Skateboarding in Strasbourg still sparks too often. Last January, an altercation had opposed skaters and municipal police officers in front of the museum of modern art, one of the historic “spots” of the city.
The footage was filmed and broadcast on YouTube. “There is a fed up,” says Yannick “Dollin” Burg, founder of the 67skateboard association, launched just after “the confrontation” to centralize initiatives around skateboarding in the department. “In Strasbourg, skateboarders are still frowned upon by the police. It’s sad, when we do everything to keep the spot clean. “
Above all, the incident testifies to a malaise in this growing community, in Strasbourg as elsewhere. After confinement, verbalizations towards skateboarders multiplied at the “Z”, the nickname of the museum spot, but also in front of the court, another informal stronghold of Strasbourg skateboarding.
A rally is also planned on the forecourt of the court this Saturday afternoon, in the presence of the elected neighborhood Sophie Dupressoir. “Field work, as we do a lot on the subject on a daily basis,” says the city councilor. On the menu, the sometimes tense cohabitation between skateboarders and residents of the neighborhood.
Complaints and “confusion”
“Local residents regularly complain about nuisance and safety problems,” says Owusu Tufuor, sports assistant at the city of Strasbourg. There, we are in a phase of consultation before a possible remediation, because it may be necessary to regulate in terms of use. “If he does not conceal certain drifts, Yannick Dollin nuances:” We must not confuse people who really skate and squatters who have boards and who put the music blazing after 10 pm. Unfortunately, people mix it up… ”
The founder of 67skateboard takes the opportunity to salute the action of Sophie Dupressoir: “She came to see us in court at the beginning of the year to discuss and explained to us that she is really against the ban on skateboarding in the city. Moreover, she did everything to ensure that there were no more fines in court. “
Infrastructure not (yet) adapted?
Beyond the question of its place in the city center, there is also the question of a place dedicated to the discipline in Strasbourg. One of the major fights for local skateboarders. There is the Rotonde park “which must not be forgotten”, insists Owusu Tufuor. “Except that it’s not a skatepark, but a place made for rollerblading or BMX,” Yannick Burg said. It’s not suitable, it’s too big and there are zero modules for skateboarding! “An observation that does not share the sports assistant:” We can not say that the park of the Rotonde is not designed for skateboarding. “
As such, the creation of a skatepark in the Citadel park raises many hopes. The project, which covers an area of approximately 1,200 m² and whose final face “is still under study”, according to Owusu Tufuor, should see the light of day “most likely in the middle of next year” according to the elected official. .
“Finding life together”
The news delighted Yannick Burg, but the skater pushes the reflection further: “Why should street furniture not be directly adapted to skateboarding, with for example benches on which we would have metal edges to avoid damaging them?” Citing the example of Bordeaux, whose previous municipality had initiated a process in this direction.
All in good time, retorts Owusu Tufuor. “Stop saying that there is nothing for skateboarding in Strasbourg. Our municipality has been there for a year. We took the creation of a skatepark head-on. Now, we must not make a decision that could put us in difficulty. “
The chosen one does not exclude “from working if necessary on other modules in other places”. “We have to find coexistence in the city. I am aware that skateboarding is an urban culture with a dimension of freedom. The Citadel skatepark will be a place dedicated to that, open to all, so residents will have to be left alone. One thing is certain: to satisfy everyone, there is still work to do on the skateboard.