The skaters and their fans would not be deterred on Saturday, and instead of doing the traditional hill bomb on the Dolores Street hill between 19th and 21st, they just bombed down Church Street from 20th.
The SFPD put up barricades Saturday in an effort to stop the skater kids from doing their annual hill bomb on Dolores Street. But police apparently didn't anticipate their pivot, and the hill bomb happened anyway — albeit smaller than previous years — one block over, on the other side of Dolores Park.
The unpermitted Church Street hill bomb utilized a street with just as steep of a grade as Dolores Street, and skaters sped down the street into the Church and 18th intersection — where car traffic was of some concern.
SFPD spent thousands on barricades & cops to ban skaters from bombing Dolores Street in San Francisco.
— BAY AREA STATE OF MIND (@YayAreaNews) July 7, 2024
Little did they know, they were simply displaying severe incompetence after skaters moved from Dolores to Church Street for their annual hill bomb.
pic.twitter.com/WKM68jPCkt
As KTVU reports, two people were injured at the event, but their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Mission Local confirms that the mood was "calmer than expected" and the crowd was somewhat limited. While skaters started out using the middle of Dolores Park itself — the central walkway — they soon moved over to Church Street for the impromptu hill-boming. While it didn't appear any arrests were made, at least one skater was seen being taken to the hospital after a crash.
“It’s kinda like playing pinball in real life,” said Amire Lofton, one skater who spoke to Mission Local.
Previous Dolores Hill Bombs have resulted in some serious injuries, as well as the death of a fixed-gear cyclist who did the hill bomb on his bike in 2020. That fatality, and a rowdy crowd that year, led police to install raised dots on Dolores Street to deter skateboarding, but those did little to stop subsequent hill bombs.
The Dolores Hill Bomb in 2023 led to the mass detention and arrest of over 80 teenagers, which prompted outcry from parents and the community, and led to a civil lawsuit.
Over 100 SFPD officers were reportedly out on Dolores Street, setting up zig-zagging blockades on sidewalks and the street Saturday, but the clever skateboarding crews inaugurated what could be a new tradition on Church Street instead — and maybe the police will have to blockade both streets next year.
Some more images from Saturday's hill bomb below.
Huge credit to SFPD, the skaters, and the spectators for keeping it chill and staying on their best behavior at the D̵o̵l̵o̵r̵e̵s̵ Church street hill bomb. pic.twitter.com/kUnUEuTaDz
— Max Dubler 🏳️🌈 (@maxdubler) July 7, 2024
After Dolores Street was blocked off by dozens of police officers and zig-zags of barricades, skaters moved to Church Street in San Francisco for Saturday’s “hill bomb.”
— SFGATE (@SFGate) July 7, 2024
🎥 @stephencouncil pic.twitter.com/ew9PEDHLk2
the hill bomb is alive and well this year, SFPD blocked Dolores, so skaters moved to the steeper Church nearby, and hundreds lined the street
— Joe Rivano Barros (@jrivanob) July 7, 2024
as yet, no sign of confrontations between police and crowds, like last year, but night is still young https://t.co/NHrKJjBXzl pic.twitter.com/rTo4RJu6YR
I don’t know how well that message was received, because the Hill bomb is still going on next to Dolores Park. It’s just not the same street as last year. @abc7newsbayarea #SFhillbomb https://t.co/lirqWaNI6l pic.twitter.com/IEVsf7HsIj
— Ryan Curry (@RyanCurryTV) July 7, 2024
More dolores park hill bomb video pic.twitter.com/uSXvepVUI1
— Mr. Matteo (@Taste_Bunker) July 7, 2024
Top image: MaxDubler/X