Alderman Wants Ban On Peddlers Near Wrigley Field
7/25/2010
Ald. Tom Tunney: It's An Issue Of 'Public Safety'
Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) wants to ban street peddlers within a two-block radius of Wrigley Field on Cubs game days.
Tunney says a ban on peddlers on streets adjacent to the ballpark is not enough.
Tunney introduced an ordinance calling for the ban at a City Council meeting Tuesday. Under the new ordinance, no peddlers or street performers would be allowed on Addison Street or Waveland Avenue between Wilton and Racine avenues, and on Clark Street and Sheffield Avenue between Newport Avenue and Grace Street, the Chicago Tribune reported.
There is a ban on peddling within 1,000 feet of other sports venues in the city, but at Wrigley, peddling is only banned from sidewalks immediately surrounding the ballpark.
The ban on peddlers on the sidewalks around Wrigley hasn't been enough, and "the situation has only gotten worse," Tunney said in a news release.
"My office has received numerous complaints from constituents, visitors and business owners about both peddlers and street performers," Tunney said in the release. "The volume and intensity of this activity in the Wrigley area has increased steadily in the last few years."
Tunney called the issue "one of public safety. The sidewalks around Wrigley Field are very narrow, in some cases less than 5 feet wide. On any game day, you will find peddlers blocking the sidewalks around the ballpark, forcing thousands of pedestrians in the street to pass. The vehicular traffic is just as intense, making the combination very dangerous for pedestrians going to and from the ballpark."
In addition, retailers around the ballpark do not like having peddlers in front of their stores, selling similar merchandise. But as far as the city is concerned, this is legal, Tunney said.
Furthermore, some street performers play music so loud that it is disruptive to nearby residents and businesses, Tunney said.
The ordinance would only apply within two hours before and after Cubs games and events at Wrigley. Peddlers would be allowed to work on private property within the ban zone with owners' permission, Tunney said in the release.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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