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I’m a bit curious if anyone knows the law/rules on this. However I recently got back into skateboarding after 14 years of a hiatus from the hobby. And I was planning to hit a nearby stake center to practice in the early AM. I really don’t like using my street due to car traffic, and having to stop whenever they come through. And my driveway really isn’t long enough. And church parking lots tend to be ideal due to smoothness and some curbs to use for grinding. Could the church kick me off if I was there skateboarding when it was empty? I don’t know whether there’s a specific rule against it, but even if there were no rule against it I would stop if someone from church asked me to stop. In other words, I wouldn’t try to challenge them. Do they have any signs that say: “No skateboarding allowed”? As they say: “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission.” (Or some variation.)
Sometimes, I think we suffer from too much guilty than trying to just enjoy life.
I would just use the parking lot and deal with it if someone asks you to stop using it. I don’t know if there are any rules about using the property for that purpose. But if you ask, the answer is probably “No” because no one wants the liability in case you hurt yourself. But I don’t think this is a big issue for anyone in authority right now. SilentDawning wrote:
I would just use the parking lot and deal with it if someone asks you to stop using it. I don’t know if there are any rules about using the property for that purpose. But if you ask, the answer is probably “No” because no one wants the liability in case you hurt yourself. But I don’t think this is a big issue for anyone in authority right now.
Makes sense. In theory it probably should not be an issue. However these days some people seemingly have a trigger finger when it comes to calling the police over anything they disprove of no matter how little it impacts them. I still remember when I was 15 and my Dad was teaching me to drive. We used our church parking lot in the evening, and someone called the police on us. lol
I just remember when I used to skateboard people would drive us out almost anywhere we went.
The church is “private property” and as such can dictate what can and can’t happen there. There are places where our churches are fenced in and gated (more as a crime preventative than anything else). Our own building (not fenced or gated) has in the past been vandalized/graffitied and even broken into once. Besides that, there is also a liability issue. Should you be injured while skateboarding on church property it is possible (although not likely in your case) that you could sue. That happened once at our building when someone slipped in the icy parking lot (the church did offer to pay whatever wasn’t covered by his insurance but that’s not what he wanted and they did eventually pay a settlement). And sometimes skateboarders do damage curbs, stair rails, etc. In short, there are plenty of valid reasons the church could want people not to skateboard (or do any number of other non-church activities) on their property. To answer your question, yes, they could ask you to leave and not skateboard there. That doesn’t mean they will. I used to take our kids to the church parking lot when they were learning how to ride bikes or roller skates. We were never told to stop. Cnsl1 wrote:
I used to take our kids to the church parking lot when they were learning how to ride bikes or roller skates. We were never told to stop.
Yeah, not telling you to stop is different than giving permission. As DJ mentioned, there are numerous liability reasons that would prevent someone from giving official permission. Once you are using the parking lot without permission then it is a judgement call on whether or not to ask you to stop. Teaching kids to ride bikes in the parking lot might not be confronted whereas a young adult grinding their skateboard on the curb might meet a different response.Still, if it were me wanting to skateboard I think I’d do it until someone noticed and asked me to stop. Sometimes it is better to ask forgiveness than permission.
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