The presence of homeless panhandlers, newspaper sellers and others who spend lengthy periods of time on medians along Pima County roadways has long drawn complaints from area residents.
Now a new county ordinance cuts the amount of time pedestrians can stay on those medians to a single cycle of a traffic light, making such activities more difficult.
However, county officials said the measure was designed to address the risks to passing motorists and those standing in the medians posed by panhandlers and vendors, and not explicitly directed at those practices.
βItβs hard to bifurcate the two issues,β Sheriff Chris Nanos told the supervisors before the ordinance was approved, referring to median panhandling and the safety issues it raises. βAnd I know that that is what Iβm going to try to do today, because I want this to be about public safety.β
Nevertheless, he added later that the ordinance βshould catapult the conversation about what we as a community do with our homeless people, those who suffer.β
The measure passed with a 4-1 vote Tuesday, over opposition from Supervisor Richard ElΓas, who said there were βshades of 1070β in the ordinance, referring to Arizonaβs controversial 2010 immigration measure. The comment drew groans from the large audience.
The city of Tucson has had a similar measure in place since 2001.
As mandated by the ordinance, the Pima County Department of Transportation will put up signs at intersections selected by the sheriffβs department in unincorporated parts of the county informing pedestrians that βno trespassingβ is allowed on county medians. Violations of the ordinance, which went into effect immediately, will be handled as civil traffic matters.
However, Nanos also said, βWe donβt want those people in our jail; we donβt want to sit there and arrest them because theyβre trying to do what they can to get by.β
While Nanos and many others said public safety was the principal goal, some who spoke in favor of it also brought up numerous complaints about homeless people living near their neighborhoods. Some complained of garbage, including drug paraphernalia, being left at encampments; violence between homeless people and trespassing, among other things.
Northwest Tucson resident Rocco Sugameli told the supervisors he has seen homeless people urinating and drinking publicly.
While most speakers were in favor of the ordinance, several spoke out against it, saying it was an effort to push homeless elsewhere disguised as a public safety measure.
βI think that itβs about βout of sight, out of mind,ββ said Brian Flagg of Tucsonβs Casa Maria Catholic Worker Community.
βI feel that there are people on this side of town that are tired of looking at the faces of human suffering.β
Supervisor Ally Miller, who has been a proponent of efforts to cut down on median panhandling, said claims that residents concerned about median panhandling lack compassion are βoffensive.β
She also said that by allowing panhandlers and others to continue to use medians, βwe are derelict in our duty to get them help.β
Brian Doyle, who said he has been selling newspapers at road medians for about five years, took issue with his selling tactics being characterized as dangerous, saying, βIβve been nearly hit by cars just by walking down the public sidewalk more than Iβve been threatened by cars on the median.β
βYou take it from me, what do I have? Nothing,β he added later of the ordinanceβs possible impact on him.
In a December memo from Chuck Huckelberry, the county administrator wrote that a review of crash data showed that, between January 2010 and August 2015, there had been two incidents involving pedestrians at medians, and concluded that βthe safety nexus to a panhandling regulation might be difficult to establish.β
Before casting his yes vote, Supervisor RamΓ³n Valadez said he would like the county to look into ways to more comprehensively address homelessness, instead of tackling symptoms like median panhandling, a point echoed by Supervisor Sharon Bronson.
βThey are a part of our community,β Valadez said of homeless county residents.