City of Salisbury clearing the city’s code, surrounding skateboarding at Unity Square
SALISBURY, Md. – Skateboarding at Unity Square sparking controversy.
“My first thought was, what law are we breaking?” said Bryan Whipple.
Business Owner of Lurking Class Skate Shop and parent Bryan Whipple asking the city, what are the rules of Unity Square? He’s speaking out after he and his family were told they can not skate in Salisbury’s newest park. Whipple questioning why? “The first cop didn’t even have an answer for me and the second cop said it was just the generic by-the-book answer, which I don’t really agree with. But, he said it was malicious destruction of property,” said Whipple.
Salisbury Police shutting them down Monday night when Whipple’s 7-year-old daughter was skateboarding. Chief David Meienschein said skateboarding may be minor but it is against city code. “It is a violation to skate there. It is a violation of the city Code 10.36. It is up to a $100 fine for a first offense. We’re not trying to get into a habit of writing citations for skateboarding in the area. We’re not. All we’re really trying to do is garner compliance,” said Chief Meienschein.
Whipple says the park makes for the perfect place to drop in and if you can’t, then the city should change the name. “I would like to see Unity Square mean, what is supposed to mean. Where people can unite and come together and have fun in a space in this town that doesn’t require alcohol or drugs or just drama? Like we’re just out here having a good time,” said Whipple.
Chief Meienschein emphasized that skating at the square could be a safety issue for the community. “Would some of the skaters, not all, but some of the skaters are causing some damage to the property, some scuffs along the edges. Really just trying to get compliance with it, but it is certainly an issue of safety when it comes to other folks use and using the park. And it could be it could be a situation where somebody gets injured by a skateboarder,” said Chief Meienschein.
And Mayor Randy Taylor says the city has other options for community skaters. “We have a skateboard park It’s in the downtown city park, which we built a couple of years ago, few years ago. In fact, we’ve expanded so there’s a place to skate. We love the skaters, but we’re just trying to manage and not have them skate. In Unity Park. I could see why it’s attractive for the skateboarders. But it’s not a skateboard park,” said Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor.
Mayor Randy Taylor says the city is working on putting up signage for the Square to specify these rules.
