Miramar ban on roadside solicitations-"This is not a safety issue, this is a homelessness issue,"

[The Straight Story]

Miramar ban on roadside solicitations takes effect Monday

MIRAMAR —
A ban on begging, street vending and charity collections at major intersections makes this city the latest in Broward to take aim at roadside soliciting.

Officials say traffic safety motivated the police department to recommend the change, which takes effect Monday. That's why the ordinance details Broward's history of pedestrian deaths involving panhandlers and hawkers, said Assistant Chief of Police Ray Black, pointing out that 65 pedestrians died in 2007 in the county and citing a unsolved 2007 hit-and-run in which a newspaper vendor was killed.

...
But critics say the law — like others banning or limiting solicitations — is really aimed at the homeless, who often panhandle or sling newspapers on the street corner for cash.

"Would it really be all about safety?" asked Sean Cononie, founder of the Homeless Voice shelter. "We don't tell people they can't walk across the street in Miramar. We don't tell people they can't ride their bikes in Miramar. And there're so many more of those kinds of deaths than these."

...

The men and women staying in his shelter distribute Homeless Voice newspapers at intersections in exchange for donations, which are the shelter's sole source of revenue. With the new ban, Cononie said, "it's going to be hard to keep our doors open."

"This is not a safety issue, this is a homelessness issue," said Ginny Dangola, director of operations for the shelter. "We're safe. They take safety classes twice a week. They wear safety helmets and bright green vests. Our people have never been killed."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/miramar/fl-miramar-soliciting-ban-text-20101203,0,4968060.story