Longboarders rally quietly to protest county trail ban

PROVO CANYON — Hordes of longboarders crowded the Provo River Parkway in Provo Canyon Saturday, but they weren't there to ride.

More than 100 people, most sitting on their boards, others leaning, gathered to rally against a recently passed ordinance banning longboarding on all Utah County-run trails. On Aug. 10, longboarding will be permanently banned and violators will be charged with misdemeanor crimes.

"We'll do whatever we can to make sure we can stay on the trails," said Kurray Gardner, 26, who has been longboarding for more than five years. "There's not really anywhere else we can board where we don't have to deal with city lights, cars and more people."

The rally was quiet — no one raised his voice above a conversational tone — and, except for a large orange poster marking the location of the meeting, there were no signs or angry picketing people. But the feeling of the meeting was clear.

"We're all mad," said Brian Shuey, who organized the rally. "But we don't need to make anyone else mad."

Rather than fight the county, the longboarders are opting to work the system, he said. The plan of attack: provide the city with a list of alternative solutions that will allow longboarders to stay on the trails while mitigating safety concerns.

"All we're really looking for is a compromise," Shuey said. "We are not unreasonable, and we understand there have been some problems in the past."

Many of the longboarders at the rally agreed there is risk involved in longboarding but felt it was no more dangerous than biking or roller blading, which have not been banned.

"If all the people using the trail — pedestrians, bikers, longboarders — followed the rules of the road, we would be fine," said Jordan Linford, 24, who has been longboarding for seven years.

Boarders passed a clip board from person to person, signing a petition to the Utah County Commission expressing their opposition to the ordinance.

"Anything is dangerous in the wrong hands," said John Ferrell, 23, who has been longboarding for eight years. "Yeah, sometimes people goof up and hit a rock, but that doesn't mean we should be kicked off the trails."

In addition to gathering signatures, Shuey collected ideas from longboarders about how to make the sport safer for pedestrians. Boarders suggested putting up signs where the trail was steeper so people could adjust their speed accordingly, restricting passing on blind corners and using fish-eye mirrors to increase visibility on corners. Other suggestions included widening the trail to make a separate lane for longboarders and building county-run longboarding parks similar to skateboarding parks.

Nobody seemed too enthusiastic about helmets, but Shuey said he would personally don one if it meant he could stay on the trail.

The most important thing, Shuey said, is for boarders to obey the ban while the ordinance is in place.

"If we violate the ban, there's a good chance they aren't going to listen to us," he said. "If we play it right, we can get our trail back. We need to prove to them we can follow rules."

Longboarding supporters can e-mail suggestions to ideas@ucboarding.com.

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E-mail: estuart@desnews.com