The City Council has cast new light on the budgetary and homelessness debates in Santa Cruz this summer, refurbishing street lamps on the entirety of Pacific Avenue. The new LED light fixtures, already tested by the hundreds in the neighboring city of Watsonville, aim to cut down on the city's greenhouse emissions and reduce the cost of lighting up this popular pedestrian area of Santa Cruz. However, some local residents have questioned the prioritizing of this area, saying that political aims, rather than environmental, are behind the refurbishing of the area.
These new fixtures have been especially prevalent at the southern blocks of the street, an area police say has seen increased crime in the process of removing the transient element from the heart of the city's tourism district. Their construction is yet another footnote in the growing saga of a conflict between the city government and the perceived threat posed by a strong number of homeless individuals in the area. Within a few years, several ordinances have come down on this popular and lucrative shopping district, the first of which banned sitting on Pacific Avenue sidewalks, followed shortly by fines imposed on any individual carrying a blanket. Within the past year the city has become even more active, enlisting the help of First Alarm security guards as well as a downtown 'hospitality' force to curtail seemingly seedy behavior.
Many residents see these laws as an excuse to harass the homeless population, rather than a way to improve the quality of life in the area. Andrew Denton, a resident of Santa Cruz county for twenty years, observed the prejudice in police citations. “In the last year of the smoking ban, I haven't known one person to get a ticket. Not that people don't get them, but police won't stop for the average person. They want to give tickets to the people living on the street who can't pay them. They did it with them playing music, with them sitting down and panhandling in public, all the things that you're bound to do if you're homeless in Santa Cruz. It's just a bit insidious to think that it's happening officially.”
It's not just the discrepancies in ticketed individuals that has been bothering residents, however. Many complain that the budget is unfairly weighted in terms of keeping the economic center of Santa Cruz accessible. One woman, a bartender who lives two away from the shopping hub, explained her experience in appealing to city officials. “I thought I had heard a car accident from my living room, but when I ran out to check I saw somebody speeding away from sideswiping my car and a few others around it. It was too dark to make out a license plate and by the time the police showed up it was too late. The whole time they talk about lighting up Pacific, but it already has lights. Why doesn't the city spend any time fixing up our streets? We're the folks who live here and pay taxes.”
These gripes are not unique amongst the population of Santa Cruz, as residents find themselves slipping through the cracks between the city and the expanding university. Approximately 20,000 students are enrolled in the college located six miles from the downtown area, accounting for almost a third of the total population within city limits. Many locals feel that the city cares more about drawing new students to the university which is already facing an over-enrollment and funding crisis statewide. In discussing the issue, I was approached by a homeless man, speaking under the name Louis L'amour about his treatment at the hands of local police. “I had a friend that told me to stay away from the clock tower last Thanksgiving. That's where a lot of us go to sleep and we heard that police would be there to round us all up that night. A bunch of [the homeless] were bussed down to Watsonville, kicked off at the farthest stop and told if they were seen again they'd be arrested for vagrancy. I couldn't figure out why they did it until I saw all the families walking around near the holiday. None of these people want their kids living in a town with people like us, right? That's what they must think anyways”.
Opinion remains split on investing in Pacific Avenue to such a rigorous level. While the homeless population does present cause for concern, many residents would rather see their own interests raised above that of the downtown's aesthetics. Despite Pacific being a large part of our downtown economy, the city can not disregard other areas, lest it find further dwindling support from an already irate population.
No comments:
Post a Comment