The notorious skateboard hill-bomb event that used to happen on Dolores Street next to Dolores Park, and which last year became a smaller, city-sanctioned event on Twin Peaks, inspired a new version at another location this past weekend.<\/p>\n
In case you missed it, and you likely did if you don’t live near Telegraph Hill, a number of skateboarders hill-bombed Montgomery Street on Sunday afternoon. It’s not clear why it was randomly scheduled in mid-April, when a reimagined version of the Dolores Hill Bomb just happened in October<\/a> on Twin Peaks.<\/p>\n The only online evidence we see in the way of an event announcement is this flyer<\/a>, which says that On Everything I Love was presenting the Frisco Hill Bomb on Sunday, April 12, at 2 pm. Participants were told to gather at Montgomery and Vallejo streets. “Bring boards, and your people,” the flyer says. “Respect the ride. Respect the city.”<\/p>\n As ABC 7 reports<\/a>, unlike the unsanctioned hill-bomb events of yesteryear, which usually happened in early July \u2014 and which led to some nasty interactions<\/a> with police in recent years \u2014 this year’s event “drew more police officers than participants.” And the organizers said they “hope for better cooperation with city officials in the future.”<\/p>\n Unlike the October event, which was ostensibly permitted, this Frisco Hill Bomb was not sanctioned by the city.<\/p>\n One of the organizers, Deonta Harper, told ABC 7, “Want everybody to come out and enjoy themselves. Whether you fall, slide out, or ride down the hill and make it, you’re gonna have the thrill of being together as a community.”<\/p>\n The Dolores Hill Bomb used to just happen, in the chaotic way of some grassroots events, without any public announcement, but a police crackdown began in 2017<\/a>, which was marked by tense confrontations. And further efforts by police came after a well known skater was seriously injured in 2019<\/a>, and a fixed-gear cyclist died<\/a> while bombing down the hill in 2020, which led to the city installing those plastic dots on the roadway.<\/p>\n The SFPD put on riot gear and got very aggressive at the 2023 Hill Bomb, arresting 81 minors<\/a> and angering many of their parents.<\/p>\n The event still tried to stay underground, and following a police presence thwarting the use of Dolores Street, an unsanctioned hill bomb went ahead in 2024 one block over, on Church Street. <\/p>\n It’s unclear whether the organizers of last fall’s sanctioned version on Twin Peaks intend to repeat that effort.<\/p>\n Photo by Shawn Henry<\/a><\/p>\n