Tags: Knox County Noise Ordinance, Knox County Skateboarding Laws

The Knox County Commission just passed an ordinance that makes it legal to give skateboarders a noise violation for “excessive noise.” This citation has no bounds and can even include residential areas, which means there is nowhere in Knox county that you can skate without the fear of a policeman deciding on his own that your trucks and wheels are “too noisy.” One of the geniuses behind this unanimous vote is Knox County commission chairman Brad Anders. He said:

“I don’t know that it knocks down the amount of, but it allows the deputies to go out and cite those in a lawful ordinance.”

Tell me Mr. Anders. What is the point of passing a law if it doesn’t “knock down the amount of…”

Sounds like you just want to scare skaters out of town or bleed them dry financially. So I took the time to look up some decibel noise ratings on skateboarding because I wondered how a skateboard compares to other common things in a neighborhood.

I found a study prepared by the Portland Office of Planning and Development Review. They were checking out noise levels to see what impact a new skatepark would have on residents in the neighborhood. They found that most noise comes from the tail of the skateboard hitting the concrete when performing an ollie. These are short burst of noise and they come in at 65-71 decibels. The next loudest noises would come from a skateboard’s trucks grinding on metal. This sound comes in at 54-63 decibels.

Now, in this study the person in charge mentions the average ambient hourly decibel rating would hover around 54-62 decibels.

So, let’s see where these figures fall on a decibel scale. The skate park sounds were measured at 50 feet away which is the common measurement. A 2006 article mentions that from the same 50 feet away a dishwasher and toilet produce comparable decibel levels. A normal conversation is recorded at 60db. Once the sound of a skatepark is measured inside the nearest home it drops to normal ambient outdoor noise like a car passing by or birds or wind.

I found all this information out in a matter of minutes. It is a government sponsored scientific study and is the reason Portland appears to be so “skate friendly.” So this brings me to ask the question…is the Knox County Commission misinformed or do they want to have a war against skateboarding? If they are misinformed, this can easily be corrected. Someone with a parent in Knox County can take these figures to the commission and show them the noise levels are equivalent to a conversation and either skateboarding should be legalized or conversations should be outlawed. If they want a war on skateboarding then they should just come out and say it. The county doesn’t want a bunch of independently thinking kids riding around town on non-tax paying vehicles.

I see towns all the time trying to outlaw skateboarding. They usually do so under the guise of noise or safety. Safety will always be a concern, but there should be rules in place that keep people safe just like with automobiles and motorcycles. Noise however is a trumped up concern and should not fly. Please pass this around and let’s try to help our fellow skaters in Knox County.