A driver hands money to a man panhandling on a median in Jacksonville, Fla., where a ban on panhandling has been challenged in court. Citing public safety, other cities and the state of New Mexico are considering banning pedestrians, including panhandlers, from medians. Dan Scanlan/Jacksonville Today
Despite court rulings that soliciting money is protected as free speech, some cities and at least one state are considering new restrictions on panhandling in traffic medians, arguing it’s a safety hazard.
New Mexico’s Democratic governor this year and an Arizona Republican lawmaker last year proposed statewide bans on asking for money on street medians, though neither passed. Wilmington, North Carolina, passed a similar ordinance this year , and Roanoke, Virginia, has stepped up enforcement of a law that has been on the books since last year. Advocates for homeless people have sued over a similar law in Jacksonville, Florida.
A handful of cities are turning to incentives as a solution: Oklahoma City, where courts struck down a panhandling ban, offers city cleanup work to panhandlers . Philadelphia and Fairfax County, Virginia, have similar programs, and Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city, recently reinstated one.