Skater Haters

Skateboarding was one of the biggest issues of the night at the Greater Golden Hill Planning Committee meeting on May14th.

“Have you heard those skateboarders doing the Kamikaze run on Sunday nights? Apparently they start at the top of Grape Street and go all the way down the hill,” said David Skillman of the planning committee.

“I’ve heard them,” said another committee member. “I have to hold my dogs back every time they come down the hill.”

“Well, maybe you should let them go one time,” joked Skillman.

Problems with skateboarding in the neighborhood seemed to be no laughing matter. The issue was raised on three separate occasions during the meeting.

Officer John Graham of the San Diego Police Department was the first to mention the complaints. He said the number of calls coming into the San Diego Police Department for the South Park/ Golden Hill area has significantly increased during the past three months and almost all of the calls are for the area around the Starbucks on 28th and A Street.

The city plans to post ‘No Skateboarding” signs in the block surrounding the small business district and once the signs are posted, the police will start handing out fines if any skateboarders are caught skating in the area.

Aaron Churder, owner of Overload Skate Shop on University Avenue in North Park says the complaints are laughable. “What do they want these kids to do and who are they hurting anyway? If they are so worried about kids skating on the street, then they should build a skate-park. I spent years trying to get a skate-park built in Balboa Park, but no one acted on it. So we went down to Chula Vista and built one, and now everyone’s loving us for building it there. Instead of being out unsupervised, kids are at the Boys and Girls Club on Friday and Saturday nights.”

Churder continued, “The city should take one of these old run-down parks, like the one on Texas Street, that are full of crack-heads and prostitutes and turn it into a park and maybe that will be the end of the issue. It’s completely ridiculous.”