Officials Address Playground Damage from Police Motorcycles During Solano Stroll

A police motorcycle competition at Thousand Oaks School in Berkeley during the Solano Avenue Stroll on Sunday has prompted complaints about damage to the school playground, and police and school officials say they are moving to repair it.


The annual Police Motorcycle Competition, sponsored by the UC Berkeley police department, featured timed runs of an obstacle course by officers from 11 agencies on the school playground Sunday afternoon. It was held in conjunction with the annual Solano Stroll, co-hosted by Berkeley and Albany.

A reader comment on a Patch story about the competition complained that the newly installed surface of the playground now has skid marks, pits and gouges caused by the motorcycles. Another comment blamed the Berkeley Unified School District for allowing the competition to occur.

Some of the motorcycles fell during the event and some scraped the pavement as riders leaned over for tight turns. A quick visit by Patch to the playground Tuesday found some black tire marks and a couple of small areas where there were some scrap marks and chipped spots on the playground's surface, which has separate game areas designated by brightly colored designs.

Berkeley Unified School District spokesman Mark Coplan said the request to use the playground was submitted last year and approved by the principal. 

"Considering that many of our playgrounds are used for Cal football parking as a school fundraiser, this request would not have seemed exceptional," he said in an email.

"As with any facility use, the user assumes the responsibility for any additional clean-up or repairs needed to return the property to it's original condition," Coplan said.

"Facilities staff believe that much of what you see on the Thousand Oaks playground can be addressed with a power wash, and that any other repairs are minimal, and within their capacity to handle. They are working closely with our outstanding law enforcement partners in the Berkeley Police Department and Cal Police, who are equally concerned with repairing any damage that might have occurred, and are cooperating fully."

UC Berkeley Police Detective Quincy Ruffin, chief organizer of the motorcycle competition, said he has been in contact with the school principal and that UC Berkeley Police Chief Margo Bennett, who attended the event, requested an estimate of the cost of repairing the surface.

He said the annual competition will not be held at the school next year. This was the first year it had been held at Thousand Oaks.

"This was a positive event where the public was able to interact with the police in a non-emergency situation," Ruffin said. "We are working quickly to repair any damage to the surface, hopefully the focus does not turn to the one negative aspect of this event."