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A pro-skateboarding and environmental activist surrendered himself to sheriff's officers Wednesday afternoon for non-payment of a fine, but not before more than 100 supporters marched, skateboarded and cycled with him to the courthouse.

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MAKING A STAND FOR SKATEBOARDERS: lee Breen, centre, in the black helmet, rides his skateboard along york Street with a crowd of supporters after leaving a rally in support of him in front of Fredericton city hall. they paraded through downtown to the Justice Building, where he surrendered to sheriff's officers. Breen's brother Fergus is shown with the skateboard over his head behind the police car.

GLEANER/STEPHEN MACGILLIVRAY PHO

doing the time: Lee Breen is led by members of the sheriff’s department to a waiting vehicle to take him to jail in Saint John for five days.

Lee Breen, 25, was recently found guilty of violating a city bylaw prohibiting skateboarding on city streets. He was fined $100 but declined to pay it.

A provincial court judge gave him until Wednesday to pay the fine, but he chose to do the five days of jail time in default of payment.

Before he did so, he and others organized a rally in front of city hall in protest of the nuisance bylaw and Breen's jail term.

Protesters held signs encouraging motorists to honk if in protest of the bylaw, and they got plenty of positive responses.

Breen said he decided to oppose the bylaw and go to jail so people would talk about the issue, and he's pleased that he's done that.

But there's more work ahead, he said.

"I wouldn't say I feel like I accomplished anything yet," he said.

He said skateboarders should be allowed to use city streets because it's a viable and environmentally friendly mode of transportation.

"There's a huge skateboarding community here in Fredericton," he said.

Breen has visited other communities where skateboarding on the street is welcome, he said.

Inez Rudderham is a fellow skateboarder, and she uses a longboard - a longer skateboard designed mainly for transportation - to get around the city.

She attended the rally Wednesday to support Breen and to help to open people's eyes about the issue.

"I want to show the city we're not all punks and deviants," she said.

"There's a huge stereotype about skateboarders."

City spokesman Wayne Knorr said Wednesday that skateboarding on city streets endangers the boarders and motorists.

"This is really about public safety," he said.

He said the argument that skateboarders take up no more room on city streets than cyclists doesn't apply because the provincial Motor Vehicle Act specifically allows bikes on roadways.

Section 176 of that act states: "Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway has all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this Act, except those provisions which by their very nature can have no application."

The bylaw prohibiting skateboarding on Fredericton streets comes under the city's nuisance bylaw.

Rudderham uses her board to get to and from work, she said, leaving no carbon imprint on the environment.

She's never been cited for using her board on the street, though police have warned her to be careful.

Motorists and pedestrians aren't nearly as polite as police are when dealing with skateboarders, she said.

Downtown business owner Luke Randall said the city's explanations for banning boards on the street don't make sense.

"I think the city is making a very uneducated statement," he said. "I have more problems with drivers running red lights and hitting pedestrians."

The City of Fredericton needs to expand its thinking about environmental issues and embrace other forms of transport that don't produce emissions, such as skateboards and scooters, he said.

Randall said one solution may be to lobby the province for changes to the Motor Vehicle Act to include other eco-friendly modes of transport along with bicycles.

At 1 p.m., the crowd marched, rode and skated from city hall, up York Street, east on King, down Carleton and up Queen Street until Breen reached the Justice Building, where he surrendered himself, a few hours before his arrest warrant was actually processed.

Before beginning the protest procession, Fergus Breen, Lee Breen's brother, encouraged supporters to lobby their city councillors and Mayor Brad Woodside for a change to the bylaw.

He also urged everyone to write letters and keep campaigning against the bylaw.

Lee Breen, who runs a lawn-care business, said he plans to continue his efforts to lobby the city for a change.

He said newly elected UNB/College Hill councillor Jordan Graham has pledged his support.

Graham couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.