It seems that people in Front Royal are waking up to the needs of skaters. Many residents have realized that skateboarding and roller-blading are actual sports, and the athletes who choose to participate in them deserve better than the current status quo. As it stands now, skaters can legally skate only on sidewalks . Nate Rappole, a college student who attends Lord Fairfax Community College, claims local police have harassed him because of his skating. He said police officers have run him out of public parks and public parking lots, and that an officer threatened to confiscate his skateboard.
Police say they're just trying to protect skaters and the public as well.
Skating in parking lots and in the road can lead to dangerous consequences. The police department has the duty of enforcing laws that were made to protect the safety of the citizens, Hutcheson said. I'm not concerned with what they ride, as long as they obey the laws. While it is true that many skating stunts are unsafe, there were only 35,000 injuries nationwide related to skating in 1996, said Karen Roberts, co-chairman of The Movement. Some people in town claim that skaters damage public property, say members of The Movement.