Peddlers banned from King St.Chief says move safer for pedestrians By David Slade (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Post and Courier Past storiesBecause peddlers don't keep moving, city might move them off King Street, published 07/25/08 Vendors wage turf war, published 08/01/08 Sidewalk peddlers have been banned from King Street in Charleston, a decision city officials said was necessary to protect pedestrian safety. The measure, approved by City Council late Tuesday evening, does not apply to vendors who rent spaces on the street from the city, or "palmetto artisans" who are licensed to sell palmetto-frond roses. The prohibition applies to roving peddlers who sell drinks, snacks and other goods from carts. The roving peddlers — city rules say they must keep moving unless making a sale — were already banned in all areas below Broad Street, and in or around Waterfront Park, the Market area, the South Carolina Aquarium, and the Visitors Information Center. "Basically, the areas where you can do it are the areas where nobody is," said Dan Wilson, who sells Italian ices from a bicycle-mounted cart. Police Chief Greg Mullen and Mayor Joe Riley said they have witnessed pedestrians having to step out into King Street to get around peddlers, who Mullen said routinely flout the rules requiring them to keep moving. Only Councilman Wendell Gilliard voted against the prohibition, which he called "a bit much." The city has 16 spots in parks and on streets, including King Street, reserved for stationary vendors. Of those spots, five have been leased this year and the rest are available to peddlers on a first-come basis. Those who don't use one of the 16 city locations are allowed to roam and sell their wares outside the prohibited areas. Peddlers must have a business license and a $450 permit. Wilson said he thinks the city's prohibitions are intended to give a business advantage to companies that rent vendor spots from the city. He recently was ticketed for operating near Waterfront Park, where a rival Italian ice business paid $10,000 for a city vendor spot in the park. Adelaide Andrews, an attorney for the city, said Charleston's motivation is public safety. "If you look at the franchise fees that are paid to the city annually, it's not a lot of money," Andrews said. "It is absolutely about pedestrian safety." Wilson said the King Street prohibition won't have a big effect on his business, because he rarely operated there. However, he said, a municipal court decision Tuesday upholding the city's position that peddlers are prohibited from the sidewalks around Waterfront Park, will shut him down. "Waterfront Park was our lifeline," he said. "I would never have purchased a license if I could not do business there." Wilson previously convinced Municipal Court Judge Steven Steinert he should be allowed to operate by the park, because the city had given him a map that did not identify the area as being prohibited to peddlers. Steinert reversed himself in Tuesday's ruling, agreeing with the city that Wilson had no right to continue to operate near the park based on the city-provided map, when Charleston's ordinance barred peddlers from that same area. Reach David Slade at 937-5552 or dslade@postandcourier.com. |
Article tools |
|
Notice about comments: Charleston.net is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Charleston.net does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not charleston.net. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "suggest removal" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Full terms and conditions can be read here. |
Comments
This article has 22 comment(s)
Posted by iceman1978 on August 21, 2008 at 1 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Do you know what I wish they would put a stop to? The people who stand at busy intersections and beg for money. Police officers and the fire fighters are one thing. At least with them you know that they are who they say they are and they never impede the flow of traffic.
I'm on Folly Rd the other day stopped at the intersection with Camp and this fellow is begging for money. I'm waiting at a red light and this guy starts up a conversation with the person in front of me just as the light turns green. Now I'm not a cold-blooded person. I always try to drop in a few dollars when the fireman is holding out the boot. But I'm not interested in giving money to the church of whoever. As far as I'm concerned they take in quite enough money by swindling elderly widows who live on a fixed income. Plus they pay no taxes. They're already doing quite well so I wouldn't give them two cents.
You can imagine by now what my reaction was when this guy kept right on talking while holding up traffic.
Posted by mkris on August 21, 2008 at 8:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What's next, ban ugly fat people from Charleston? This is crazy. Its a city. A city has unpleasant sights, sounds and smells and poor trying to make some money. Its kinda like the suburban mommys that buy the McMansion in the country across from the pretty ponys and then complain about the smell of horseshiiit.
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Amen, get rid of the f'ing panhandlers!!!! The worst ones are the damn churches who have 4 and 5 people at an intersection with 5 gallon buckets collecting money so the minister can have a new f'ing mercedes. Screw that bullcocky! As for peddlers, how is one more dangerous than the other? How are these 'Palmetto artisans' any less of a nuisance than the guy trying to sell cold water on the street? I'd prefer the guy selling the drinks in the f'ing heat over the damn seagrass rose pushers.
Posted by guidedbystewart on August 21, 2008 at 9:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sure, you have to make sure that the tourist feel safe and welcome, "I hope yall enjoyed are little coastal utopia, yall come back now, your hear!"
Posted by RTC on August 21, 2008 at 9:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Bans, bans, bans. What else is Charleston going to put a stop to. They can't control crime, so they just ban everything that they can control.
What's next? Breathing?
Posted by crankyyankee on August 21, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Charleston ban common sense back in the sixties and that has worked great!
Posted by willbillbedamned on August 21, 2008 at 9:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is just another step to making Charleston the most antiseptic, boring city in the U.S.A.
