In our view: Open dialogue is needed between city staff and upset skateboarders

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This tale of Lee Breen may well be the tale of two generations.

The 25-year-old skateboard user is now in jail for five days, after refusing to pay a fine for skateboarding on a city street.

He said skateboarding is his environmentally friendly solution to local travel. City police said it's illegal and unsafe.

We'd be willing to bet most of the greyer hairs in our community would be dismissive of Breen's viewpoint.

We'd also be willing to bet the bulk of the under-30s would be tolerant if not supportive of Breen's actions.

Guess what? They are the civic leaders of the future.

We think it's admirable that the younger community is fired up about the environment, if that's truly what this is about.

We don't, however, advocate taking the law into one's own hands.

The local bylaw is in place presumably for safety reasons. The police must enforce local bylaws.

Some say they admire how Breen is holding to his conviction and willing to go to jail to make his point.

What would you expect to happen? Simply put, he was ordered to pay a fine or go to jail. So, he's made his choice.

But we do think it's worthwhile for Breen and some supporters to sit down with city officials and chat. We think he can learn a lot about liability and public safety issues.

We also think the city might be able to tap into a group of citizens who are not always politically active.

In the wake of 30 per cent voter turnout for Monday's municipal election, city staff should be open-minded and listen to all the voices they can.

Breen took a jab at the city's Green Matters campaign and its attempt to position the community as an environmental leader.

We think the jab's misplaced. We think the skateboarding issue is more an issue of safety.

That said, these may be questions for the planners of the city's well-documented Green Matters campaign to consider:

* Does the city have enough of a commitment to creating green forms of transportation?

* Is there enough input and contribution from the younger, environmentally inclined generation, who will inherit the community?

* Have we given enough thought to alternate transportation methods, given spiking oil prices?

We don't agree with Lee Breen's methods. We do, however, respect his passion.

We hope the city can bottle the energy and commitment of Breen and his supporters to help create a safe, green transportation plan for the city.