Loitering at some Metro bus transit centers would be a minor misdemeanor offense under legislation up for a City Council vote Wednesday.
The ordinance would expand rules already in place for Streetcar stops, and for future Bus Rapid Transit stops. Specifically, it would allow the Department of Transportation and Engineering to declare a “Transit Center Zone” where loitering is prohibited.
The ordinance passed out of the Public Safety and Governance Committee on Tuesday morning and is up for a final vote at Wednesday's regular meeting.
If passed, people would only be able to stay in a Transit Center Zone for the time it takes to purchase bus fare, wait for the bus, and board or de-board. City Manager Sheryl Long says enforcement plans are still udner discussion, but the goal is to use community responders to ask loiterers to move away, with police intervention and citations as a last resort.
"We understand that this is a very sensitive topic, and we have every goal to make sure that we're doing it in a humane way, giving people the opportunity to educate and make the decision on themselves before we rely on the police enforcement," Long told City Council Tuesday morning.
Violating the ordinance could carry a fine of up to $150, but no jail time.
Long says Metro officials reached out with concerns about bus riders not having access to benches because of non-riders.
"People that are wanting to ride the bus, that need to ride the bus, cannot get to the bus stop to sit, cannot get to the bus stop to wait, because there are other people that are in the bus stop that are maybe smoking, maybe sleeping on things, maybe just accessing it for not the purpose of getting on the bus," Long said.
Public Safety and Governance Chair Scotty Johnson says the ordinance would make rules across transit areas more consistent.
"We are the legislators of compassion and care, and we don't want to criminalize those that are unhoused," Johnson said. "But we do want to make sure that people that are utilizing our public transportation feel safe."
A spokesperson for the City Manager's Office tells WVXU the intention is to declare a Transit Center Zone for the Government Square and Riverfront transit centers Downtown, as well as the Oakley Transit Center.
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