Norfolk, VA Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)

Section 25-632 governs streets and sidewalks citywide: no person may use roller skates, roller blades, skateboards or similar wheeled devices on a street or highway where play is prohibited, except in areas the city manager specifically designates, and no one may attach themselves or the device to a moving vehicle. Where a sidewalk's general area is "conspicuously posted with signs" barring skates, roller blades or skateboards, using them there is unlawful, and even on an unposted sidewalk a skater must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians.

A violation of § 25-632 is punished under § 25-633 with a fine of $25 to $100 per offense, the same penalty schedule that applies to Norfolk's other pedestrian-conduct violations in that article. The rule tightens in two other city-controlled spaces. Section 30-40 makes it unlawful for any person "to roller skate, to ride on a skateboard or to operate any other device having metal tread wheels" in any city park, full stop, with no designated-area exception. Section 31-19 imposes the identical outright ban on any pedestrian mall.

Neither Chapter 30 nor Chapter 31 sets its own fine for these sections, so the general violation clauses in §§ 30-3 and 31-4 apply: any violation of those chapters not otherwise specified is a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable under § 1-11(a)(2) by up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, a materially heavier exposure than the street-and-sidewalk fine.