Skaters damage Sisters sidewalk

John Leavitt spent over $10,000 to put in a colored, textured sidewalk that resembles an old-time boardwalk at his shop on the corner of Cascade Avenue and Elm Street.

Since then, it's been a constant battle to keep the sidewalk from being destroyed by skateboarders.

It's not just that the skaters roll across the textured surface; they do jumps and tricks that punish the surface, causing it to crack and heave up. And sometimes they sit on the curb and pick at the edges till they flake up, Leavitt said.

The shop owner says he just spent $1,851 to repair damage. Leavitt reported the vandalism to the sheriff's office.

Skateboarding on the sidewalks is a violation of city ordinances and the City of Sisters painted signs on the approaches saying "No Skateboarding" but Leavitt said that has no effect - the skaters don't read them; or they don't care.

Leavitt posted "No Skateboarding" signs on posts a couple of weeks ago; one has already been vandalized.

A skate park at SOAR was supposed to get rid of the problem of skaters on sidewalks, and there has been a decrease in complaints which were once epidemic.

But Leavitt says skaters are still attracted to the downtown core. He's seen them pull up in their cars to the parking lot at Sisters Market and get out with their skateboards.

"The only reason they come up town is so that people will see them," he said.

Verbally confronting the skaters doesn't seem to do much good. All Leavitt gets from that is disrespect. There doesn't seem to be any concern for the property damage.

"They don't care," he said.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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