Haverford, PA Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)

Chapter 55 of the Haverford Township Code covers bicycles, skateboards and roller skates together. Section 55-15 makes it unlawful to operate a bicycle, skateboard or roller skates upon any sidewalk located either in a business district or place of public gathering in the Township of Haverford. The Township code does not define the business districts by map in this chapter, so the zoning districts in Chapter 182 and the facts of a particular gathering place decide where the ban applies. Roller skates are defined in § 55-1 to include roller blades, and a skateboard is a narrow board mounted on roller-skate wheels on which a person may ride or propel himself.

Section 55-19 reaches further. It makes it unlawful to operate a bicycle, skateboard or roller skates upon any street, sidewalk or public lands in such a manner as to interfere with any pedestrian. That rule applies on residential sidewalks and in parks as well as in business districts.

Two companion rules apply to skaters. Under § 55-14, it is unlawful to operate a bicycle, skateboard or roller skates on any street, road, highway or public alley in violation of any Township traffic ordinance applicable to motor vehicles. Under § 55-21, a rider emerging from an alley, driveway or building must yield the right-of-way to all pedestrians on the sidewalk and, on entering the roadway, to all approaching vehicles.

Parks and playgrounds are governed separately by Chapter 126, which § 55-1 cross-references. The Haverford Township Police Department handles enforcement on the street, with charges filed before a District Justice.