I wrote about this earlier, either on Old Lady Syndrome or here, but here's the follow-up: the City of Berkeley has approved Mayor Bates' proposal to raise parking meter rates to pay for additional enforcement of new rules governing public behavior on the streets of Berkeley.
The new rules say people can't smoke, urinate, defecate, loiter (standing, sitting, or sleeping), yell, fight, illegally possess shopping carts, or be otherwise "rowdy" on public streets. Basically, anything that anyone without common courtesy would do.
As it happens, a good number of the homeless are, not surprisingly, upset. In an earlier publicity stint, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates slept one night on the street with a group of homeless men, and as the SF Chronicle reports, many of those homeless feel betrayed by Bates' new Public Commons Initiative that essentially targets everything that the homeless do. (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/14/BAGI5QEUDL1....)
But I also don't feel like Bates was especially allied with the homeless before, either. I mean, without an address, they can't exactly vote for him. Besides, in his initial report, he cited the Public Commons Initiative as primarily targeting behavior associated with drug users who were homeless. I don't think a gross generalization like that goes unnoticed, but I suppose if they're homeless, they don't have much access to the daily happenings.
In any case, I'm sure the smoker population of college students will be thrilled to learn that their pastime of loitering on the sidewalk blowing smoke at particularly unfashionable passers-by has been thwarted by enforcing common sense. I know I'm thrilled to know that when my feet are killing me and there aren't benches, I can't sit until I reach private property...
I'm not so sure how I feel about needing laws to enforce what should be common courtesy (hence, Public Commons Initiative), but if it works I guess it's okay. I just wish the initiative came with several homeless shelters, so that the homeless actually have somewhere to pee.
Sitting on curbs now illegal in Berkeley
By kfed - Posted on June 14th, 2007
Tagged: News and politics
• Berkeley
• current events
• Homeless
• Broad prosperity
• Shared responsibility
• Effective government
• Personal freedom
• Better future
So where exactly am I supposed to 'loiter' if I don't feel like going home, or am unable to? What happened to just hanging out on the street talking to interesting people? Is the street not SUPPOSED to be a place to loiter?
And wtf, now no smoking in public streets outdoors? This is getting really annoying.
Yeah... I hear you. That's why I posted about it. It just frustrates me that streets are only to be used for transportation now, instead of as communal spaces where people run into each other and chat for a few. I'm not even sure that cafes can have tables on the sidewalks anymore.
seriously, about the smokers??? I dont smoke, but that pisses me off. Theres a reason people smoke outside--they are being courteous to people INSIDE, for one! If you cant smoke indoors, and you cant smoke outdoors.......??? smokings not illegal, you just cant do it anywhere in berkeley apparently.
people are so silly sometimes.
Hug a musician, they never get to dance.
Pretty much, especially given that most private properties are non-smoking premises.
Yeah, it looks like they're really out to get the smokers now. I don't smoke, and honestly I can't stand the smell, so I was glad when the law prohibiting smoking inside, or within 20 feet of the door of, a public establishment. But prohibiting it on the streets is just ridiculous.
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I may be sleeping but at least I dream
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