Opinion

Scooters and the homeless — some parallels to think about

A worker uprights scooters brought down by the wind in downtown San Antonio Dec. 13. Unfortunately, scooters, toppled or otherwise, often congest the city’s sidewalks, making it harder on pedestrians, particularly pedestrians with disabilities. less A worker uprights scooters brought down by the wind in downtown San Antonio Dec. 13. Unfortunately, scooters, toppled or otherwise, often congest the city’s sidewalks, making it harder on pedestrians, ... more Photo: JERRY LARA /Staff Photographer Photo: JERRY LARA /Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Scooters and the homeless — some parallels to think about 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

I live in Southtown and I am a pastor at Travis Park United Methodist Church downtown, so I have seen the fast proliferation of scooters and bikes operated by companies such as Bird, Lime, Razor and, now, Uber’s “JUMP” Scooter.

I have used the scooters and found them helpful. But lately, as thousands more scooters have hit the streets, they have started to block sidewalks and are dumped in piles near intersections.

This limits walkability, especially for those with special needs, and makes the simple act of walking on a sidewalk unsafe when pedestrians are forced to share the limited space they have with high-speed scooters.

They disturb our businesses by clogging entrances and make the city less presentable to tourists.

Scooters (and the multimillion dollar corporations behind them) have been allowed to flourish, with the city seemingly turning a blind eye to violations of its own pilot program. But it has been proactive in penalizing its most vulnerable citizens for the similar crime of occupying public space.

You might be asking, “Pastor, why the heck do you care about the abundance of scooters or blocking sidewalks? Stay in your lane!”

Well, it has to do with my job. Apart from occasional preaching and leading the dialogue group “Pub Theology,” most of my ministry centers on those who are homeless, the working poor and migrants. Many of my homeless and/or hungry friends hang around our church and other churches nearby because of hospitality. They are safe places of sanctuary. Places of worship, including our historic missions, were founded on such principles. And the same argument is made against the homeless: “they disturb our businesses and make the city less presentable to tourists.”

A few years ago, the city redeveloped Travis Park to create a more safe, accessible, creative park for locals and tourists. The city did a great job and should be commended. There are still homeless people around the area. This can be uncomfortable for people walking near the park or church, when many homeless people are lined up outside for services to receive warm meals, showers, health clinics, Bible studies, and prayer sessions.

The line was not a problem when our church was used as a day center, but was forced to close after Haven for Hope opened and grant money was redirected. However, most problems arise when they loiter outside on church property and leave belongings visible from the sidewalk.

Don’t get me wrong, any activity such as drug use, profanity, abuse, and urinating in public like Ozzy Osbourne is unacceptable and citations or arrests should be implemented. This should apply to anyone; a drunk tourist, the homeless, the rich, or even a crazy pastor.

Just a few days ago, leaders from the city, SAPD and other downtown stakeholders met with the church’s lay leaders, head pastor, and members of Corazon Ministries. They informed the church that items such as sleeping bags, luggage, and other items homeless people might use near sidewalks would be swept away and the owner of the items would be cited for camping or other city code violations and given a court date.

Most of the time, the citation results in a fine or community service. This code is enforced even if the items and sleeping bags are on church property but in plain view of the sidewalk.

I understand the code. The law is the law. There are sometimes good reasons for it. My issue is not the rules themselves (although some should be adapted) but how they are applied and how it harms the homeless.

After the meeting, our church agreed to honor all city codes and inform our street friends to follow the rules. We also offered to alter some of our services to the homeless and try to find storage and safer places for them to rest especially during bad weather. We truly want to be good neighbors. Good neighbors to our homeless friends, good neighbors to our local businesses and hotels, and good neighbors to tourists and local visitors to the River Walk.

As a church, we are called to love all of our neighbors and even our enemies. I guess we can blame the words of Jesus for that action.

I found it ironic that at the same time the meeting took place, at the same street corner in dispute (Travis St. and Navarro), there were a dozen scooters in the road and blocking the sidewalks, making the area disrespectful and pedestrian travel uncomfortable.

Sounds like a similar problem to me.

Later, I took pictures of scooters owned by JUMP and others blocking the intersection on Houston Street near my church. I guess that’s why Uber calls their scooters JUMP — because you have to literally jump over the scooters to keep walking on the sidewalk.

So how can the city, which claims to be a “City of Compassion,” have such an urgency to fine and cite the homeless and downtrodden and not urgently cite scattered scooters companies that have more resources?

Sure, many of us fear the homeless (usually for wrong reasons) more than a fallen scooter. I get that and would love to talk about that more. But my point is about fairness, compassion, and being a good neighbor.

Travis Park UMC will work hard to be a good neighbor to keep the campus clean and free from trash and abandoned items left by the homeless and drunk partygoers coming back from the River Walk or Fiesta. But I am calling for the city and SAPD to do their part to keep scooter companies and other businesses accountable for the cleanliness and safety of our streets, including the safety of riders and downtown pedestrians.

Citing the homeless for camping or other various city code violations does nothing to solve the problem of homelessness or the homeless issue that exists in every major U.S. city.

Yes, we have Haven for Hope but it is not the only solution or model to decrease homelessness. We have great SAPD “H.O.P.E.” officers who care for the homeless, but the program has only a few officers to work the entire city. Citations might clean up a few sacred streets for tourists, but all it really does is create more poverty and hardship for our unhoused neighbors.

I appreciate District 1 Councilman Roberto Treviño’s insightful op-ed in the Express News about his solutions to tackle the issue of scooter use in downtown and his hope for a city-owned trailer shower for the homeless. His ideas have great value and more City Council members and our mayor need to do more to hold these scooter companies to the same standard they hold the homeless, working poor, and our friends on the street near Travis Park.

Maybe the scooter companies can contribute to programs such as “Housing First” so we can get the homeless inside safe housing first rather than waste money on sometimes ineffective social services. If we can be creative, fair to all concerned, and be a better neighbor, then maybe we can be the compassionate city we so boldly proclaim.

Until we begin to cite scooter companies more often for misplaced and disruptive scooters (which make millions off riders) and until we fine riders for breaking sidewalk rules and riding dangerously, we should stop citing the homeless — who have almost nothing to their name.

And here’s another “controversial” idea: Let’s provide the homeless with valuable resources that can change their lives and make our streets more open, clean and hospitable.

Rev. Gavin Rogers is the associate pastor at Travis Park United Methodist Church and the founder of the interfaith community group Pub Theology San Antonio. He is a native Texan and is a graduate of The Divinity School at Duke University. His writings can be found at www.40daysofhaven.com and www.facebook.com/PubTheologySA Twitter @gavinrogers