HALIFAX – A Halifax organization wants to change the Motor Vehicle Act to allow longboards and skateboads on the road.
The Halifax Longboarding Society has started a petition on change.org calling for longboards and skateboards to be re-classified into the same category as bicycles.
Right now, the Nova Scotia Motor Vehicle Act forbids longboarders and skateboaders on the street. The law reads as follows:
172 (1) Subject to subsection (2), it shall be an offence for a person upon roller skates or a skate board to go on a roadway except while crossing on a crosswalk or unless on a roadway authorized by the Minister.
(2) The council of a city or an incorporated town may exempt from subsection (1) any roadway within that city or town that is not a highway to which the Public Highways Act applies. R.S., c. 293, s. 172.
If caught, police can fine them $141.16.
Eric Clahane, 21, with the Halifax Longboarding Society has been doing the sport for four years. It is his main mode of transportation to and from work and school. He says riding on the sidewalk is dangerous for him.
“There really is no flow of traffic to how pedestrians are supposed to act on the sidewalk. If they have iPods on, if they’re texting, if there is an old lady carrying groceries, if there is a dog ready to pounce on you, any of those things can happen,” he said.
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The Society says the law as it stands right now is unfair, arguing they’re similar to cyclists and would act that way if allowed on the streets.
“It doesn’t mean we are going to be all over the road,” said Zacchary Paul, 20, with the Halifax Longboarding Society. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to be swerving back and forth. How we commute is we stick to the side of the road and we signal if we want to change lanes or do a turn.”
Wayne Douglas, 25, another member of the Society, says he wants to be protected like cyclists, citing an incident where he was ticketed even though a car hit him.
“The cop says if I had been on a bike, the driver would have been at fault,” Douglas said.
“We can basically be legally assaulted by a car on the road.”
The trio brush of comments it’s too dangerous for them to ride on the streets.
“Yeah you’re exposed. But on a bike you’re exposed, same as on a motorcycle. But if you’re smart, you’re going to keep yourself out of situations where you get hurt,” Paul said.
He argues that it is not that safe for cyclists on the road.
“Car versus bike, car is always going to win,” he said. “Car versus bike with a toddler on the backseat, the car is going to win.”
The group is petitioning for specific side streets, such as Vernon Street or Creighton Street, to be pre-approved for longboarders and skateboaders to ride on. They add that they are not looking to ride on streets such as Quinpool Road or Spring Garden Road, saying the roads are too busy.
Global News reached out Transportation Minister Maurice Smith for an on-camera interview but he declined and instead sent the following statement:
“If you have to wear a helmet by Halifax bylaw, you should be able to ride on the streets and not on the sidewalk,” said one woman.
Another pedestrian suggests allowing longboarders the use of cyclist paths.
The petition, which was started in April, has so far garnered about 250 signatures. The Society is hoping to get 500 signatures. It is reaching out to the Ministry of Transportation and hope to have a sit down with Minister Smith sometime in the near future.
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