don't skate in Conshohocken, NJ...$1000 fine!

[skategeezer]

Posted on Sun, Mar. 23, 2008



Monica Yant Kinney: Suburban skaters' bumpy ride

Conshohocken's skateboarding ban sends teens on a perilous journey.

[IMG]http://media.philly.com/images/40*49/mykinney.jpg[/IMG]
By Monica Yant Kinney
Inquirer New Jersey Columnist
Pulling up to the Krensel house in Conshohocken, I'm shocked by the sight of two teenagers riding skateboards in the street. So I park and wait for the SWAT team. After all, skateboarding is illegal on every square inch of the Montgomery County borough. Shaggy-haired eighth graders defying gravity on a hunk of maple and four polyurethane wheels must be some kind of threat to suburban liberty.
While his friends challenge authority outside, 14-year-old Danny Krensel sulks indoors on dad's orders - a couple of weeks ago, Danny got a $61 fine for skateboarding on Spring Mill Avenue.
Danny will pay for his crime, but Robert Krensel can forgive his son for taking the risk, given what happens when he obeys the law.
Last fall, while walking a mile to Plymouth Township, where skateboarding is legal, Danny got hit by a car.
When I recoil at the angry purple bruise on his right ankle, Danny mumbles in teenspeak that it used to look "a lot gnarlier."
That prompts his pal, Brent Kravitz, to show off his scars. Months before Danny was hit, Brent was nearly killed running across Ridge Pike.
The boys were on their way home from skateboarding in a Plymouth parking lot when a sedan slammed into Brent. The 12-year-old smashed into the windshield, broke off the driver's-side mirror, and landed on his head in rush-hour traffic.
Brent doesn't remember the accident, but Danny does.
"It looked like it hurt."

Balancing act

Surrounded by statistics at his kitchen island, Robert Krensel makes a point of telling me he's the vice president of the Little League and the PTO. Yes, the suburban dad wears black Chuck Taylors, but he's hardly the town rebel. He drives a BMW.
Still, Krensel admits he's become obsessed with overturning Conshohocken's skateboarding ban.
He seeks a compromise not just for his sons but also for neighbors' daughters who are afraid to learn the sport lest their skateboards be confiscated by the cops.
"If you're speeding," Krensel asks, "do they take your car?"
The 1964 law prohibits skateboarding on streets and sidewalks. Violators can be fined up to $1,000.
Brent's mother, Virginia Harris, tells me Brent received the first fine meted out in decades back when he was all of 10. Since then, some officers seem to revel in busting adolescent offenders, while others just wave and drive by.
The inconsistent enforcement makes Harris and Krensel wonder why Conshohocken can't modify the law to allow skateboarding with clear rules and restrictions, as many cities and suburbs do.
Forbid it on Fayette Street. Ban grinding on railings and jumping steps on public property. But let kids skateboard to a park or the 7-Eleven.
It seems fair, since they're allowed to ride scooters, in-line skates and bikes - the latter of which, Krensel points out, causes far more injuries nationwide.
"We just want to keep them closer to home," he says, "and keep them safe."

Walking to ride

Conshohocken Borough Council is scheduled to discuss the issue at its Tuesday meeting, but Police Chief James Dougherty doesn't see sympathy for skateboarders.
"As far as I'm concerned," he tells me, "there's no controlling them."
To Dougherty, it comes down to liability.
"Do you want responsibility for them on your property?"
And what if a skateboarder gets hurt in front of Borough Hall? "Would our insurance cover it?"
Shouldn't Conshohocken officials be more worried, Krensel asks, about one of their young getting killed trekking to another town because of the borough ban?
On the long walk to freedom along busy Butler Pike, Brent, Danny, his dad and I run into seven skateboarders celebrating spring break on a deserted side street. Moments earlier, they tell us, they had a brush with the law.
"We were trying to ollie over a trash can," explains Tom Mazzochetti, a freckle-faced 12-year-old, "when all of a sudden, a cop showed up. He said we were blocking traffic, but we always moved out of the way."
Interestingly, the police officer was from Conshohocken, but the boys were technically in Plymouth. So they kept on riding, despite the warning.
"We were just skating," laments Casey Rothman, a puzzled sage at the age of 13. "What's the big deal?"

[fineout]

see? thats another reason to hate new jersey.

[stringtheory]

Dude, don't be ridiculous.It has nothing to do with NJ.

Many states have laws like this. What about the bunch of fines handed out a few months ago in Huntington Beach CA during the Bomba? They were skating on a bike path!

