The unique phenomenon of the 80s look at us on rollerskates wearing all sorts of costumes people are skating on the streets sidewalks and parks around the country with athletic competition ballet and disco dancing they perform in singles pairs and groups but these performances are becoming dangerous to
The public so believe they have as much right to the sidewalks as the skaters and they’re angry about the treatment they’ve received and I was standing there and all of a sudden I was knocked out and my head hit the sidewalk and I was just shocked I didn’t know what
Happened and then this lady was very kind and she picked me up my mouth was bleeding I had a big bump on my head and I said get me to the emergency I couldn’t get up my shoes fell off and my back all the pain in my back I thought
Oh my goodness I broke my back or felt my hip for over a month I couldn’t raise my legs to go on a bus and I was really upset and they would sit on the curb and put their skates on they would sit on my steps and put skates on they would sit
On my plants here and ruin them I we’ve been nearly run over two or three times coming out of our doorway by skaters well we always jump out in front of course to protect the baby and and not just kids I mean big people is a big
Role skating was once a pastime for small children who would skate up and down the sidewalks by their homes today skating has turned into an art form that requires lots of space and this causes a problem the pedestrians feel are being forced off the sidewalks well I suspect the walkers should on the
Sidewalks on the sidewalks I’ve only been out here an hour until beginners learn how to maneuver they can do little to prevent collisions this heats up the controversy even more there’s a wall while I was skating around by by the part of their cuz I can’t escape
Very well I’m gonna do is hard to stop watch out for me like that a bill was proposed in the state assembly that would allow any city in California to ban skating the pedestrians were fighting back in the Battle of the boulevards sometimes I’ve talked to them
And attempted to reason with them and almost reached a point of physical combat which of course I’m not prepared to deal with I’m not saying that people should just be allowed to just take off and any you know bear them down the streets endangering themselves or other
People but what I’m saying is there is a way that this can be done where everybody can be happy and everybody can benefit but if they don’t listen to both sides of the story then they’ll never know and so David and a group of skaters from the Golden Gate skate Patrol
Decided that their side of the issue should also be heard a petition was written fellow skaters United and 3,000 signatures were obtained with the petition in hand David and members from the skate Patrol began their 95 miles skate-a-thon from Golden Gate Park to the State Capitol in Sacramento it took
10 hours of skating through small towns past farms up and down hills to reach the Capitol building and hand in their petition five days later David and Roger were once again at the Capitol building this time to plead their case before the State Committee which approves the final
Wording of all bills before they’re voted on once the once the local governments have the power to just come out and ban skating they are not going to take the time to consider what we’re talking about right now they were successful in altering the wording of
The bill so that skating would not be restricted but regulated in cities throughout California all parties concerned are hoping this will finally prevent further collisions between pedestrians and and skaters today after we had won best you had a long time I think we did damn good
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