Rochester, NY Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)

City Code § 34-4, added in 2021, governs in-line skating and skateboarding citywide. Riders 12 and under must stick to the sidewalk, cycle track, Genesee Riverway Trail or another multi-use trail unless accompanied by someone over 18. Riders over 12 may use a usable bike lane or cycle track, or the right-hand curb/edge/shoulder if none exists, and are separately allowed to skate on the sidewalk, the Riverway Trail or other multi-use trails. Subsection C bans skating and skateboarding outright in six named locations regardless of age: parks within the Center City District (except the dedicated Roc City Skatepark), the Liberty Pole area bordered by the Sibley Building, East Main Street and Franklin Street, the ramps, steps and plaza around the Rochester Riverside Convention Center, the parking garages listed in § 111-118 and their entrances, the Inner Loop and its frontage, and interstate highways.

Beyond those fixed zones, the Commissioner of the Department of Recreation and Human Services may designate further prohibited areas on City recreation and park property, and the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Services may do the same in the public right-of-way and other City property, provided each additional zone is marked with signage. Skaters and skateboarders must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians under Subsection D, and Roc City Skatepark, located under the Frederick Douglass-Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge near South Avenue, operates under separate posted rules the Commissioner establishes for that site.