Skating banned in some areas due to safety, damage issues

Students who skate to class might want to think twice, as new
signs forbidding skateboarding on campus allow police to cite them
now.

Signs that read “No Skating or Skateboarding” were
put in Bruin Plaza on March 15 by the UCLA Facilities Management
Department. Violators can be cited by police, and more signs will
show up in Dickson Court this week.

The signs were put up to enhance pedestrian safety and prevent
property damage on campus, said Leroy Sisneros, an assistant
manager of Facilities Management. There has been much damage done
to university property due to skating and skateboarding over the
last five years, especially in Bruin and Dickson Plazas, he
said.

Black marks are left on steps and bricks, and handrails are
scratched. Skateboarders sometimes smooth surfaces with wax before
doing tricks. Bricks will crack if wax is not washed off, and it
takes a few hours to pressure-wash the wax off the bricks.

Damage done to handrails can also inconvenience people.

“These exit path handrails are for the elderly and
disabled people, and it really defeats the purpose when they are
broken.” said Sisneros, pointing to a broken handrail of the
disabled exit path outside Schoenberg Music Hall. He said
pedestrians can get hurt when they rub their hands against
scratched handrails.

Much of university funds goes to repairing damage done by
skateboarders, according to records kept by Facilities Management.
One case in which a bench on Janss Steps had to be replaced cost
$2,000 for design, manufacture and installation.

Skateboard blocks ““ metal strips anchored on the edges of
bricks to prevent people from skating over them ““ were
installed in certain locations two-and-a-half years ago. Sisneros
said the blocks are not effective enough in preventing
skateboarding, as skateboarders shift places around the campus.

The rules forbidding skateboarding apply to every situation, but
some students say they feel skateboarding for daily transport
should not be stopped.

“I was frustrated when I first saw the sign. Skateboarding
not only saves me time in the morning, but it’s also an
enjoyable part of my routine,” said Andrew Wenzlaff, a
fourth-year Spanish student who skates to class everyday.

While Facilities Management has no plans to build a skating area
on campus, some suggest the school should offer places for skating.
Others, like Wenzlaff, say skateboarders should be allowed to skate
or even do tricks in public places on campus as long as they do not
hurt others.

“It’s a kind of urban ballet,” he said,
describing people doing skateboarding tricks in Bruin Plaza.
“It’s beautiful for the body and motion that skating
shows. It takes so much skill and training to be a skateboarder.
It’s a kind of free performance.”

Wenzlaff added that the school should not target all
skateboarders and that the police should only give out citations
when they see skaters putting pedestrians in danger.

Some who skate on campus do not always do tricks. Andrew Dorn, a
third-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student
who skates to class, said, “It’s understandable that
they put (signs) up. But if people use it for daily transport,
it’s not a problem.”