Council Members and mayors often pass ordinances that the police will ignore, but they like to publicize them, showing what they are doing. This ordinance is designed to remove panhandlers from the area; of course, it is presented as a safety measure. I am convinced that you go home and worry about the danger those people put themselves in. Nah.
Police don’t want them in their cars because they smell, they have to write reports, and is that really what we wish for the already too small department to spend its time on?
Make sure to read the comments after the video below
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Sitting, standing, walking in the street, or on narrow traffic medians may soon be illegal in the City of Houston.
Houston City Council is set to vote on an item Wednesday that if passed, would prohibit “sitting, standing, and walking on median strips six feet or less in width and on divided roadways where no median strip exists.”
“This is a public safety issue,” District A City Council Member Amy Peck said. Peck helped the item’s author, District G Council Member Mary Nan Huffman, place the item on council’s agenda.
Discretion by HPD
In a deadly year for Houston bicyclists, here’s why a safety rule isn’t being enforced
We’re supposed to give bicyclists three feet of space. But police can go months without writing a single ticket.
Blake Mosby can rattle off the close calls he has had on his bike commute from the Heights to downtown Houston with ease.
There was the time the sideview mirror on a large pickup came so closehe wondered how it did not hit the side of his face or helmet. Then there was the woman on Heights Boulevard who tried to pass a car in front of her – by using the bike lane. Mosby said he escaped only because no one was parked in the spot he swerved his bike into to avoid her.
“I do not know, I’ll never know, what she was thinking,” he said. “Did she think It was a little lane for passing?”
After almost a decade, however, police can go months without writing a single citation – because they believe the only way to cite people is catching them in the act on targeted bike rides. The Houston Police Department’s preference is to educate drivers through awareness and signs warning about the ordinance.
“We are not going to ticket our way out of turning those drivers around,” said Houston Police Cmdr. Kristine Anthony-Miller
I wonder if the council members and mayor bother to ask the police if they will actively enforce the ordinance they just voted on?
I would be happy if they would enforce the ‘No Parking on Yard’ Ordinance. They used to enforce it until Whitmire instructed them not to do so.
Houston requires children under 18 to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle. When was the last time you saw a police officer writing such a citation?
In Houston, the law requires all children under 18 to wear an approved helmet when riding a bicycle. A parent or guardian is responsible for ensuring the child complies with this ordinance, though the law does not apply to riding on private property. The helmet must fit correctly and meet federal standards, such as those set by the Department of Transportation (DOT) or Snell Memorial Foundation.
Perhaps the mayor and council members should revive the Goo-Goo Eyes Ordinance.
The “Goo-goo Eyes” ordinance (repealed)
Considered one of the most absurd historical ordinances, this rule was a turn-of-the-century prohibition against unwanted male attention toward women.
- What it did: It prohibited any man from “staring at, or making what is commonly called ‘goo-goo eyes’ at, or in any other manner look at or make remarks to or concerning, or cough or whistle at” any woman in a public space.
- The penalty: Violators could be fined up to $100.
- Why it’s absurd: While the intent may have been to curb harassment, the vague language about “goo-goo eyes” and making remarks made it ripe for overreach. This type of social control is no longer considered appropriate for a city ordinance
Houston Chronicle – Houston’s weirdest city laws
