I agree with the post above that this is normally for maintenance purposes because skateboarders can really tear up nice seatwalls. I also agree that we should LET EM RIDE!
Therefore, I must show images from one of my most beloved plazas….Heiner-Metzger Plaza in Neu Ulm, Germany.
This plaza is very small and at the corner of two streets. There is an artistic water feature at the street edge for fun and noise reduction, various cross flows of traffic including people coming and going from the towns public library that has it’s front doors onto the plaza, plus a play area for kids, outdoor fußball table, climbing wall, and large chess set in addition to benches, seat blocks and seat wall. And yet some of the seat walls have been given a rail-like edge that both protects the seatwall and actually gives the skaters a place to go. Some seat walls do not have the rail and instead have wooden benches sitting on top to help differentiate between skater area and sitting area.
Below is a photo of the seatwall for skaters and then a couple other photos just to show the rest of the plaza. It had just finished raining, literally 10 minutes before I took the photos and immediately people flocked to this place. Notice the lady relaxing on the bench with her umbrella in front of her.
