What happened: Duluth city councilors voted for a total ban on skateboarding in Canal Park. They also voted to curtail reckless behavior of skateboarders throughout the city.
The votes came after hearing from skateboarders opposed to the restrictions and Canal Park businesspeople who were for it. Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said the police department supported the restrictions.
What it means: The city's existing skating ordinance -- which also applies to inline skates and roller skates -- will be amended to prohibit excessive speeds and reckless use of skateboards that endangers and harms others or that causes property damage. It allows skateboarding and skating on roadways, where it's currently prohibited. This makes the Inline Skating Marathon legal.
The ordinance also allows individual business districts to request total bans with due cause. The first request, presented in a resolution, came from the Canal Park businesses. The Canal Park ban will go into effect sometime this summer.
How they voted: In identical 6-3 votes on the ordinance and the Canal Park resolution, councilors Jeff Anderson, Tony Cuneo, Gary Eckenberg, Sharla Gardner, Garry Krause and Jim Stauber voted for them; Todd Fedora, Greg Gilbert, and Jay Fosle opposed them.
