*** Selah Scooter Restrictions Coming; Skateboard Park Closed ***

SELAH, WASHINGTON — 06/25/2004
City officials here are drawing a bead on motorized scooters,
and it may not be long before their use inside the city is strictly
regulated.

"They're noisy," noted Selah Police Sgt. Tracy Rosenow
at a meeting of the City Council on Tuesday.

"Worse than motorcycles — you can hardly hear yourself think,"
agreed City Councilman Herb Schmidt. "And no protective
helmet is required."

At the same time, couldn't they be operated safely at the end
of dead-end streets, asked Councilman Brian Harris.

"I agree that there is a hazard posed by motorized motor scooters,"
said Councilman Keith Larson. "But, where would they be allowed
to ride them?"

And Rosenow raised the question of non-motorized bicycles:
"If we regulate one, do we regulate the other, too?"

The discussion at Tuesday's meeting led to a decision to refer to
the council's Public Safety Committee a proposed ordinance that
would regulate the use not only of motorized foot scooters, but
also skateboards, rollerskates and foot scooters.

As proposed, the ordinance would:

* Prohibit the use of such transportation
devices in any city park or facility.

* Ban motorized foot scooters from sidewalks or public
trails within the city, and restrict their use to those 16 and
over wearing proper headgear. After dark, they must be
equipped with headlamps and reflectors. They must be
fitted with mufflers, and not be driven faster than 25 mph.

Larson and Harris both expressed reservations about coming
down too hard on the scooter/skateboarder/rollerskater community.
That's because earlier in the meeting, the council had voted to close
down the skateboard park at the city-owned Carlon Park.

"Hindsight has proved to be better than foresight in this case,"
said Mayor Bob Jones, explaining that the skateboard park has
not worked out because of a small group of users who insist on
breaking the rules.

"They make it tough on everybody else," said Jones, adding that
other recreationists at Carlon — baseball and softball teams and
their parents — are complaining about profanity, trash and damage
to property on the part of a few offending skateboarders.

A grandmother, Linda Hargraves, and a skateboarder,
14-year-old Joseph Williams, both appealed to the council
that skateboarders in Selah need some sort of facility.

"They need somewhere in Selah to do their sport,"
said Hargraves. "In lieu of that, they will test our limits."

Williams made the request, and Councilman Scott Smeback
said the city could use comments from skateboarders like
Williams on where to build a facility that wouldn't conflict
with other uses.

"That can become a reality if you guys roll up your sleeves and help
— I'd urge you to get your friends and work with us,"
Smeback told Williams.

The council then voted to close the skateboard facility at
Carlon and begin a search for a new site that would be
developed over the next year or two.

Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
All Things Northwest in BMX!
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