The Mysterious Flip-Flop Ban in SoCal Parks

Even city officials in San Juan Capistrano are unsure why it was originally enacted

  • Share
  • Read Later
Getty Images / Flickr RF

A dog and two people standing on the beach.

Flip-flops can be hazardous while driving, running or climbing. But city officials in San Juan Capistrano are trying to determine why they might be dangerous to wear at the park.

A ban on the popular, warm-weather footwear recently re-emerged in the Southern California city, where the opening of a dog park prompted officials to revisit park rules, the Los Angeles Times reports. Upon posting the guidelines at the park, residents in the city located about 20 miles south of Santa Ana soon realized it was illegal to wear flip-flops not only at the newfangled park, but also at Los Rios park in the city’s historic district.

(MORE: No, a City in Louisiana Did Not Just Make Twerking a Jailable Offense)

Members of the Parks, Recreation and Senior Services were baffled by the revelation, with some admitting to wearing flip flops to the dog park’s inaugural ribbon-cutting ceremony. Commission Secretary Cynthia Alexander and city spokeswoman Cathy Salcedo attributes the ban to a recommendation by the city’s insurer to protect San Juan Capistrano from liability, but Salcedo said she was trying to get in touch with the project manager who supervised the Los Rios park project to get to the root of the mysterious regulation.

MORE: France Wants to Ban Child Beauty Pageants