Scatterbrained skateboarders are hardly a hazard on Windham streets, councilors said Tuesday as they shot down a proposed ordinance banning boards and other teen transports from the town’s main roads.

The Council will however work with skateboarders and their parents to find a way to keep kids traveling from the Windham school grounds to the skate park out of the way of oncoming motorists.

Councilor Blaine Davis crafted the proposed ordinance banning skateboards, scooters and other “toy vehicles” from Windham roads posted at over 25 mph after he received calls from residents complaining about skateboarders disrupting traffic on Route 302, Pope and Windham Center roads, among others.

Besides asking the skateboarders not to ride on the roads, the police have no recourse, Davis said. An ordinance, he said, would give police the power to move offenders off the road, and to impound toy vehicles after violations.

He was also worried about students who travel from the Windham school grounds on Route 202 to the skate park down the road, saying that skateboarders riding on the road, where there is no sidewalk, were creating a safety hazard.

“We’re flirting with someone getting hurt or killed,” he said.

The proposal also reopened an ongoing debate about the misbehavior of kids at and near the skate park, which skateboarders and their parents said is the result of only a few misdeeds and not representative of the skateboarding community as a whole.

At Tuesday’s workshop, councilors, with the exception of Davis and Kaile Warren, argued that skateboarders did not present enough of a problem throughout Windham to warrant a new law.

“I really don’t know that you have the basis to attach a townwide ordinance for toy vehicles,” said Councilor John MacKinnon. “Everything I’ve heard is restricted to Route 202 from the school to the skate park.”

Councilor Liz Wisecup said the ordinance would take away without proper cause the rights of Windham citizens, and compared it to cutting off one’s leg because of a frostbitten toe.

“I’d hate to make a law for the few people who abuse it,” said Wisecup. “I just think it’s overkill.”

MacKinnon and Councilor Carol Waig said they would both support a “no skate zone” on Route 202 between Windham Center Road and the skate park. They also said the town should continue to reinforce to the skateboarders the proper way to conduct themselves around town.

Davis said the purpose of the ordinance was to protect kids who might not fully understand the danger of riding on major roads and motorists who find themselves competing for road space with kids on skateboards or scooters.

An ordinance would lower the likelihood of a tragic accident, he said. Stressing that his proposal was only a draft, he pledged to work with fellow councilors, residents and skateboarders to create safe roads for motorists and safe passageways for kids.

Warren said the council was failing to take into account the increasing incidents of distracted driving, road rage and running red lights, all of which put skateboarders on the road at risk. Davis’ proposal was “a chance for us to win as a community, and we blew it,” he said.

The location of the skate park, on a busy road, was not well thought out, said Warren, who offered to pay out of his own pocket the expense for relocating the park.

Residents respond

The discussion on the proposed ordinance brought a number of skateboarders and their parents to the Council Chambers Tuesday night. Resident Vaughn Staples represented the group, delivering a statement that defended the kids who used the skate park and supported the creation of a “no skate zone” along Route 202 but not a townwide ban.

An outright ban, he said, would keep residents from enjoying the fun recreational activities that enliven a neighborhood and make Windham a good place for families.

“It is our belief the consequences of the draft will reach far beyond the author’s intent,” Staples said. “It is our belief that there are simpler, more effective means that can be used to safeguard the public, and more importantly safeguard our youth.”

Skateboarders often get a bum rap, Staples said, even though they are in the vast majority good, law-abiding kids partaking in their chosen activity. In order to teach personal responsibility, the rules should allow the kids the room to make their own decisions while making them part of the process for dealing with misbehavior, he said.

“Let’s begin by involving our youth in this process to make them a part of, and secure their buy in, to the end solution,” Staples said. “To quote Councilor Waig, let’s educate our kids on the process of becoming responsible citizens.”

Skateboarders and their parents said Tuesday that concerns over skateboarders in the roads are overblown and the result of biases held against the skate park by a small number of residents. The park, they said, is a well-monitored facility that provides kids with safe place to meet friends and stay active.

Vickie Wilson said she did not allow her two older sons to go to the skate park because she assumed there was little to no supervision. After keeping a close eye on the facility, she now without any worry lets her son Blake go to the park by himself. Lynn Bucknell, a trained emergency medical technician who operates the park snack stand while keeping the skateboarders in line, runs a tight ship and has the respect of parents and kids alike, Wilson said.

On a recent sunny day, around 40 youths were at the skate park, where 40 to 60 students on skateboards, scooters and rollerblades typically spend their afternoons, making it the most popular recreational site in Windham. The skateboarders rolled from ramp to ramp, waiting their turn and trading tips and boasts. A handful of teenagers sat together on the nearby picnic tables, snacking on candy bars and sodas.

“This is about as rowdy as they get,” said Bucknell, watching the action from her perch at the snack stand.

Alex Pavlow, a student at Gray-New Gloucester High School, drives to Windham often to use the park. It differs, he said, from other Maine skate areas, which are usually unmonitored and rife with bullying, smoking, drinking and drug use. For the most part, the kids at the Windham park are their to skateboard.

“There’s no one here just to hang out and cause trouble,” he said.

Told about the proposed ordinance, the skateboarders wondered if it was just a generational misunderstanding. Skateboards are now to kids what bikes were 30 years ago: their preferred mode of transportation.

If the goal is safer travel from school to the skate park, the town should install a sidewalk, said Vickie Wilson’s son Blake, or perhaps the school could provide a bus service to and from the school.

The worse thing that could happen, students and parents agree, is for the actions of a few to impugn the name of all skateboarders and end up reflecting poorly on the skate park.

“Contrary to popular belief, these guys aren’t punks,” said Bucknell. “If they want to be up to no good, they can find some place else to do it.”

Aaron Murray of Windham, performs a jump on a 7-foot quarter pipe at the town’s skate park in this file photo.
Ben Staples, 14, was part of a group of Windham skateboarders and their parents who attended Tuesday’s Town Council meeting to oppose a proposed ordinance banning skateboards and other “toy vehicles” from the town’s main roads. Staples’ father, Vaughn, who spoke on behalf of the group, said reports of poor behavior by the students were overblown.