City Council: Sidewalk Bill Includes University City
On December 3, the Sidewalk Behavior Bill (Bill #980641) was passed by City Council. First introduced by Council President John Street in December 1997, the bill controls sidewalk activity on city streets. The University City District, previously excluded from the legislation, was included by Councilwoman Blackwell in an amendment in September 1998 through the urging of the University and the community. The legislation addresses quality-of-life concerns that include specific banning of aggressive panhandling, sleeping on the streets, overall appropriate sidewalk usage, and at least a dozen other provisions addressing appropriate conduct on city streets. The amendment specifying University City District includes the area bounded by the Schuylkill River on the East running West on Spring Garden Street to Fortieth Street, then South to Market Street, then West to Fifty-second Street, then South to Woodland Avenue, then East to University Avenue, then South to the Schuylkill River.
Please call Glenn Bryan, Director and Associate Vice President of the Office of City and Community Relations at 898-3565 for additional information. A Penn Resource Guide to organizations dealing with homelessness, panhandling, housing and hunger is also available from the Office of City and Community Relations. In addition, information can be obtained from the web site at www.upenn.edu/ogcpa/cityindex.html.
--Office of City and Community Relations
Almanac, Vol. 45, No. 14, December 8, 1998