Raleigh, NC Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)

Chapter 7 of Part 9 regulates Raleigh's downtown Pedestrian Malls, defined in § 9-7002 as four specific areas: City Plaza, Exchange Plaza, Market Plaza and Martin Street Plaza (the corridor anchored by Fayetteville Street and historically known as the Fayetteville Street Mall). Within those areas, § 9-7025, titled 'Roller Skates,' bans skateboards, roller skates and 'any similar device or toy having wheels or rollers' outright, there's no permit or time-of-day carve-out. The same chapter separately bans vehicles on the malls without a City Manager permit (§ 9-7003), requires a special event permit for concerts and exhibitions (§ 9-7004), and bans amplified sound, littering, and climbing on statuary or fountains (§§ 9-7023, 9-7024, 9-7026, 9-7027).

Riders looking for a legal outlet can use a City skatepark instead: § 9-2028 designates skateboards and in-line skates as allowed conveyances there, but requires a helmet with a fastened chin strap, elbow pads, kneepads meeting CPSC, ANSI or SNELL standards, closed-toe shoes, and a signed liability waiver before first use (with a parent's signature required for minors). Bicycles face a parallel, separately codified ban on the same ground: § 12-1006 makes it unlawful to 'ride bicycles on any of the following pedestrian ways or sidewalks: Fayetteville Street Mall, Moore Square Station Transit Mall, adjacent to designated bike lanes,' with an exception for on-duty law enforcement.