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…. and I say that it is about damned time as the massive amount of panhandling has gotten out of control in that town.
It seems as if these people hang out at most every major traffic intersection in the city, especially on the north side, which is pretty much the “ transient “ hangout area.
North Nebraska Avenue and Fowler Avenue has at least one panhandler at each divider every day of the week. A few of them hold up their “ I’m hungry “ or “ Need a job “ signs from sunup to sundown, and, at the end of the day they go home to their mobile homes right down the street. Most do have a job; drinking 4-packs of beer all day long in between their sign holding stints.
They have become a nascence to the motorist who pass by these places on a daily basis, and Tampa is finally doing something to slow this activity down without banning it outright.
The Tampa City Council passed an ordinance banning panhandling for 6 days out of the week ( Mon-Sat. ) but it is allowed on Sundays, so far. The ordinance passed by a vote of 6-1 on October 6,2011 and is set to go into effect on November 1, 2011 after the final vote on October 20,2011, and it is signed off on by the mayor ( Bob Buckhorn ) who approves of this ban. Good for him.
The ordinance will ban most roadside panhandling 6 days per week, but, newspaper sales would be allowed every day. Charity drives and panhandling would be allowed on Sundays, but the 10 most crash-prone intersection in Tampa will be off-limits to everyone at any time.
I have nothing against most of the panhandlers as I do know quite a few of them.Unfortunately, those are the ones who give panhandling a bad name as they are the drunks/crack-heads who blow the cash given to them by the motorist trying to help them out. Hey drivers, you aren’t helping them! You are enabling them!
Did you know that every time one of these people is arrested for an open-container violation, which you helped support, it cost the taxpayer somewhere in the area of $87 and change for every day that they are locked up for only 1 $1.07 can of beer? It is usually a 5-day minimum stay in the county hotel. On top of that, the jail system charges each resident $25 per day for their visit,and how much of that $25 do you suppose they actually collect from a drunk who has been arrested? I’d say next to nothing based on what I have heard from the drinkers themselves.
A 6 day a week ban on begging is a good start, but the work needs to begin on getting rid of them totally, particularly those who claim to be homeless but actually have places to live in.
Did I mention that many of the same also get a monthly check from the government in the form of S.S.I. or either S.S.D.?
