BELLINGHAM - Police want to warn longboarders they're breaking the law by speedily riding down the residential streets of Alabama Hill.

Bellingham Police spokesman Mark Young says on some days more than 20 skateboarders gather at the top of Illinois Lane, near the intersection with Crestline Drive, then coast to the bottom of the hill, barreling through stop signs and causing "all sorts of traffic problems."

So officers will be doing extra patrols in the area.

The skateboarders are breaking city laws and eventually, Young said, they might break one too many laws of physics and wind up in a fatal crash.

"It never ends well for the skateboarder," Young said.

Riding a skateboard down the middle of the street in Bellingham can lead to an $87 ticket. It's legal for people to skateboard on the sidewalk in residential areas, so long as they're not causing problems.

Reach Caleb Hutton at 360-715-2276 or caleb.hutton@bellinghamherald.com. Read his dispatcher blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/dispatcher or follow him on Twitter at @bhamcrime.