Johnson County city could ban people from some medians. Would it push out panhandlers?
Merriam officials could ban pedestrians and panhandlers from medians at the city’s busiest intersections, citing safety concerns.
The City Council is considering an ordinance that would prohibit pedestrians from standing or sitting on medians at nine high-traffic intersections, other than to legally cross the street. Police Chief Darren McLaughlin said the city has noticed more people and groups standing or collecting money at the intersections — where more than half of the city’s crashes occur each year.
McLaughlin said the law aims to cut down on car crashes and generally ensure the safety of pedestrians and motorists.
If the ordinance is approved, a violation would be a class “C” misdemeanor, resulting in a maximum fine of $499 or 30 days in prison. But McLaughlin said that officers would focus primarily on education and passing out warnings to first-time violators.
Officials said the ordinance is in response to the growing number of complaints about people stopping traffic at the intersections. The proposed law does not mention panhandlers. Many cities have passed similar laws without specifically barring panhandlers, as a way of avoiding concerns about violating First Amendment rights.
A similar ordinance was proposed in Kansas City in 2018 and drew strong pushback from critics who argued that the law was a means of criminalizing homelessness. Opponents said it needlessly punished those on the margins of society without doing anything to help them.
Merriam Councilwoman Whitney Yadrich said she worries about the public’s perception of the ordinance proposed in her city, and called it a “moral and ethical dilemma, not just a public safety” concern.
“I don’t want us to have an ordinance that prevents panhandling in medians at these nine intersections and not take into account that, in my opinion, panhandling can be a symptom of a larger problem, not a problem itself,” Yadrich said at last week’s meeting.
McLaughlin said the law would ban everyone from standing in the medians, including “church groups, Boy Scouts, individuals who are either passing out informational brochures or who are requesting some sort of donation for a charity group or for their own individual needs.”
He added that the goal is not to ban panhandling, but to stop it at dangerous intersections only.
“If it’s unsafe, it’s unsafe,” he told the City Council. “It’s my position that for the safety of the drivers and the pedestrians themselves conducting these activities, these are just not safe areas to do it.”
The intersections include: Interstate 35 at Shawnee Mission Parkway, Johnson Drive, 75th Street, 67th Street and Antioch Road; Antioch and Shawnee Mission Parkway; Antioch and Johnson Drive; 75th Street and East Frontage Road; and Shawnee Mission Parkway and Mastin Street.
Yadrich said that she hopes people experiencing homelessness or asking for donations at the intersections would be offered access to resources, rather than be fined. McLaughlin said officers will continue to share resources with those in need of them.
The City Council could vote on the ordinance as early as next week’s meeting, on Feb. 8.
This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Johnson County city could ban people from some medians. Would it push out panhandlers?."
