A Push to Remove Skateboards From State's List of Play Vehicles

Thursday, September 28th, 2023 -- 10:01 AM

(By Jonah Beleckis, Wisconsin Public Radio) When John Pearson rides the Stevens Point Skatepark near the shores of the Wisconsin River, he feels a sense of pride about the community’s embrace of skateboarding.

According to Jonah Beleckis with Wisconsin Public Radio, before the city opened the park, Pearson remembers police officers routinely stopping and ticketing him for skateboarding. On the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, he recalls one officer saying, "Don’t you have anywhere better to be?"

Pearson and a city committee successfully rallied Stevens Point leaders to build a skatepark in 2010 for about $365,000, establishing a public place where skateboarding could legally happen. Now, Pearson and others are renewing a push for easing broader limits on the sport.

Skateboarding is illegal on Wisconsin roadways under a state law that prohibits riding "play vehicles" on publicly owned streets. Skateboards are considered play vehicles similar to sleds, unicycles and toy vehicles.

About a decade ago, as skateparks in Stevens Point and elsewhere gained support, state lawmakers considered removing skateboards from the list of play vehicles in statutes like they had with in-line skates in 1994. But the effort failed to pass.

Two Democrats have reintroduced legislation that would remove skateboarding from the state’s list of play vehicles. Local authorities would decide whether to allow or prohibit skateboarding on their streets.

"I thought that this was a simple fix," said state Rep. Alex Joers, of Middleton, one of the legislation’s authors. "That’s what my constituents were asking for. It seemed very common sense." Joers said he is pleasantly surprised Democrats and Republicans, who hold majorities in both chambers of the Legislature, are backing the proposal.

The previous legislative effort gained few cosponsors and never received a hearing. While easing restrictions failed a decade ago, Pearson views skateboarders as a persistent crop. Perhaps the same motivation to attempt a new trick hundreds of times can also drive a grassroots attempt to change state law?

"If you cannot handle failure, you cannot really spend any time skateboarding," he said. "You have to have the belief that you can do this thing; otherwise, you’re never going to get anywhere."

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.