Downey, CA Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Roadway use
- Banned for skateboards, skates, coasters
- Business-district sidewalks
- Off-limits to skateboards and skates
- Motorized scooters/skateboards
- Banned on all sidewalks, all times
- Disability exception
- Applies only to motorized devices
- Penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine or 6 months jail
Summary
Downey bans roller skates, skateboards, coasters, and similar toy vehicles from any roadway or from sidewalks within a business district. Motorized scooters, motorized skateboards, and other personal mobility devices are barred from every public sidewalk in the city at all times, except for transportation by disabled riders.
(a) No person mounted upon roller skates or riding in, on, or by means of any skateboard, coaster, toy vehicle, or similar device shall go upon any roadway or upon the sidewalk in any business district. (b) No person shall ride a motorized scooter, skateboard or personalized mobility device other than for transportation purposes of disabled persons upon any public sidewalk within the city at any time.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4807734; v5 updated 2026-01-27).
Full Breakdown
Municipal Code Section 3164 splits its restriction into two tiers. Subsection (a) bars anyone mounted on roller skates or riding a skateboard, coaster, toy vehicle, or similar device from going onto any roadway, and separately bars those devices from any sidewalk located in a business district, so a skateboarder is free to use sidewalks in purely residential areas but not downtown or other commercial strips. Subsection (b) is broader and covers different equipment: no person may ride a motorized scooter, motorized skateboard, or other personalized mobility device on any public sidewalk in the city at any time, with a single carve-out for a disabled person using the device for transportation.
Because subsection (a) is limited to roadways and business-district sidewalks while subsection (b) applies citywide to motorized devices, an electric skateboard is restricted far more tightly than a manual one. 2, all added by the same November 2018 ordinance, Ord. 18-1402, that recodified Downey's traffic regulations.
Violations & Fines
Riding a skateboard or roller skates on a roadway, on a business-district sidewalk, or operating any motorized scooter or mobility device on a sidewalk violates Section 3164 and is punishable under the Code's general penalty section, Section 1200, as a misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine and six months in jail, or, if charged as an infraction, a graduated $100/$200/$500 fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I skateboard on the sidewalk in Downey's business district?
Is an electric skateboard treated the same as a regular one?
Is there any exception to the sidewalk ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Downey
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