Police Face Challenges, Express Concern for Safety Following Quarterly Club Nights

There is a growing concern among Baltimore County police that a wildly popular quarterly dance night at a Parkville roller skating rink could lead to a young person, or dozens of them, getting seriously hurt as a result of crowds crossing busy roads.

The Club Nights hosted by Skateland Putty Hill have grown in popularity over the last five years and now five to eight security staffers and police officers from two county precincts, as well as the Maryland Transportation Authority, are required to help direct traffic and keep the peace.

“It creates a challenge for covering the whole precinct area,” said Capt. Michael Balog, of the White Marsh Precinct.

As many as 900 kids, ranging in age from middle school to high school, maxed out the most recent Skateland Club Night on Friday, April 5. Skateland-hired security, who are off-duty Maryland State Police troopers, began setting up cones to direct traffic through the parking lot at about 10:30, a half-hour before the Club Night comes to an end. (See a recap of the last Club Night, as observed by Patch, below.)

By 10:50 p.m., a line of cars stretched from the Denny’s parking lot that shares space with Skateland to the intersection of Belair Road and Rossville Boulevard.

Police and Skateland management however aren’t as concerned by the kids who are being picked up, as the ones who cross the street en masse, with little to no regard for safety.

“There have been times when they have shut down Belair Road,” said Lt. Ron Brooks, also of the White Marsh Precinct.

Working with the business community affected by the influx of young people in the area on a given Friday night Brooks noted, “that situation is improving but it’s not where we want it to be.”

The goal is to avoid a situation where someone is hit by a car, Brooks said.

There have been reports of fighting and shoplifting in the five years Skateland has hosted a Club Night, although the April 5 event yielded only two calls for service. At 11:13 p.m., police were called to the 8000 block of Belair Road in response to a report of a fight between two girls, although police could not verify an incident. The second call came at 11:44 p.m., for the large crowd that left from Skateland.

“It’s a simple crowd control problem,” Balog said.

For the record, there is no crosswalk in the 8000 block of Belair Road so the large group of young pedestrians can safely cross. Problems persist when a group of kids runs across the street to catch a bus home.

The Club Nights have become a necessary revenue generator for Skateland Putty Hill, the most popular of the three skating rinks of the same name in Baltimore County.

“Every time we do the event, we learn more and more,” general manager Daniel Porter said. “Our reputation is that we don’t tolerate anything.”

Skateland has spoken directly to local businesses who absorb the wave of kids leaving the rink after these special dance nights. The rink also started sending out flyers to the businesses in anticipation of the large crowds, Porter said.

It costs $15, an increase in admission price, to attend the Club Night event, which features the popular DJ Lucky and drugs or alcohol are prohibited.
The wholesome event is a draw for kids looking for something safe to do on a Friday evening. Porter said Skateland is all for providing that wholesome outlet.

“There is nothing for kids to do anymore. Seriously, what can they do now-a-days that’s not expensive?” Porter said.

The rink has come to rely on the revenue generated from Club Nights, where a regular afternoon of skating costs a mere $4.

“Skating isn’t as popular as it used to be,” Porter said.

Brooks, who has been working toward a resolution to the issues created by hundreds of kids leaving the sink, added, “you need the revenue from Club Night to be open on a Tuesday.”

Porter said that the rink reached out to the Maryland Transit Administration to send an extra bus down Belair Road to accommodate kids who want to go home. He said the request was denied citing feasibility issues.

Instead of an extra bus, passersby would observe no less than a dozen police cruisers, MdTA police shining flashlights and a police helicopter keeping the crowd under control. 

“We physically can’t stop someone from walking down Belair Road,” Porter said.

Patch observed the April 5 Skateland Club Night from different vantages points and parking lots along the 8000 block of Belair Road. This is what Patch saw:

10:20 p.m. - Skateland security, staffed by off-duty Maryland State Police troopers, set up a blockade forcing cars to enter their parking lot from Belair Road and exiting down a side street.

10:30 p.m. - Lights from a Maryland State Police SUV begin flashing in anticipation for a crowd. Pockets of kids begin walking out of Skateland.

10:45 p.m. - A group of men can be heard singing a spirited karaoke rendition of John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads. Brooks noted drunken drivers on the roads at midnight were an added concern for the kids’ safety.

10:50 p.m. - A Baltimore County police cruiser parked in a lot across from Denny’s, which shares a parking lot with Skateland. Road crews just happened to be setting up cones along Belair Road, which actually helped lessen traffic congestion Friday.

11 p.m. - A line of cars formed snaking through the Skateland and Denny’s parking lots out to Belair Road down toward Rossville Boulevard.

11:10 p.m. - Cars began parking their cars on Belair Road—not in lots—literally on Belair Road, across the street waiting for their kids.

11 to 11:30 p.m. - Groups of young looking children began crossing Belair Road at different points. Jaywalking is an apparent problem. At least 50 kids bombard the nearby 7-Eleven convenience store. Police park in the 7-Eleven parking lot and other points along Belair Road to direct traffic.

11:20 p.m. - A large group of children race across Belair Road after reports of a fight at the nearby Taco Bell forced staff to close down the fast food restaurant. Police were unable to confirm a fight at Taco Bell, although the eatery did lock its doors for a brief time, Patch observed. It is possible that the fight reported between two young girls occurred at Taco Bell.

11:45 p.m. - A group of county and MdTA police cruisers park on Belair Road near the Taco Bell. Lights flash and there is a helicopter monitoring the situation from the sky. Suddenly, six cruisers dart down Belair Road toward the MTA bus stop where it is believed there is another fight, although police could not confirm the incident.

The next Club Night will likely take place in early August, according to Skateland management.

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