City council delayed a vote last month to ban skateboarding in the West Hills, hoping that an education campaign and bad-behavior crackdown this summer can make the heavily used downhill skating route safer.

Last year, the police have handed out exactly zero tickets to skateboarders on the steep Southwest hills, but the Oregonian got the numbers on an uptick in police patrolling the area for traffic violations recently: In the two weeks between July 25 and August 8th, police wrote 33 citations on the route. Ten of those were written for drivers, two for bicyclists and 21 went to skateboarders.

The enforcement is part of a multi-part plan put together by skaters, the police, and city of Portland planners to address unsafe skating in the neighborhood. In addition to handing out citations, the city installed these Skate-Friendly PDX signs and are making online videos that encourage kids to stop at stop signs and be nice to neighbors.

Whether the education and enforcement campaign works will be the question facing city council this fall, when they revisit a plan to ban skateboarding on West Hills' streets.