WADSWORTH, Ohio — A Wadsworth mother of three said her homeowner's association banned bikes, skateboards, and even playing ball. Now, some frustrated families feel unwelcome in their own neighborhood.
9-year-old Nathan Haude loves riding his bike.
"Sometimes I feel bored when I'm on my phone watching TikTok all day, and I just want to do something, so I go outside for a couple of hours and ride my bike," Nathan said.
But, the boy isn't allowed to ride in his own neighborhood, the Great Oaks Condominiums.
"Just today, which is what prompted my call to you, as he was riding his bike, not doing anything outrageous, riding his bicycle outside. And a gentleman came out of his house and said, if you don't stop that right now, I am going to call the police," said Kristi Haude, Nathan's mom.
Kristi said a few weeks ago, she got an email from the Great Oaks Condominium Homeowner's Association explaining that bikes are banned for safety reasons.
In addition, this sign was also posted in the neighborhood.
"We've never had an issue until just the past couple of weeks with the kids riding bikes. Because I mean, it happens all the time, all summer the kids have been outside, riding bikes, playing, and up until recently, we haven't had any issues," said Megan Montgomery, a mom who lives in the Great Oaks Condominiums.
News 5 asked Kristi if she had ever seen any issues in her neighborhood with bikes, skateboards, or kids playing with balls.
"Not me, but you know I understand that kids play, sometimes they get in your way, sometimes they're a little loud, again they're children. I understand there are possibly safety concerns, you don't want kids to possibly get hit by a car, but there's much better ways to address that," Kristi said.
News 5 reached out to the homeowner's association via email and received the following statement:
The safety of everyone in the Great Oaks community is of the utmost importance. Condominiums have smaller, private streets and so there are rules designed to protect
everyone's safety.
Kristi thinks families should be able to vote on a rule like this. In the meantime, she said her son will ride on.
"Kids are constantly on TikTok; they're constantly sitting on the couch watching TV or YouTube or making TikTok or playing video games. And you would think that an association or anybody, an adult, would enjoy seeing kids outside playing. As long as they're just doing that, playing," Kristi said.
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