Dallas, TX Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)

Sec. 28-63, part of Chapter 28's Article on pedestrians and non-motor traffic, has stood since the code's 1961 enactment under Ordinance 14584 and has not been repealed or narrowed since. It flatly bars anyone on roller skates or riding "in or by means of any coaster, toy vehicle, or similar device" from going onto a roadway, meaning the paved portion of a street used for vehicle travel. The single carve-out is crossing a street at a crosswalk, during which the rider is treated exactly like a pedestrian, gaining pedestrian right-of-way but also taking on pedestrian duties such as obeying signals.

Because the statute doesn't define "roadway" to include sidewalks, it does not itself reach skating or skateboarding on a sidewalk; other Chapter 28 sections on pedestrian conduct near the central business district can still apply there. Enforcement sits with Dallas police officers, who hold general traffic-enforcement authority under Sec. 28-18, and with parking enforcement officers created under Sec. 28-19, who direct and cite for traffic and parking matters citywide. Because Sec. 28-63 sets no penalty of its own, the citywide backstop in Sec. 28-20 controls: any Chapter 28 violation without its own listed penalty is punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 per offense.

The provision predates the modern skateboard by decades, so its "similar device" language is what has to carry a skateboard, scooter, or similar wheeled toy into the same roadway restriction as roller skates and coasters.