I've been skating in NJ for over 20 years and have had little to no trouble with the cops. Case in point, the Gardensk8 and Brickcitybombers crew were both out yesterday in Hasbrouck heights skating. The cops were called on us by residents who lived on the hill we were skating and the cops told us be safe, don't get killed, have a nice day. All we had to do was be nice and respectful.

[Golgo13]

Dude, don't be ridiculous.It has nothing to do with NJ.

Many states have laws like this. What about the bunch of fines handed out a few months ago in Huntington Beach CA during the Bomba? They were skating on a bike path!

I've been skating in NJ for over 20 years and have had little to no trouble with the cops. Case in point, the Gardensk8 and Brickcitybombers crew were both out yesterday in Hasbrouck heights skating. The cops were called on us by residents who lived on the hill we were skating and the cops told us be safe, don't get killed, have a nice day. All we had to do was be nice and respectful.

The bomba tickets were in Newport beach, Skating on the HB path is Kosher.

[stringtheory]

My simple point is that NJ is not the only state that will give out tickets for skating. And as I said after skating for 23 years, some how I've avoided ever getting one...

[doctor worm]

hmm conshohocken is in montgomery county PENNSYLVANIA. i skate there regularly. never been approached by any cops though. this is news to me though. i guess i will go to the board meeting on the 26th.

[stringtheory]

Actually Worm is right, it isn't in NJ at all. Weird that a NJ paper would pick this article up.

[doctor worm]

its the philadelphia inquirer

[Crappysurfer]

strange, worm and i skate there all the time, one time i remember skating past 2 cop cars and they didnt do anything

[Colton]

Dude, don't be ridiculous.It has nothing to do with NJ.

Many states have laws like this. What about the bunch of fines handed out a few months ago in Huntington Beach CA during the Bomba? They were skating on a bike path!

I've been skating in NJ for over 20 years and have had little to no trouble with the cops. Case in point, the Gardensk8 and Brickcitybombers crew were both out yesterday in Hasbrouck heights skating. The cops were called on us by residents who lived on the hill we were skating and the cops told us be safe, don't get killed, have a nice day. All we had to do was be nice and respectful.

pfft #### that. my ticket was like 187 bucks but loaded was sick enough to send me a free complete.

[HerBDerb]

My simple point is that NJ is not the only state that will give out tickets for skating. And as I said after skating for 23 years, some how I've avoided ever getting one...

Well you shouldn't ever have to worry about getting a ticket for skating, unless you're on private property, skateboarding is not a crime in NJ.

See NJ Statute 39:4-10.10

[skaterdad]

hmm conshohocken is in montgomery county PENNSYLVANIA. i skate there regularly. never been approached by any cops though. this is news to me though. i guess i will go to the board meeting on the 26th.

The Conshohocken Boro meeting is on Wednesday (3/26) at 7pm where I expect they will be voting on the skateboarding ordinance. Please try and to get as many parents and skaters there as possible. The more people that show up, the better our chances of overturning this 44 year old ban in Conshohocken.

[a_d_smooth]

Well you shouldn't ever have to worry about getting a ticket for skating, unless you're on private property, skateboarding is not a crime in NJ.

See NJ Statute 39:4-10.10

That's excellent, thanks for sharing. But, if you read closely it basically expresses that in the end... it is up to the municipality to enforce a governing rule when concerning the right to skate on a roadway. Skating on a roadway is dangerous for obvious reasons, so if you're in a cow-town where small offenses bring in town funds, you might be screwed.

3.2.1 Explains about riding on a sidewalk which is legal everywhere.

Read it a few times carefully and it will begin to make sense.

[skaterdad]

[SpeedFiend]

Some dank hills in that area. that kind of fine is no joke.

[livefortoday2007]

does anybody else hate what speedfiend posts? I don't even believe he skates or even owns a board?

[MJKam11]

does anybody else hate what speedfiend posts? I don't even believe he skates or even owns a board?

He does skate and own a board

I can care less if you attack him, but stop making blind attacks; makes you look really stupid.

[doctor worm]

Some dank hills in that area. that kind of fine is no joke.

actually, the borough of conshohocken is pretty small and unskateable. i spend most of my skate time in west conshohocken, which is a different borough.

[SpeedFiend]

an area can encompass more than one borough or more than one state and so one and so forth.

[doctor worm]

yeah but a mandate/law that only affects the borough, only affects the borough.