Houston's Riverside Terrace Neighborhood May Join Civility Ordinance to Curb Crime

Residents in Houston's Riverside Terrace are gearing up to potentially see stricter regulations on their streets. The City is mulling over whether to include the neighborhood in its existing civility ordinance, which bans the use of sidewalks for anything other than foot traffic between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. The ordinance makes it unlawful "for any person to sit or lie down on a sidewalk," as reported by Click2Houston.

This measure comes as a response to a rise in criminal activities and the presence of homeless encampments in the area. The community has collected nearly 400 signatures on a petition, deemed necessary to bring the issue to the city's attention. A public hearing is set to take place on Feb. 21, providing a platform for locals to express their support or concern over the proposed addition. Sources tell Houston Public Media that the neighborhood is trying to reduce crime by looking to this ordinance, which could disallow people "to even set up personal possession on sidewalks."

Local precinct chair Charleen Jones, who helped gather petition signatures, is optimistic, saying,“I think the ordinance will help us feel safe in our community, and have a decrease in the crime, and just general public safety,” during a Click2Houston interview. On the other hand, concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of such an ordinance when it comes to addressing homelessness. Michael Price commented, "Help them. Get them some housing. Get them jobs. Get training programs for them. That’s it. It’s as simple as that. Don’t just kick them down, they’re already down," according to the same source.

It would seem that Riverside Terrace isn't the first Houston community to turn to a civility ordinance as a solution for crime prevention. Other neighborhoods have adopted similar measures, reporting positive feedback."We met to talk about this and we decided, you know, we can only see really positive things coming from this if we could implement it,” Sabrina Dean-Bass, a Riverside Civic Association Board member, told Houston Public Media. 

Coalition of the Homeless President & CEO Kelly Young laid out the stakes, saying,“We understand civility ordinances can play a role in overall community structure and function. After all, we live in neighborhoods too. However, a ban on sitting or lying down on sidewalks will not fix the underlying issue if homelessness is indeed the root of the problem. To resolve homelessness, we must provide housing with stability services,” as per statements to Click2Houston.