Views aired on skateboarding bylaw

Dunedin City Council Environmental Health leader Ros MacGill speaks to St Clair residents during...
Dunedin City Council Environmental Health leader Ros MacGill speaks to St Clair residents during the Dunedin City Council skateboarding bylaw review meeting at the South Coast Boardriders Club last night. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

Skateboarding along the Esplanade at St Clair should be encouraged, a group of local residents say.

Dunedin City Council Environmental Health leader Ros MacGill held a public meeting at the South Coast Boardriders Club last night, where local residents had the chance to voice their opinions on a council skateboarding bylaw review taking place at present.

The control of skateboarding bylaw, adopted in 2005, prohibits skateboarding along the Esplanade and areas of the central city, including the Octagon and parts of George, Princes and Stuart Sts.

Mrs MacGill said the council had never used enforcement action in relation to the bylaw along the Esplanade at St Clair.

Council officers can issue a $100 fine for skateboarding in a prohibited area.

She said the reason the bylaw was introduced was to limit damage to streets and to limit the chance of skateboarders hitting pedestrians.

She said there had been ''no major complaints'' about both those concerns.

Residents came to a consensus during the meeting that the image of skateboarding as a dangerous pastime was not accurate for the Esplanade.

They agreed it was a ''healthy'' activity for their children to be involved in.

Mrs MacGill encouraged those who attended to fill out a council survey on the skateboarding bylaw to be used as part of the council's review.

elliot.parker@odt.co.nz

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