City studies downtown safety options

Fortified alcohol ban, 'compassion cards' on list

MICHAEL BURNHAM THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- City Council members on Tuesday began to shape solutions to improve public perceptions about safety downtown.

While council members generally agreed that a Feb. 28 community forum about safety concerns offered few surprises, they also said future solutions must involve both City Hall and the community.

Participants gathered last month at Olympia High School to discuss why behavior such as aggressive panhandling and public urination is occurring downtown, what should be done to correct the situation, and who should be a part of solutions.

Coordinators of the forum elicited approximately 1,200 comments from more than 300 participants. Comments are posted on the city's Web site, www.ci.olympia.wa.us.

"There is generally widespread agreement that the situation downtown is not as good as we would like it to be," said Mayor Stan Biles. "The problems are not going to improve by themselves.

"There is no community consensus for what should be done or who should do it, but I sense that there are lots of sets of eyes looking toward the City Council ... to at least serve as a catalyst."

Staff observations from the forum included:

- The need for government and community funding and support for social service intervention was widely expressed.

- Downtown is viewed as belonging to the entire community. It is a place to be seen and heard, as well as congregate, shop, dine and transact business.

- A lack of public restrooms that are always open and easy to find was mentioned by all of the forum's small groups as either a cause of public urination/defecation or a proposed solution.

The council directed staff to track down a laundry list of data that will be used to shape city ordinances and community policies that could be implemented as soon as summer.

The council also directed staff to:

- Analyze how existing ordinances are ineffective.

- List how much money the city and social service agencies are investing in downtown. The data could aid the city in efforts to bring social service providers together to analyze gaps in services, said Councilman Curt Pavola.

- Identify a geographical area in which the city could legally enforce a ban on the sale of fortified alcohol.

- Estimate the cost of creating "compassion cards" that pedestrians could hand out to panhandlers. The cards would include contact information for social service agencies.

- Create a map that shows the location of public restrooms, taverns and unlighted alleyways.

"I suspect that if we begin mapping this out ... you would begin to pinpoint problem areas and identify solutions," said Councilman Doug Mah.

Assistant City Manager Steve Hall said staff will report back to the council within four to six weeks.

The council could decide which policies it wishes to pursue at that meeting, Biles suggested. Ordinances and other policies could be ready for summer, Hall said.

"I don't think we should put off action," Pavola said. "We need to start this process and get (policies) in place by summer."

On the Web:

- City of Olympia

- Community Conversation:
Public Safety Discussion notes, issue papers, more! (City of Olympia)

Related story:

- Downtown safety issues not easily defined, solved (03/01/02)

The Olympian Copyright 2002

back to main South Sound index