Roadside ban OK’d
Palm Beach County rule stops panhandlers, solicitors from walking amid busy traffic
Panhandlers, fundraisers and campaigners will have to stay off Palm Beach County roads and medians under new rules to keep people from mingling with traffic.
Anyone collecting money, passing out pamphlets or waving signs would have to stay on sidewalks and road shoulders and can no longer wander among lined-up cars at busy intersections.
Breaking the rules could trigger penalties up to a $500 fine or 60 days in jail, though the Sheriff’s Office maintains that warnings will come before handcuffs and tickets.
The new rules that the County Commission approved Tuesday apply to roads outside city limits, but local cities could opt to impose them as well.
“Both for tourists and for residents, it’s an uncomfortable situation to be solicited,” County Commissioner Hal Valeche said.
Drivers for decades have complained about people at intersections asking for money. But county commissioners had long balked at a ban because of opposition from charitable groups that rely on roadside fundraising. That reticence eventually faded as more local cities passed their own rules, and the complaints from residents kept coming.
Also, this year a man standing on an Okeechobee Boulevard median, near the entrance to Florida’s Turnpike, was killed by a hit-and-run driver.
South Florida cities such as Boca Raton, the town of Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs and Plantation already have rules intended to keep panhandlers, as well as people passing out pamphlets, raising money for youth sports teams and others off their roads.
Broward County took a different approach, late Tuesday approving new rules against panhandling, fundraising and roadside sales, but only at 20 of its busiest intersections.
A ban has to apply to everyone to avoid a First Amendment court fight, according to Palm Beach County attorneys. People can still gather to express themselves from the sidewalk and road shoulder, without creating the risk that comes from walking into traffic, county officials said.
Palm Beach County’s new rule likely means changes for firefighters’ annual “fill the boot” fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Usually, firefighters stake out busy intersections and walk between lines of cars asking drivers to toss in contributions. Walking among cars waiting at red lights won’t be allowed under the county’s new rules.
The South Florida branch of the Muscular Dystrophy Association opposed Palm Beach County’s rule change.
Public safety concerns about people getting too close to cars outweighs concerns about the loss of fundraising opportunities, according to County Commissioner Mary Lou Berger, who pushed for the new ban.
“It’s a danger to the people driving their cars [and] the people who are on the median,” Berger said.
In the past, Palm Beach County used roadside signs and even TV commercials to try to persuade drivers to stop giving money to panhandlers and instead send donations to homeless shelters or other charitable organizations.
Potentially fining, and even arresting, panhandlers under the new law is “going after the wrong people,” said County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay, who on Tuesday cast the only vote against the ban.
“We are going after the people who need help,” McKinlay said.
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said that fines and arrests won’t be the first option when deputies find people breaking the county’s new roadside solicitation rules.
Instead, Bradshaw said deputies would typically give warnings and hold off on making an arrest until the third time someone is found using the roadways or medians to raise money, pass out materials or mix with traffic for other reasons.
And local judges aren’t likely to hold people long for such a minor offense, he said.
“That’s not going to really help us,” Bradshaw said about jail time. “It’s just going [to be] a revolving door.”
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