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.
โItโs hard to bifurcate the two issues,โ Sheriff Chris Nanos told the supervisors before the ordinance was approved, referring to median panhandling and the safety issues it raises. โAnd I know that that is what Iโm going to try to do today, because I want this to be about public safety.โ
Nevertheless, he added later that the ordinance โshould catapult the conversation about what we as a community do with our homeless people, those who suffer.โ
The measure passed with a 4-1 vote Tuesday, over opposition from Supervisor Richard Elรญas, who said there were โshades of 1070โ in the ordinance, referring to Arizonaโs 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 sheriffโs department in unincorporated parts of the county informing pedestrians that โno trespassingโ 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, โWe donโt want those people in our jail; we donโt want to sit there and arrest them because theyโre trying to do what they can to get by.โ
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.
โI think that itโs about โout of sight, out of mind,โโ said Brian Flagg of Tucsonโs Casa Maria Catholic Worker Community.
โI feel that there are people on this side of town that are tired of looking at the faces of human suffering.โ
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 โoffensive.โ
She also said that by allowing panhandlers and others to continue to use medians, โwe are derelict in our duty to get them help.โ
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, โIโve been nearly hit by cars just by walking down the public sidewalk more than Iโve been threatened by cars on the median.โ
โYou take it from me, what do I have? Nothing,โ he added later of the ordinanceโs 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 โthe safety nexus to a panhandling regulation might be difficult to establish.โ
Before casting his yes vote, Supervisor Ramรณn 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.
โThey are a part of our community,โ Valadez said of homeless county residents.
