Longboard mountain surfers call for space on Nova Scotia's public roads

A group of downhill skateboarders is calling for space on public roads in Nova Scotia to practise their sport.

Skateboarders from Halifax and New Brunswick have been longboarding on rural roads in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. The boarders like the steep inclines, twists and turns — but drivers and authorities don't share their enthusiasm.

Police have received complaints and recently declared there will be no more warnings, and skateboarders caught on these roads will be fined under the Motor Vehicle Act.

Josh Gaudon, co-director of Halifax Longboarding, says the sport is misunderstood and longboarders should be given a chance to share the roads.

"We fully recognize the dangers of this sport … but other than that, it's usually pretty safe," he told CBC's Maritime Noon.

Gaudon argues riding a longboard is no more dangerous than cycling.

"We have the same stopping capacity, we have the same general speed, we are just as — if not more — protected than a cyclist travelling down the same hill," he says.

"It's a lot like regular skateboarding, just rolling around having fun. Instead of carving side to side, we usually try to take the best lines we can downhill to get as fast as we can. We have a lot of fun, we're usually going pretty fast."

Boarders want to share the roads

It's not unusual to reach speeds of about 80 km/h on some hills in the Annapolis Valley, says Gaudon.

Riders often wear helmets and gloves, and have high density plastic pucks they can drag to slow them down. Also available are full leather suits, similar to those worn by motorcyclists.

As for drivers who are afraid they're going to hit someone, Gaudon says that's on them.

"I think that drivers who feel that way, the only reason they feel that way is if they are already an unsafe driver because we always stay in our lanes," he says.

"We always are wondering what's around the next corner and we always try to be as safe as possible and avoid any kind of traffic — that's why we try to do it in a less populated area."

Gaudon says there's nowhere to practise the sport and he would like to see that changed.

"Best case scenario would be a closed course where we could go any time of the year and skate and push our boundaries and learn new things," he says.

"But a better, more realistic alternative would be for the government to close down a road or various roads every week or every other week where we could skate for a few hours or so."

Gaudon says, regardless of the rules, boarders will not stop. He asks to be treated like any other vehicle on the street. 

"If breaking the law is something we have to do, to do something that we love, then that's what we've got to do," says Gaudon.