Johnson County city bans people from 9 medians. Critics say law penalizes the homeless
The Merriam City Council on Monday passed an ordinance banning pedestrians from medians at the city’s nine busiest intersections, despite some concerns that the law would push out the homeless and panhandlers.
City officials said the law is aimed at cutting down on car crashes and ensuring the safety of pedestrians, and is not meant to penalize panhandlers — a fear brought up by Councilwoman Whitney Yadrich and some residents. The City Council approved the ordinance on a 6-2 vote, with Yadrich and Councilman Jason Silvers voting against it.
The ordinance prohibits pedestrians from standing or sitting on medians at nine high-traffic intersections, other than to legally cross the street. Police Chief Darren McLaughlin brought the idea before the council, saying that distracted driving is a main cause of accidents at the intersections, where more than half of the city’s crashes occur each year. He worries about an increase in people stopping traffic to collect money there.
He emphasized that the goal is not to criminalize panhandling.
“Their activity is not the issue here. The issue is that the streets (are not) designed to have people standing in the middle of them during rush hour,” he told the City Council. “That is not a safe activity on those streets. … We did not design them to accommodate pedestrians standing, handing out paperwork or receiving donations. This is a common sense safety issue.”
But some are concerned that the ordinance will unintentionally harm people who are homeless or seeking financial assistance. A violation would be a class “C” misdemeanor, resulting in a maximum fine of $499 or 30 days in jail, although McLaughlin said officers would focus on educating the public rather than writing tickets.
“I am just so disheartened by the language and reasoning. … Instead of pushing homeless and jobless people out of our community, we need to be finding ways to help them and get them back on their feet,” Merriam resident Stacey Chivetta said in a statement that was read at the meeting. “I know most are arguing this is a public safety issue. … I vehemently disagree with that.”
“It feels very much like this reasoning is being used to cover up the fact that this issue is making people uncomfortable, and they don’t want to believe that our pristine city would have an issue with homeless people,” she said.
Silvers also said he worries the law could unfairly punish residents who do not have their own transportation.
“I believe it becomes a bit of a socioeconomic issue,” he said.
Merriam has the highest poverty rate among Johnson County’s cities, at more than 11%, according to an analysis by United Community Services of Johnson County.
Activists have voiced concerns about the growing number of people in poverty or experiencing homelessness who lack resources in Johnson County. The county does not have a permanent homeless shelter for single adults without minor children. A temporary winter shelter is open at Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church in Lenexa, but must close for the season in March.
Yadrich previously said she worries that banning pedestrians from some medians is a “moral and ethical dilemma, not just a public safety” concern.
The 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 backlash 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 City Administrator Chris Engel pushed back, saying, “This is not about panhandlers, solicitors or things like this. This is a safety ordinance.”
“Our intent is not to fine people who don’t have the means to pay. It’s not to create a debtors prison for people. It would go against the spirit of everything that we do,” he said. “The intent is truly to educate.”
Officials said that the law bans individuals, charity groups, organizations, firefighters and anyone else from standing and stopping traffic at the nine intersections.
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.
This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 5:05 PM.
