Arts & Culture
(2009-08-04)
COLUMBIA, MO
(KBIA) -
A Columbia roller skater is calling on the city to change its ordinance that prohibits anything other than a bike or car on city streets. Evan Jones was recently issued a citation and had his skates confiscated after skating through downtown. At last night's city council meeting, Jones admitted what he did was against the rules, but called on the council to change the city ordinance to allow skaters within the downtown area and other currently prohibited areas. He says he commutes over 500 miles each week via car, so he likes getting out on his skates. "When I'm in town I like to get around on my eight wheels. I think that it'd be reasonable to have protectins put in place to have a well-meaning person in transit to utilize the roadways within their means to get from point A to point B on a pair of skates or something other than a bicycle or automobile."
Jones made a few proposals, including allowing skaters to use bike lanes. Councilmember Karl Skala says the council hasn't dealt with this before and it's a unique case.
"We've gotten this nonmotorized grant. We are putting bike lanes down, we're ttrying to establish trails, and we're trying to get people out of their cars. This is one of those ways to do that, but somehow this has fallen through the cracks."
Skala says he understands the public safety reasoning behind the ordinance. He says he sees some sort of comprimse established after the council looks into it more. The council approved Skala's recommendation to examine how other cities have dealt with similar skating ordinance issues and refer the question to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission.
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