‘Intimidation’ call may get homeless the boot
12th Ave loiterers are making people fearful, say residents
Residents of Tauranga’s Avenues say they have become too scared to walk down their street because of increasing crowds of homeless people.
The 12th Ave residents have signed a petition calling for Tauranga City Council to remove the loiterers, which is expected to be presented to commissioners tomorrow.
The council says the responsibility of “antisocial behaviour” lies with police and not the council and it is therefore “limited” in what it can do.
The petition, signed by 26 people, asks the council to “stop all homeless people from being on our street”.
“The mess that is left behind is terrible, the language is shocking. Some people won’t go past them as they are very intimidating,” the petition reads.
The petition also states that people are regularly sprawled across the pathway and congregating at 12th Ave on a daily basis.
“There have been numerous people [who have] complained to the council and nothing has been done.”
However, the Tauranga
City Council say only two complaints have been laid, by the same person.
Residents spoken to by the
Bay of Plenty Times said they felt scared and intimidated by the congregations of homeless on their street, near Cameron Rd.
One of the signatories, who would not be named in this article, said she was too scared to walk on the same side of the road as the group of people she believed were homeless. “I don’t know what they would do to me, I feel intimidated. I won’t walk past them. I just don’t feel safe. “I know they do leave a lot of litter around. People are always picking up pizza boxes and bottles and all of that stuff.”
Another woman, who also would not be named for fear of repercussion, said she felt for her fellow residents.
“Just the look of them is intimidating. I’m quite big and can stand up for myself but someone more timid or a little old lady, I can see how they would be scared.”