By Shannon Russell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Many cities' laws are designed to keep skaters off the streets and away from business districts, but Cincinnati skateboarders have complained that confining the sport to skateparks ruins its free-wheeling appeal.

According to section 506-3 of Cincinnati's Municipal Code, "no person shall ride a skateboard on any street, highway within the area bounded by Second Street, Elm Street, Central Avenue and Mehring Way" nor "skateboard on sidewalks where the buildings abut the paved portion of the sidewalks."

In the city of Cincinnati a skateboarding violation is a minor misdemeanor with a $100 fine. Lt. Kurt Byrd, spokesperson for the Cincinnati Police Department, says there has been no enforcement of skateboarding laws within city limits since 2000. But that doesn't mean skateboarders haven't been charged with other offenses.

"We have other things going on in our city. (Skateboarding) is not at the top of our list to enforce," Lt. Byrd says.

Elder High School graduate Nick Accurso says he's paid four or five $100 skateboarding-related fines since he was a teen. He thinks it's ridiculous that laws prevent citizens from skating in their inner-city neighborhoods.

"You're basically taking away a whole city and free roam for a whole generation of kids," "(Skateparks) are like taking miles and miles of city streets and putting them into an area like a football field."

Clermont County Sheriff A.J. Rodenberg says his own son, Brad, became soured on officers after repeated skateboarding conflicts.

A skateboard fan himself, Sheriff Rodenberg twice accompanied Brad on weeklong visits to Pennsylvania's Woodward Camp, a renowned haven for BMX riders, skateboarders and inline skaters. He says many skateboarders are just looking for independence from adults and venues for athletic creativity.

"The vast majority (of skateboarders) are normal, good kids - whatever that means," Rodenberg says. "Some have troubled lives or are lost souls, but skateboarding gives them an outlet from some of the problems in life."

Jeanan Slusher, owner of Ollie's Skatepark in Florence with her husband, Tim, found the skaters' stigmas hindrances until the park's November 2002 opening. Planning and zoning commissions warned the Slushers that skaters might introduce vandalism to communities.

"We haven't had any problems," Jeanan Slusher says. "The kids are just interested in skating. They don't want to eat or hang out or anything else. Just skate."