Santa Monica Council Prepares to Issue Skating Ban : Regulation: Officials cite safety concerns in plan that would also prohibit skateboarding at Third Street Promenade and Douglas Park. Aficionados of the sport decry proposal at public hearing.

Despite pleas from aficionados of roller skating, the Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday set the stage to ban roller skates, in-line skates and skateboards from the Third Street Promenade and Douglas Park because of safety concerns.

The council balked, however, at giving city park and traffic officials the authority to select specific places for such bans, should they become necessary, without council approval.

Instead, each proposed ban, including the Promenade and Douglas Park, must be approved by a resolution of the City Council after notices are posted warning the public of the proposed action. No date was set for reconsidering the ban.

Douglas Park was proposed as a place to ban bicycles and skates because it caters to a large population of older people, who have complained about safety and have requested restrictions.

Though the ban at the Promenade on all forms of skating was postponed, officials and council members left little doubt they believed it to be necessary. Police reported a recent accident in which a person on in-line skates mowed down three people.

A Promenade official complained about skaters zooming down the crowded three-block outdoor mall, putting others at peril. And Councilman Ken Genser, who walks with a cane, referred to how his own impaired mobility has affected him when confronted by skaters. “I have often felt threatened on the Promenade,” he said.

Councilwoman Asha Greenberg said she favored also banning bicycles on the Promenade, but the city attorney said state law prevents the city from banning bicycles from a roadway--even a barricaded one.

During a public hearing, skaters decried the proposed ban on their hobby, saying it curtailed freedom and would force them to rely on pollution-creating cars, instead of energy-efficient skates, to get around.

“Don’t shut down a viable way of transportation for real people,” said Mike Feinstein. “I reject the idea it’s a public-safety hazard.”