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5

SKATEBOARDING HAZARD

Parents, not council,
should control youth

Dear Editor:

Skateboards and the. wheels of
government — what rational adult
would expect one to he a hot topic
for debate for the other.

The debate in City Council
Chambers seems to revolve around
the need, or lack of it, to pass a
bylaw which would prohibit, or at
least restrict, the use of low flying
skateboard users on city streets.

Now I must admit it did take me

about 60 seconds to ask myself. just :

what the devil was our City Coun<
cil doing ‘spending their expensive
time on such a debate.

With all due respect, it appears
‘that our elected civic leaders are
allowing themselves to be herded
into doing a job some irresponsible
_ parents should be doing.

The question that the skateboard
‘debate raises is -- should city
‘legislators allow themselves to be
forced into becoming behavioral
baby sitters for the. community’s
children? |

Is it not possible to. instruct
‘council’s legal advisors to research
“and determine if there is already an
existing law that prohibits any kind
of conduct . which’ threatens the
- physical well-being of people — be

it with.a skateboard or whatever?

- Pm‘confident that:such a law does

. ‘exist.
Should ‘such a law exist, could ©

“council be prohibited from instruc-
ting our police department to im-
mediately crack down on
skateboard users who endanger the
health and safety of any proper

“users of. our city sidewalks —‘most
‘Particularly seniors? ;

~ Could: the’. police’ not ‘be in-"

‘structed to cart: reckless

RCE!

owe

skateboarders to their parental
homes? Could the police not be in-
structed to conspicuously park
their cars (lights flashing} right in
front of the offender’s home?
Could our police not be instructed
to take some time with the offend-
er’s parents to describe the child’s
hazardous and thoughtless
behaviour?

If all of the above could be done
for a short blitz period, 1 wonder
how long it would take before city
streets and sidewalks were cleaned
up so to speak? .

If any existing legislation or
bylaws and what used to be public
embarrassment fail to rectify the
illegitimate harassing and some-
times terrorizing of sidewalk users,
then council could spend expensive

council time on lengthy debate,
bylaw construction and passage.

I mean, council could then
themselves get mean by instructing
their legal advisors to pursue the
possibility of billing parents (who
refuse to fulfill their respon-
sibilities to police and discipline
their kids) for the cost of herding
and rounding-up reckless
skateboarders.

I would hope that parental
obligations should do the job of
ridding city sidewalks of threats to
the general public but, if it
doesn’t, council would be. more

than justified for hitting lazy
parents where it hurts, in the
pocket.

L. Greg Richmend

North Vancouver

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