ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) —
Asheville Police Chief Mike Lamb on Tuesday called for adding three new High Traffic Zones to the city’s public solicitation ordinance, which would impose new panhandling restrictions in the Patton Avenue, Haywood Road and South Tunnel Road areas, along with two areas adjacent to the downtown business district.
Lamb made the proposal in a virtual meeting of the city’s Environment and Safety Committee, drawing a link between motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrians with sites known for panhandling.
He shared maps based on 2023 data that showed:
* 103 calls for police service about panhandling in the Patton Avenue West area, where there also were two motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrians.
* 40 calls for panhandling in the Haywood Road area, where there were three crashes involving pedestrians.
* 39 calls for panhandling in the Smokey Park Highway area, near Interstate 40 ramps, where there was one crash involving pedestrians.
“I think our point is that panhandling is not safe if it’s done in areas where there’s a lot of vehicular traffic,” City Manager Debra D. Campbell said.
Under an ordinance that was revised in 2023, Chapter 11-5 on “Public solicitation and begging” prohibits panhandling under certain conditions, such as aggressive behavior or if someone is under the influence of alcohol or substances.
In addition, a portion of Asheville’s central business district downtown and the Biltmore area are designated as so-called “high traffic zones,” where it’s “unlawful for any person to verbally beg, solicit or panhandle.” In those areas, solicitation using a printed sign still is permitted under the ordinance.
That’s already in place.
Chief Lamb is proposing to expand a section of the downtown “high traffic zone” to include the South Slope district and a section of Merrimon Avenue, and to designate Patton Avenue, Haywood Road and South Tunnel Road to be “high traffic zones” as well.
In response to questions from Vice Mayor Sandra Kilgore, Lamb said he knows that people panhandle for various reasons, whether they need food, need money to get a hotel room for the night, or sometimes due to an addiction. But he said people who want to help should consider giving money to charitable organizations that help people in those situations instead of giving to panhandlers.
“I think our community is blessed with a lot of different services that they’re offering to people in need,” Lamb said. “And so often times instead of giving money which may be going to some type of addictive behavior, and, you know, not really helping the person, it’s important that we take the option of giving to organizations that are really doing the work out there to help people that are struggling in the community.”
Lamb’s proposal would require City Council action, including a public hearing and other opportunities for community input, and it is unclear when a formalized proposal might be brought forward.