Seattle’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau has started a new campaign to deter street crime and disorder, which has been met with opposition from homeless advocates and social service organizations, and with apathy from some Seattle residents.
The new campaign called “See it, send it”, encourages people to send photos of crime, disorder, and uncomfortable situations to their city council members. As reported by the Times:
Tom Norwalk, president and CEO of the visitors bureau, in an emailed message to city and county officials, said Seattle’s visitor experience has reached a tipping point.
“The situation is getting worse, not better, and we are hearing increasing negative comments from key convention, business and leisure travel customers and clients.”
Mayor McGinn defends what the city is doing about the issue and points to growing tourism and a decline in downtown 911 calls as positive indicators. He also touts his Center City Initiative, which aims to create a vibrant and safe street environment, among other goals. Some Council members are critical of the mayor, however, and say there has not been consistent focus or follow through on the issue.
Unfortunately there isn’t consensus on the solution. Social service organizations emphasize the need for affordable housing, shelters, and treatment for drug abuse and mental illness. The visitor’s bureau wants more focus on safety patrols and enforcement of existing laws against illegal activity and aggressive panhandling, as well as outreach to individuals most in need.
Coincilmember Sally Clark posted on her blog, acknowledging the complexity of the situation.
We do have stretches of our streets and areas in our parks where crime, trash and behavior make a lot of people – including homeless people – feel less welcome and less safe. We’re not good at saying so. It makes us feel mean and less compassionate.
While some residents may dismiss the complaints about street disorder as a non-issue, or suggest that this is an issue that only affects tourists, this is an important topic for all pedestrians. Experienced urban residents may be able to ignore homelessness, begging, and drug use, or accept them as part of city life, but they do impact the pedestrian experience. It’s true that many types of public behavior are apparent in cities, and the diversity of people and activities is one of the things that makes city life interesting and appealing to many. But, based on my experience in other cities, mental illness and drug use aren’t inherently present in cities as they are in Seattle.
Recently, I had visiting relatives in town and we were enjoying a remarkable sunny weekend in October, and downtown Seattle was a vibrant and fun place to be. However, on our way walking from Pike Place Market to the waterfront, we passed someone shooting up on the sidewalk. I haven’t seen that before in Seattle, and would rather not see it again, regardless of whether I have visitors.
Pedestrian advocates may want new sidewalks to help people feel comfortable and safe while walking, but disorderly or intimidating public behavior undermines the quality of the built environment.
Many may call street disorder a “problem”, others will discern that it’s a symptom of economic issues and a limited safety net that affects people in many cities. It’s true the situation is complex, but the Visitors’ bureau calls attention to something that pedestrian advocates should be concerned about as well.
You’ve uncorked a rant. Sorry in advance.
I’m an “experienced urban resident” and walk between north Capitol Hill and Westlake Park for my commute. Being carless, I also walk a bit around downtown and on the hill (averaging about 6 miles daily). With that perspective for 5 years, now, I must admit the growing (beyond normal seasonality) amount of “unsavory” and aggressive people on the sidewalks has seriously reduced the enjoyment of walking in the downtown retail district and around Cal Anderson park.
As a fit white male, I find very little threatening. But I grow increasingly concerned about the character of the city, in that while I find it less enjoyable others are likely to avoid walking out of fear of encounters with these unsavory sorts:
A) “zombies” that appear intoxicated and walk slowly but without intent, requiring a wide berth because they are unpredictable, sometimes engage in unsettling outbursts without warning, and often travel in packs
B) bums that panhandle aggressively (there’s a specific handful I know well) or sprawl out on the footpath (e.g. in front of Dick’s). This includes the feral (or wannabe-feral) teens that drag dogs around allowing them to shit all over the sidewalks
C) tourists that walk slowly and without intent, requiring a wide berth because they are unpredictable and often travel in packs
D) newbies to the city that don’t know how to share a sidewalk (walk straight out from doors without looking, stroll down the middle leaving no room on either side, let their dog leash span the footpath, etc.)
E) clipboard-wielding “charity” commercial solicitors
The “zombies” I consider a failure of our social support systems. Because we are part of a union of states that requires unfettered mobility among jurisdictions, I struggle to imagine how the City can deal with this: a NYC-style “broken windows” crackdown may be effective, but is not Seattle-humane. More progressive approaches are likely to be taken advantage of by domestic immigrants. Sigh.
The bums I just have no tolerance of. It only takes a week of walking around an area to identify a few specific individuals that are creating a hostile environment by breaking existing laws. Why do I continue to see them year after year? Maybe after I-502 we’ll be able to prioritize them over harmless potheads.
The tourists tend to stay contained in established areas and bring a lot of capital with them. We’ll just have to cope. 😉
Newbies acclimate, eventually.
Regarding the aggressive clipboards: see “bums” above.
But pay me no mind: I’m about to move away for two years, living in Amsterdam and working in Mumbai. We’ll have to see if I come back in 2015 more tolerant or belligerent about Seattle’s inability to enforce existing laws in a deliberate manner that optimizes the experience of being a citizen. (Don’t get me started about the behavior of my fellow citizens when they get behind the wheel of a four-wheeled weapon.)
I am really troubled by the “See it, send it” campaign. So people are supposed to whip out their cameras and take photos of fellow Seattleites who are down and out and send them to the council? That’s a remarkably weird thing to ask people to do. They aren’t potholes or missing sewer grates, they are people.
The council’s past effort to do something was to fine people for “aggressive panhandling.” The mayor and a minority of councilmembers narrowly defeated that measure.
The street is a catch-all space for city residents. We are all invited there, and that includes those with issues. Of course, programs that help people address and live with whatever troubles they are facing should be part of a more civil Seattle. But looking at those people merely as an impediment to tourism or the pedestrian environment is troubling and ignores the real problems.
If writing for Real Change taught me anything, it’s that every person facing homelessness has a unique story and unique challenges. Any attempt to group all “disorderly” people into one group will fail.