Stratford, CT Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)

Chapter 178 was adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Stratford on 5-13-1996 as Ord. No. 96-01. Section 178-2 creates one offense, skateboarding in a business area or a designated public area, and it defines the offense by where the rider is: the person must be using a skateboard on the sidewalk. The chapter has only two sections. It prints no speed limit, no helmet rule and no age limit, and it does not name a department to enforce it.

Two definitions in § 178-1 decide where the ban applies. A business area exists when four or more businesses or storefronts adjoin each other and share one or more entrances, parking areas or sidewalks. A designated public area is an area designated by the Stratford Town Council where notice of the designation is posted, and the designation continues until a majority of the Town Council rescinds it. A skateboard is defined as an oblong piece of fiberglass or other material mounted on wheels for riding or standing upon.

Because a designated public area depends on posted notice, a rider in Stratford, Connecticut has to look for the posted sign before assuming a place is open to skateboarding. A single storefront or a pair of shops does not meet the four-business test, and a row of four that shares no entrance, parking area or sidewalk does not either. The general references at the top of the chapter point readers to Chapter 186 for streets and sidewalks and to Chapter A220 for the Zoning Regulations adopted by the Zoning Commission.