SOMERSET, Ky. (LEX 18) — City leaders in Somerset are discussing a new ordinance after a rise in driver complaints about pedestrians.
“It seems like there has been a slight uptick looking at some of the numbers,” said Somerset Chief of Police Josh Wesley. “We had roughly around 200 pedestrian related calls in 2023 and up to this point in 2024.”
Monday evening, Somerset Mayor Alan Keck introduced a panhandling ordinance to the city council.
“You know, we see it a lot from people in need,” said Wesley. “What we’ve seen a lot here recently is different organizations that are out soliciting for money”
Walking through a crosswalk, or asking for personal or charitable donations are one thing, but the city is having issues with people standing in the medians of busy roads, even approaching vehicles in the roadway.
“Some of the issues we’ve seen recently is kind of more aggressive tactics and trying to get that money,” Wesley explained. “Going out into the roadway, knocking on windows while cars are stopped. Can obviously be a cause of alarm for the citizens. A lot of people, it’s a charitable community, when they decide they do want to give money, that causes a traffic flow issue as well.”
It's important to note that the city sees this as a step to safety for motorists and pedestrians, not a problem with panhandling.
“The City of Somerset doesn’t really have any kind of an agenda against people asking for money, that’s not really the issue at hand,” Wesley said. “It’s just the safety on all sides.”
This specific ordinance mirrors a Lexington law. It carries a fine for people standing in medians, approaching vehicles, and improperly crossing major roadways in Somerset.
“We want everybody to be safe on our roadways,” said Wesley. “We don’t want pedestrians to be injured, and we want our motorists to feel safe while they’re driving through Somerset.”
The ordinance does provide exceptions in certain cases. To learn more about the ordinance, visit here.
The city council has a vote scheduled for the ordinance on November 11.
