In a tight 4-3 vote, Sackville town council approved first reading of an amended streets bylaw that would lift the ban on getting around town on a skateboard.
Four councillors voted in favour: Allison Butcher, Andrew Black, Bill Evans and Sabine Dietz. And three councillors voted against: Ken Hicks, Michael Tower, and Matt Estabrooks.
Bruce Phinney was absent for yesterday’s meeting, and had been expected to vote against, since he also opposed a motion in April to pursue changes to the bylaw. Phinney’s absence on Monday prevented a draw, which would have meant a tie-breaking vote from Mayor Shawn Mesheau.
That tie-breaking vote might still be needed next month, as the revised bylaw comes back to council for second and possibly third reading in September.
BALANCING RISKS AND BENEFITS
Councillor Bill Evans spoke about balancing the safety and liability risk associated with having skateboards on streets with other considerations, like freedom and fairness.
“We need to be prudent about telling others what they can or cannot do,” said Evans. “There’s a big difference between regulation for the public good, and regulating people for their own good.”
“As Councillor Hicks said at our last meeting, the most dangerous thing most of us do is drive a motor vehicle. But we don’t usually ban things that people want to do because they’re risky, we usually regulate them to manage the risk,” said Evans.
Councillor Sabine Dietz echoed the ‘risk management’ perspective of Evans, and also corrected her comments from last week’s meeting, in which she expressed concern about the safety of streets for cycling and other forms of active transportation.
“I want to go back to something that I said in the last meeting, which is I don’t feel safe… I need to clarify this because it’s not really true,” said Dietz. “I feel very safe in Sackville because I take precautions. So I wear a helmet. I drive my bike in the middle of the road if the side is parked with cars… I think that speaks to the responsibility that you take when you use our roads.”
“Our role and is not to eliminate all risks,” said Dietz. “Like I don’t expect the roads to be perfect for me as a cyclist. But I expect for the really dangerous pieces to be removed.”
Dietz said she felt that not allowing skateboards on street would be logically equivalent to not allowing bikes, “and I think that is something totally unrealistic.”
INVEST IN SKATEBOARD PARK INSTEAD
Councillor Michael Tower was the first to speak against the revised bylaw. Tower said he was not pleased with the research provided by Moncton firm LAC Group, and took it upon himself to call around to municipalities with skateboard rules to find out for himself. He found that most places had some form of restriction, including limiting skateboards to side streets. He also found that many places had made investments in skatepark infrastructure.
“The municipalities which I contacted said that their biggest gain was working with the skateboarders and investing in a skateboard park,” said Tower. “I think that’s where we should be looking.”
“And I definitely don’t think we should allow them on Main Street or Bridge Street,” said Tower, citing higher congestion and faster traffic. “I think that’s one of the weakest points,” said Tower.
A GREENER WAY TO GET MILK
Councillor Allison Butcher agreed that investment in the skatepark was a good idea, but that the issue of allowing people to use skateboards to get around was a separate issue.
“What we’re looking at is meeting the needs of people who live a kilometre away from the grocery store and need milk, and can skateboard there faster than they can walk there, or can skateboard there in a greener manner,” said Butcher.
“I agree with Councillor Tower that we should be looking at improvements to our skate park, but I don’t think we have to make this an either/or.”
DON’T WANT TO SEE SOMEBODY HURT
Councillor Matt Estabrooks opposed the revised bylaw, and said he felt cyclists, pedestrians and skateboarders should be considered differently, pointing out that infrastructure has developed to keep them separated from each other and motor vehicles. “People walked before they drove bicycles,” said Estabrooks. “And when the car came along, we built infrastructure. We put in place sidewalks for them, so that we weren’t mixing, having vehicles and people in close proximity.”
Estabrooks said he feels that the way skateboards are controlled—by balance of the operator—separates them from bikes. “It takes very little put the person off balance,” said Estabrooks. “So I find myself in a situation where I don’t think I can support this because I don’t want to see somebody hurt.”
CALLING FOR MORE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION OPPORTUNITIES
Councillor Andrew Black elaborated on Councillor Butcher’s point about the difference between skateboarding for transportation and skateboarding at a skatepark.
“There’s a huge difference between what it means to skate in a skatepark and what it means to skate on a road,” said Black, pointing out that the proposed by-law prohibited tricks on skateboards while on town streets. “This bylaw allows people to do just what bikes are doing, which is travel from point A to point B.”
Black said he was supporting the bylaw changes because it “fits right in” to the town’s recreation master plan, which calls for more active transportation opportunities. He also added that in a public safety liaison meeting with RCMP Sgt Paul Gagne, the officer shared his opinion that “people who are skating currently are doing so in a safe manner.”
Councilor Ken Hicks didn’t speak on Monday, though did express his concerns over the safety of having people on skateboards share space with people in vehicles and on bikes at last week’s discussion meeting. Hicks voted against first reading of the bylaw changes Monday.
While first reading passed, the bylaw is expected back for second and third reading next week, and may require a tie-breaking vote from Mayor Shawn Mesheau at that point.
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