Police Cite Teen Skateboarding Down Howell Ave.
An 18-year-old man's 2 a.m. ride down Howell resulted in an argument and a citation.
An 18-year-old man's late-night skateboarding trip down Howell Avenue ended in an argument with police and a citation.
According to an Oak Creek police report, an officer on patrol saw the man standing in the street in front of Trattoria di Carlo, 8469 S. Howell Ave., just before 2 a.m. March 4.
The officer did a U-turn and saw the man had moved to the northbound lanes and was skateboarding down Howell Avenue, according to the report. He went through the intersection at Forest Hill Avenue before police stopped him.
The man became very argumentative with the officer, police said. He was cited for violating the local ordinance on skateboards, which are illegal to use on city streets.
TPom
11:49 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
this is really stupid.....c'mon skateboards are Illegal in Oak Creek?!
Brenda M
2:53 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Was he doing anything else wrong or just skateboarding? If the police picked
him up why not all the other teenagers who skateboard in the street. I see them all the time.
me
12:00 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013
Oak pd needs to waste all the homeland security money they be shoveing in our they lose it next year.
Patriot
8:56 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013
Amazing!!! A guys more of transportation and OCPD deems in necessary to write him a citation. Can you say POLICE STATE!!! Soon it will be illegal to breath public air
Dee
9:53 pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013
When our son skateboarded we got a few calls from the police (that we laughed about). I don't understand the discrimination against skateboarding. The Mayor wants our kids to be active and skateboarding is exercise. Not that different than the joggers and bicyclists we share our roads with. This law is ridiculous.
rodbuster rich
5:36 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
More sidewalks!
Resident of O.C. Paul
8:54 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
I don't mind skateboarders on side streets as long as they are watching for traffic, but on county highways, like Howell Avenue where the speed limit is 45 MPH or busy streets like Rawson, Puetz, etc... this is an accident waiting to happen.
I also agree with rodbuster rich, there are streets in Oak Creek that could use sidewalks, or at the very least have the shoulders widened to accommodate people walking, bicycling, or for traffic to be able to travel around other cars making a left hand turn in front of them.... streets like 13th Street, and Peutz Road west of the RR tracks. I've seen too many close calls on 13th street where people walk the wrong way in respect to the traffic; you should walk against the traffic in respect to the side of the road you are walking on, not with the traffic, so that you can see oncoming traffic when walking on the road, especially in winter when the plows don't plow the shoulders, forcing people to walk very close to the traffic lane. I know that when some of these streets were first laid down traffic on them was low, but some of them need to be re-evaluated, and remedied. Put off some of the other projects like the Oakwood Business park, and worry about the roads that are in need of corrective measures.
Mike B
9:00 am on Monday, March 11, 2013
If there's an ordinance that says it's illegal, then it's illegal. If you live in Oak Creek and don't like that ordinance, then do something to have it removed.
And who knows, maybe the cop was a nice guy who was just going to remind the kid not to be in the street. However, per the article, the kid got argumentative with the cop, which is never a good idea, and ended up with a ticket.
If you break the law, and you know you're breaking the law, don't get mad at the cop when you get in trouble for it.
justwant2comment
8:55 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
I agree w/Mike B; + do any of the rest of you actually read the details of the article? The 18 yr old MAN was 1st noted standing in the street @ 2:00am in the morning (which could have possibly endangered himself or others especially @ night). THEN the man was seen skateboarding down Howell + went THRU an intersection (which could have possibly endangered himself or others especially @ night). THEN he became argumentative w/a police officer. No one said the MAN couldn't ride his skateboard, he just can't ride one on the streets in Oak Creek. Seems like a pretty simple rule for a MAN to follow to me.
As for joggers on the roads, I don't think they should be there either, especially if there are sidewalks. And if there are bike trails in a community, that's where bicyclists should ride to be safe from traffic.
The problem is that teenagers/kids don't watch for traffic or anything else (especially w/earbuds in their ears), but that's why Dee's kid only gets calls from the police + not a citation. I also assume he's not out @ 2:00am skateboarding around either. Most new road projects will include @ least wider shoulders as that is now required @ a minimum in major highway reconstruction projects, but that is not a cureall. Not all communities have sidewalks, + some people don't even like skateboards + bikes on the sidewalks. Some communities have indoor or outdoor skate parks + those seem to work well from what I have heard, but even so, they usually are not open @ 2:00am....