MoDOT and City of ºüÀêÊÓƵ workers stand by to clear out the homeless camp as residents finished packing at the homeless camp underneath the overpass at Interstate 44 and Cole Street on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
Laurie Skrivan
ºüÀêÊÓƵ firefighters spray down the cement as a final resident leaves the homeless camp under the overpass at Interstate 44 and Cole Street on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
Laurie Skrivan
Nick White stands in an encampment near the intersection of Gravois Avenue and River Des Peres Boulevard holding two plastic bags filled with food given to him by a local volunteer organization on Sunday, May 1, 2022. Photo by Zachary Clingenpeel, zclingenpeel@post-dispatch.com
Zachary Clingenpeel
Missouri Department of Transportation and city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ workers dispose of items left behind after residents moved out of a homeless camp under the overpass at Interstate 44 and Cole Street on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.Â
ST. LOUIS — Workers on Wednesday morning cleared the homeless camp under the Interstate 44 overpass near Cole Street downtown, the last of three sites there that the city had planned to remove.
A few hours later, an aldermanic panel advanced a bill to make it illegal to pitch a tent in public rights of way. The legislation was spurred by growing concern over a separate homeless encampment along the River Des Peres near Gravois Avenue on the city’s south side.
At the downtown camp, residents packed belongings into shopping carts and boxes. About 18 workers were on site and hauled away the remaining items.
The city originally gave the residents 10 days notice to vacate, with a deadline of Monday. On Monday, the city cleared the first two camps, displacing one or two people, according to advocates and city officials.
At the encampment that was cleared Wednesday, four or five people had been staying there in recent weeks.
The city had also planned to evict a camp of people about a quarter mile to the east, who have been living under a pavilion along the Mississippi River.
But on Friday the city said that while it had enough shelter beds available for the 15 to 20 residents of the “Riverfront Community,†it would delay the site’s closure until it had options that are not in group settings.
The bill barring tents and similar shelters from public rights of way was endorsed 7-0 by the aldermanic Public Safety Committee and sent to the full Board of Aldermen. The measure covers streets, alleys, sidewalks, easements and other city-controlled property.
The sponsor, Alderman Tom Oldenburg of the 16th Ward, said camps like the one along the River Des Peres are dangerous for the people staying there.
Motorists using adjacent River Des Peres Boulevard over the years have lost control of their vehicles and swerved onto grassy areas such as those where some homeless people in recent weeks have pitched tents, he said.
“This is a safety issue but ... also a homelessness issue,†Oldenburg said. He said once the tents are cleared, “then get them plugged into the services they need.â€
Alderman Bret Narayan, one of two committee members who voted “present†on the bill, said he worries what happens to those forced to leave such pop-up encampments.
“I just don’t know where people are supposed to go,†he said.
Narayan, of the 24th Ward, said he also worried that the measure might prevent the city from setting up a supervised “intentional encampment†with some services for homeless people who won’t go to traditional shelters.
Several people testified against the bill in the teleconference hearing.
Kennard Williams, a housing organizer with Action ºüÀêÊÓƵ, said the bill was “a prime example of the criminalization of poverty and homelessness†that doesn’t address the root causes of either. Among other opponents were members of Tent Mission StL and Unhoused StL, two homeless aid groups.
Alderman Carol Howard, 14th Ward, said she receives more complaints about tent encampments than support from residents in her south side area. “Unfortunately we did not hear from those people today,†she said.
She added that while the city needs to offer services to help people in such camps, there also “needs to be motivation to take advantage of those services.â€
Committee chairman Joe Vaccaro, 23rd Ward, suggested allowing the encampments only in wards where the local alderman supports the idea.
Alderman Bill Stephens, in whose 12th Ward the River Des Peres camp is located, said the bill “puts the cart before the horse†and that he has been working to find a solution.
Stephens, who isn’t on the committee, asked that the bill be delayed until the city counselor’s office compiles a report on whether previous court rulings would even allow such a ban.
Posted at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 4.
Photos: Unhoused campers in ºüÀêÊÓƵ face removal as protesters rally
The city on Thursday evening posted flyers at four tent encampments, notifying residents that they must vacate within 10 days.
MoDOT and City of ºüÀêÊÓƵ workers stand by to clear out the homeless camp as residents finished packing at the homeless camp underneath the overpass at Interstate 44 and Cole Street on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
ºüÀêÊÓƵ firefighters spray down the cement as a final resident leaves the homeless camp under the overpass at Interstate 44 and Cole Street on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
Nick White stands in an encampment near the intersection of Gravois Avenue and River Des Peres Boulevard holding two plastic bags filled with food given to him by a local volunteer organization on Sunday, May 1, 2022. Photo by Zachary Clingenpeel, zclingenpeel@post-dispatch.com
Missouri Department of Transportation and city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ workers dispose of items left behind after residents moved out of a homeless camp under the overpass at Interstate 44 and Cole Street on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.Â