OT answer, yes unfortunately it is common. Along with "NO SKATEBOARDS", bicycles and whatever other normal thing someone believes to be a social nuisance. Americans tend to be a rather intolerant group for a society that values individual freedoms.
OT continued:
I don't know if we're less tolerant than other societies or not, but I do think that we adults need to remember that we were kids once, and generally, kids are not out to do harm. Still, kids can fail to see, and with some of them, to care about, the problems their activities can cause. A bunch of skateboarders grinding and jumping can create a hazard for others when their boards go flying, for instance. And there's the aspect of toleration leading to a lawsuit if anyone (including a skater) gets hurt.
Cruising used to be a popular thing for young folks to do, going up and down a street on Friday and Saturday nights to show off cars, hang out in parking lots-generally socialize. The one local to me was E Street in San Bernardino. Kids came from all over to cruise E Street. A two mile long slow moving traffic jam. The anti-cruising ordinance put an end to it.
There could easily be a couple thousand people congregated, in cars and along the street. There were of course problems from it: littering, including broken bottles, some vandalism, occasional fights, etc., but overall was a mellow scene given the number of people involved.
The ordinances are unlikely to be enforced unless there is actual "cruising" going on. If I went up and down a street several times looking for an address, for example, it would be unlikely I'd get ticketed. There is the question of free association and free movement, which I doubt has been addressed legally.
The rationale is the "public nuisance" aspect. If bad elements get involved, i.e., gangs, that makes sense. And I can see the point of view of business owners who would find damage the morning after. But most kids were just harmlessly having fun.
Maybe our society has just changed. We're less uptight in some ways and more uptight in others.
