SEQUIM — The City Council signaled support Monday for letting bicycles share the ramps and jumps at the Sequim skatepark with skateboarders.
But council members stopped short of approving a change in city rules until jumping through some technical and legal hoops.
The Sequim parks advisory board, working with a number of youths who use the skatepark, has offered several recommendations for improving the facility at Carrie Blake Park.
Riding bikes in the skatepark is now illegal under city ordinances, but there’s no reason for that to be, according to the Skatepark Association of the United States of America.
Bikers and skateboarders coexist in parks across the country, and there’s no evidence that bikes harm the concrete rollerways, the association says.
There’s also a practical reason to allow bikes, said Hazen Christensen, a skateboarder who’s been working with the parks board.
Currently, bicyclists will ride in an adjacent dirt bike track area until the coast is clear for riding in the skatepark, he said — and then they’ll track in dirt and gravel, which is dangerous for the skateboarders.
‘It happens every day’
Biking enthusiast Josh Bush told council members that allowing bikes would remove an unnecessary restriction.
“It happens every day,” he said. “I mean, with all due respect, I know it’s illegal.
“I love to ride my bike, and there’s no better place than what you all have built for everyone to use.”
