Cops crack down on skateboarders
It’s a warm sunny Saturday morning and prime time for Huden brunch. A student makes his way there by kicking away on his cruiser skateboard, hair flowing through the air. He looks so peaceful strolling up South Street until a motorcycle passes by him only to immediately turn around and start flashing lights.
The boarder’s gracious strides come to a halt. After exchanging words with the officer, the student picked up his board and sorrowfully walked his way to campus, where he could finally get back up on his board.
Castleton has large skateboarding population, but many are unaware that there is a town ordinance that does not allow any “coaster” to ride on the streets. This includes skateboards, roller blades, toy vehicles or any similar device.
“I’ve been here for eight years and I know it’s older than that,” said police chief Bruce Sherwin.
Sherwin said there really hasn’t been much enforcement of the ordinance until recently.
“People are becoming more flagrant with riding down the middle of the road. The way to fix the problem is through enforcement,” said Sherwin.
Senior Brian McCarthy, a fellow boarder since fifth grade, has never had such a problem. He agrees that students are more flagrant, but he thinks they can coexist with motorists.
“Skateboarders and drivers need to respect each other and be on the same page when it comes to sharing the road,” said McCarthy.
Other boarders agree and criticized the enforcement efforts.
“It’s BS! If they kept up the sidewalks, I would gladly ride on the sidewalks,” said sophomore Alex Denny, who incidentally has been pulled over twice.
Sophomore Ethan Smith has also been nabbed by police.
“I was so angry that that I was pulled over on public roads,” he said, adding that he’s been stopped at least three times this past year.
“They should find real stuff to deal with rather than pestering skateboarders,” said senior Kenny Bourneuf.
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