Civic Minded: How Safe is Skateboarding Down San Rafael Avenue?

From a Mount Washington parent, conveyed through Alison Gee:

"I was driving up San Rafael the other morning, a road that still surprises me with its twists and blind turns, when I saw a teenaged boy on a skateboard whizzing down the hill.

“He had no helmet or protective gear. He was speeding along pretty quickly, and from his confident expression, it seems like he did this all the time.

“I am happy to share the road with all forms of wheels and pedestrians but this struck me as incredibly dangerous. I later saw a policeman patrolling the top of the hill, near the Self Realization Fellowship, and I asked him about the laws regarding skateboarders.

"The policeman told me that the teenager was 'probably just practicing' his skateboarding. 'As long as he’s not a nuisance to cars or a danger to himself, he’s not doing anything illegal,' he said.

"Maybe the teenager was not doing anything illegal but surely it was extremely dangerous.

"I wonder what other parents think about kids riding their skateboards down San Rafael. Am I being overly-protective?"