LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Asking for money on median streets like South Ninth Street could soon earn panhandlers a fine anywhere from $25 to $250.
However, the new ordinance Metro Council is now debating isn't just about eliminating some roadside panhandling. Sponsors say there's a bigger goal.
"This is about public safety for everyone — every motorist and every pedestrian," Councilman Kevin Triplett (D-District 15) said during a Wednesday afternoon meeting of Metro Council's Public Safety Committee.
The new rules would spell out where pedestrians can legally cross a road.
"If there is no crosswalk, a pedestrian may cross only at an intersection in which a traffic-control signal or other device is in place," the draft ordinance stipulates. "If neither is present, a person may cross only at an intersection."
It would also prohibit pedestrians from loitering on medians unless they're crossing. It would ban them from approaching vehicles, except for a couple reasons. The rules would apply to most of Louisville's major "arterial" roads from downtown to Bardstown Road and beyond.
"This is, at its very essence, intended to impact traffic safety in our community," Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Steve Conrad said at Wednesday's meeting.
In that meeting, Conrad gave the plan his stamp of approval and pointed out that 21 people died in pedestrian-involved accidents last year, and 10 have died so far this year.
"Walking up to cars in traffic is a recipe for disaster," he said.
Most on council seemed to be on-board too but questioned how the rules would impact nonprofits who "bucket hustle" to make ends meet.
"Nobody's trying to eliminate anything ... the state has spoken and said, 'Hey, this is the safe way to do it,'" Councilman Pat Mulvihill (D-District 10) said.
In other words, those nonprofits wouldn't be allowed to solicit money from drivers without a warning signal or emergency vehicle present.
"Every time I see people, I can't help but give a dollar," said Tyler Gleason a Louisville resident who said he thinks the plan is just a sneaky way to end roadside panhandling across the city. "It's probably the image, because I don't really see a big safety issue."
The ordinance will have at least another round of debate in the public safety committee July 31. Mulvihill hopes all of council could look to pass the ordinance in August.
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