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St. Pete Bans Commerce Along City Street Medians

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By GALINA TISHCHENKO

News Channel 8

Published: October 3, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - The city council voted to ban panhandling, charity collections and newspaper sales on medians along city streets, rejecting pleas from people who said they will lose money in the move.

The vote means the only activity allowed on St. Petersburg medians will be crossing the street. The council approved the ban 7 to 1.

"Ultimately this is a safety issue," said Mayor Rick Baker, who said he has bought newspapers from median hawkers.

"From our perspective it will injure our business," said Jerry Hill, circulation director for the St. Petersburg Times. Another Times executive said the action could cost the newspaper $400,000 a year.

Hill said that for most people who sell the paper on the street, it is their only source of income.

That didn't move St. Petersburg City Council Chairman James Bennett.

"I do have a problem offering employment in the middle of the road," Bennett said.

Another victim of the ban will be the more than 50-year tradition known as the Fill-The-Boot Drive, where firefighters collect money one or twice a year for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

This year, they raised $25,000.

No major accidents have been reported in the history of the campaign, Amber Saltzman of the local MDA office said. Firefighters wear their uniforms and vests on the street, have a person at intersections for control and place warning signs for traffic.

In addition, Saltzman said, MDA has a $1 million insurance policy on all participants in the event.

"It felt like the council knew that the MDA would be affected and disregarded that," said Rick Pauley, vice president of the St. Petersburg Association of Fire Fighters. "Something that is not broken, you don't try to fix it."

Council Vice Chairman Jeff Danner disagreed, saying, "This is just not safe."

Moving the collection drive from the median to the curb is a safe compromise, Assistant St. Petersburg Fire Chief Luke Williams said.

City Attorney John Wolfe warned council members that the ban might be subject to a court challenge because it may be seen as an interference with free press rights guaranteed in the Constitution.

"I can't assure you that we won't be sued," Wolfe said.

During public comments on the proposal, Ford Easton, a former race-car driver, told the council he favors the ban because any distraction on the road can be dangerous.

"My concern is safety," Easton said.

Katherine Kearns of St. Petersburg, who has a daughter with muscular dystrophy, spoke against the ban. "One solace that we have is MDA," Kearns said.

Wengay M. Newton Sr. was the only council member who voted against the ban, which takes effect next week.

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