Bloomington, IN Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Citation
- Bloomington Municipal Code § 15.56.025
- Covers
- Skateboards, scooters, roller/in-line skates
- Dismount zones
- 10 named downtown streets/park
- Helmet rule
- Required under age 18
- Fine
- $20 Class G violation
Summary
In the City of Bloomington, Bloomington Municipal Code Section 15.56.025 treats a skateboard as a coaster, bars riding one on the sidewalks and crosswalks of ten named downtown streets, requires anyone under eighteen to wear a helmet while using one, and makes any violation a Class G Traffic Violation.
"Coaster" means roller skates, in-line skates, skateboards, scooters, or other similar devices powered by human power that do not meet the definitions of pedestrian or bicycle. ... Every person who uses a coaster on public property shall comply with the following provisions: ... (7)Operating a coaster on the sidewalks and within the crosswalks along the following streets is hereby declared a public nuisance and is therefore prohibited. A person operating a coaster in these areas shall dismount their coaster. ... (10)All persons using a coaster upon any street, sidewalk, multiuse path, or multiuse trail who are under age eighteen must at all times when so engaged wear a protective helmet of good fit fastened securely upon the head with straps of the helmet. (b)A violation of this provision shall be a Class G Traffic Violation, which bears a penalty listed in Section 15.64.010(h).
Full Breakdown
025 sets the rules for using one on public property in the City of Bloomington. A coaster user must yield to pedestrians, pass them at a distance of at least three feet or dismount, dismount before overtaking a person with a visual impairment using a white cane or service animal, give an audible signal before passing a pedestrian, and never move suddenly into a vehicle's or pedestrian's path. Subsection (a)(7) declares it a public nuisance, and therefore prohibited, to ride a coaster on the sidewalks and within the crosswalks of ten named downtown streets and blocks, including Fourth, Sixth, and Kirkwood between Indiana Avenue and the B-Line Trail and the Fourth-to-Seventh-Street stretches of Indiana Avenue, Dunn, Grant, Lincoln, Washington, Walnut, and College Avenue, plus Waldron, Hill and Buskirk Park's Fountain Circle; riders must dismount in those zones once signage is posted.
Subsection (a)(8) bars towing a coaster behind a motor vehicle, subsection (a)(9) requires yielding to approaching traffic by moving to the curb, and subsection (a)(10) requires anyone under eighteen using a coaster on a street, sidewalk, multiuse path, or multiuse trail to wear a protective helmet fastened with its straps at all times. 010(h).
Violations & Fines
Riding a coaster, which includes a skateboard, in a posted dismount zone, without a required helmet if under eighteen, or while towed behind a vehicle, is a Class G Traffic Violation under Section 15.56.025(b), carrying the $20.00 fine set in Section 15.64.010(h) of the Bloomington Municipal Code for each occurrence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Bloomington's skateboard law actually cover skateboards?
Where is skateboarding banned in downtown Bloomington?
Do skateboarders under 18 have to wear a helmet in Bloomington?
Sources & Official References
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