Posted by ms_lady2u on August 21, 2008 at 10:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Lmao,RTC How about all the panhandlers in Charleston, by the time i'm getting off the interstate if i was to give everyone that begs me i would be dead *## broke!!
Posted by iceman1978 on August 21, 2008 at 10:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3, Wasn't there a guy who had a dozen or so people sleeping in closets at his house and collecting money for his church during the day? I seem to remember reading about that but I can't remember if it was here or in another city.
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
No clue iceman, but nothing surprises me anymore. I just know that when I see the churchgoing ones, I pop in my AC/DC cd and crank some 'Highway to Hell', some 'Rape Me' by Nirvana or my personal favorite, 'Prison Sex' by Tool...they almost run past my car to go to the next. They are just a damn nuisance and because of allowing the firefighters and the police officers on the street to panhandle for charity...they won't create laws to stop others for fear of lawsuits. It's a vicious f'ing circle and gives me road rage if you really must know.
Posted by Larz13 on August 21, 2008 at 11:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Could the City ban the UPS guy (and other delivery drivers for that matter) who parks in the travel lanes of King Street?
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 11:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Interesting info eyf, I don't know the difference from one to another, however I agree that there are proper ways to get donations. Although I may not be a religious person, I let me children make their own decisions and my daughter is involved with a curch in Moncks Corner. So far I can say it has been a positive experience for both of us. No one has beat down my door or harassed me to join with her.
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
not curch, a church...ignore my horrid typonese.
Posted by iceman1978 on August 21, 2008 at 12:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3, I read these so fast that I never even caught that until you mentioned it.
Posted by RTC on August 21, 2008 at 12:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Another problem with Charleston and their bans is that other areas feel the need to follow suit.
The mentality is if the great city of Charleston is doing it, then we should do it also.
People soliciting for money in the streets is a different situation than a person with a permit or license trying to make a living.
Posted by letstakeawalk on August 21, 2008 at 1:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
LMAO @ Thomas1776 (as usual...)
Imagine, pedestrians using the sidewalks? What's the matter, are you too timid and afraid to say "Pardon me, I need to get by?" Next time you find one of those groups blocking your way, Tom, please introduce yourself and explain how you feel about the "danger" to the guide and the tourists; then when you walk away the guide will have the opportunity to use you as an object lesson that inbreeding leads to xenophobia and paranoia - thankfully most Charlestonians have married outside the family within the last generation or so. You'll turn into as much of a joke as the DAR spitting incident and Omar Brown shooting the guy who bumped into him in line... tourists love hearing "crazy native" stories, and you'd certainly take the cake!
I do disagree with the peddler ban - I think if the city police would write citations and actually enforce the laws as written, then the peddlers would get the message. Although I have never personally had a problem avoiding any of the peddlers, either by myself or when leading 20 tourists down the sidewalks...
Posted by letstakeawalk on August 21, 2008 at 3:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
@ Coldbeer - "Does this mean they can't ride a bike on King Street anymore?"
LOL - Guess I'll just have to coast past the double-parked delivery trucks, the jaywalkers, and the city buses taking up both lanes... as long as I'm not "peddling"!
(pedalling != peddling, but it was punny)
Posted by wjhamilton3 on August 21, 2008 at 4:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Too bad this bans kids South of Broad from getting visits from the Ice Cream Truck. We love Mr. Koolie in our neighobrhood. More cones for Mt. Pleasant.
Posted by CedarPosts on August 21, 2008 at 4:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm with Cold Beer .... My first thought was wow a bike free zone on King Street!
Seriously I used to buy hot dogs from that bikini top and shorts girl at the corner of Queen and King.... those were the days!
Posted by RTC on August 21, 2008 at 5:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
wjhamilton3, you are going to contract hepatitis or some other disease from those ice cream trucks. Don't buy anything from them that is not presealed. Trust me, some of those people mix up their syrups in their own kitchens, and you wouldn't want to see where they live.
Posted by jammanofdi on August 21, 2008 at 5:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Palmetto Artisans? -- Now that is a p.c. made up name if I ever heard of one. I guess they thought about banning them too, but figured the NAACP would step in and everyone would scream racist if they went forward with that. Palmetto Artisans - haha. I remember when I first moved to Charleston I was walking with my girlfriend and got hassled by a couple of 12-15 year old kids (on a school day no less) telling me, "buy a flowah fo yo girl - buy a flowah fo yo girl." They followed us all the way down E. Bay with that crap - guess the fake flower industry is more promising than going to school...
Posted by mrkoolie on August 21, 2008 at 7:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
RTC - I'm not sure where you've gotten your information. The only syrups that anyone would mix would be for snow cones, which contain water, sugar and flavor - nothing from which hepatitis may be contracted. As for soft serve, the mix comes straight out of a milk carton from the dairy -yes, it may get contaminated of not handled properly (refrigerated) which is why you must have DHEC approval to sell it. Soft serve trucks must have the same inspection as a restaurant. I don't know of any soft serve trucks in Charleston besides Mr. Koolie and we do not operate out of our home and an inspection is welcome at any time.
wjhamilton3 - look forward to seeing you all....