Summer has reached the streets of Dowagiac, bringing with it some of the busiest weeks of business for many downtown businesses.

With traffic picking up along the roads and sidewalks of the city’s vintage business district, officers with the Dowagiac Police Department are more vigilant than ever in monitoring the safety of pedestrians enjoying the specialty shops, restaurants and other destinations downtown has to offer.

Public safety officials are again reminding people of a number of longstanding city ordnances that apply to travel in the downtown area: the first being a total ban on skateboards, and the second being a ban on the use of bicycles on the area’s sidewalks.

“The biggest thing we’re concerned with is safety; we’re not looking to write up a lot of tickets,” said Director of Public Safety Steve Grinnewald. “We want people to enjoy their experience downtown, and not worry about getting run over by a bike or someone using a skateboard.”

As the weather warms up in the spring and summer months, the police department often receives several complaints or comments from locals reporting skateboard or bicycle use on sidewalks, the police chief said. People found violating these ordinances are usually given a warning, though repeat violations could end up resulting in a ticket or a misdemeanor charge.

“It’s usually not a major problem,” Grinnewald said. “We just want to make people aware of these ordinances.”

While traveling by skateboard is completely banned, bike riders are allowed to ride their vehicles on downtown’s roadways, so long as they obey the same traffic laws as automobiles and motorcycles, including obeying all stop signs and traffic lights as well as using hand gestures to indicate turns, Grinnewald said. Riders are welcome to walk their bikes on the sidewalks.

The use of skateboards and bicycles is permitted on sidewalks outside downtown, though users need to remain vigilant for the safety of people traveling by foot.

“As far as the rest of the city goes, pedestrians have the right of way,” Grinnewald said. “Someone riding a bike or skateboard has to get out of the way of the walker, not the other way around.”

With school letting out for the summer next week, the police chief urged students to obey these traffic laws as well.

“We know [kids] want to have fun,” he said. “We want them have to fun too; just don’t bug anybody in the process, and do so in a way that’s safe for everyone.”