circles doing little bar twists and chunking up any ledges they encounter. Scooters are just training wheels for BMX anyways. When the little kids get strong enough to lift a bike, they'll stop scootering and start biking. Their tricks are the same anyways.

[Thrillho]

I don't mind scooters... I hate little kids.

[ivegotlevitation]

there's so many little kids on scooters at the park by my house, always getting in the way and being a general nuisance to everyone else thats there.

[e.d.]

[Cadillac Ranch Dressing]

[foureyedjim]

The lame thing is the fact that skateboarders are calling cops to get scooter-er's kicked out.

I feel like all that's going to lead to is cops coming by more often at skateparks, forcing people to follow all the rules (helmet, pads, can't skate under sunset, etc). 

Why not just vibe 'em till they leave?  seems easier

[Dominic Hynard]

That's the Polar graphic isn't it. My mate got that deck.

So. Many. Death Glares.

[BraveUlysses]

The lame thing is the fact that skateboarders are calling cops to get scooter-er's kicked out.

I feel like all that's going to lead to is cops coming by more often at skateparks, forcing people to follow all the rules (helmet, pads, can't skate under sunset, etc). 

Why not just vibe 'em till they leave?  seems easier

Funner too.

[HairyCunt]

I don't understand how kids keep scootering once they've seen a skateboarder. 

[landCow]

I can't believe that scootering is anything more than a fad. its only been around for a few years and they've already done everything.

ever see a grown man in a business suit scooting to work? shits awkward.

[Liam Baker]

I don't understand how kids keep scootering once they've seen a skateboarder. 

I have a friend whose parents wouldn't let him skate because it would make him a "bad kid". Apparently riding a skateboard makes you a delinquent or some shit. It's either the parents, or their homo friends who convince them that it's not retarded. Either way, fuck scooting. Vibe the fuck outta those kids

[Fairy Boy]

I can't believe that scootering is anything more than a fad. its only been around for a few years and they've already done everything.

ever see a grown man in a business suit scooting to work? shits awkward.

More awkward than a grown man in a business suit skateboarding to work?

I'm with you on the fad thing, and find it especially strange that it seems to have made a comeback in the last few years. Anyone know why this is?

[Liam Baker]

I can't believe that scootering is anything more than a fad. its only been around for a few years and they've already done everything.

ever see a grown man in a business suit scooting to work? shits awkward.

More awkward than a grown man in a business suit skateboarding to work?

I'm with you on the fad thing, and find it especially strange that it seems to have made a comeback in the last few years. Anyone know why this is?

Gay rights?

[exlurker]

growing up, skaters used to get vibed by everyone for skateboarding. A big part of skateboarding was giving no shits about that sort of negative attention. Now you can only get that kind of hate by scootering. Makes me want to get a scooter and scoot the fuck out of all of your local parks.

[I Can't Think]

I don't mind scooters... I hate little kids.

This

The lame thing is the fact that skateboarders are calling cops to get scooter-er's kicked out.

I feel like all that's going to lead to is cops coming by more often at skateparks, forcing people to follow all the rules (helmet, pads, can't skate under sunset, etc). 

Why not just vibe 'em till they leave?  seems easier

And This. As much as I don't like young scooter kids, wouldn't feel right to call cops and them when they're just trying to enjoy themselves, even if the method they choose is incredibly stupid.

[landCow]

I can't believe that scootering is anything more than a fad. its only been around for a few years and they've already done everything.

ever see a grown man in a business suit scooting to work? shits awkward.

More awkward than a grown man in a business suit skateboarding to work?

yes, yes it is.

[natenola forever]

there's so many little kids on scooters at the park by my house, always getting in the way and being a general nuisance to everyone else thats there.

Fuck it Just go skate street

[JamesNtheGntPch]

I dont think anyone over the age of 7 should ride a scooter. Im so glad no one scoots in my area.

This reminds me of a time a cop told me I was too old to be skateboarding.

[MuchasGracias]

I lost faith in my local when they started selling scooters, fucking hell.

[I Can't Think]

I lost faith in my local when they started selling scooters, fucking hell.

Oh shit, even zumiez doesn't sell scooters.

[plod]

Most of the Kids on scooters in my local are really young, like 5 years old and shit. sooner or later someones gonna hit one at speed and seriously injure them.
The parents are worse just wandering around the park standing in front of the euro gap the whole time if you ask them to move they look annoyed.

[No mongz]

[MuchasGracias]

I lost faith in my local when they started selling scooters, fucking hell.

Oh shit, even zumiez doesn't sell scooters.

Yeah I know, people do anything to keep their business going down here

[sleepypancakes]

I just hate getting fucking snaked by them constantly. Learn the etiquette