Allentown, PA Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)

Section 393-13 of the Neighborhood Improvement chapter sets Allentown's skateboarding rules. Riding, operating or coasting a skateboard on any sidewalk or street inside the Core Business District, whose boundaries are set out in § 393-2, is banned outright, at any hour. Citywide, skateboarding in the public right-of-way is also prohibited during hours of darkness, defined as the half hour after sunset through the half hour before sunrise. A property owner, public or private, can bar skateboarding on their land simply by posting a conspicuous notice against it, and once posted, riding there is unlawful.

Where skateboarding is otherwise allowed on a sidewalk, the rider must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and use due care around them. Reckless riding, meaning riding that disobeys traffic-control signs or is careless and dangerous to the rider, other people, or property, is separately prohibited, and the section applies to public streets and sidewalks generally, not just downtown. Because § 393-13 sits within Chapter 393, it's enforced the same way as the rest of the Neighborhood Improvement code: by police officers or authorized public officers, with a notice of violation or ticket that can be served in person, left with an adult at the residence, posted on the property, or mailed to the violator's address of record (§ 393-16).