TPD Pushing For 'Queuing Permits' To Address Downtown Crowds, Promote Sidewalk Safety

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The City of Tuscaloosa is one step closer to providing further enforcement of the large crowds gathering on sidewalks in the city's entertainment districts during busy nights, with the Tuscaloosa Police Department proposing a queuing permit for certain businesses.

Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.

Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley and Director of Planning Ashley Crites presented the proposal to city officials during the City Council's Public Safety Committee meeting Tuesday, which spelled out the problems and potential solutions at the city's disposal.

The primary issues at hand, Blankley explained, all converge on busy nights in places like The Strip and Temerson Square, which ultimately makes for an unsafe environment, while also stretching thin the available law enforcement personnel faced with patrolling massive crowds of revelers.

These problems include outdoor alcohol consumption on city sidewalks, pedestrian traffic spilling into the roadway and other dangers posed by large crowds in public spaces.

Blankley then pointed to the night of the last A-Day spring football game at the University of Alabama on April 16. Indeed, a time-lapse video showed the crowds on the sidewalks along The Strip only growing, as many were waiting for entry into the bars along University Boulevard.

"At this point we actually had to block off the streets because it did become overcrowded," Blankley said. "As long as traffic flows, what we see is people trying to stay on the sidewalk as much as possible."

He went on to explain that in the past, the city's fire department has had more teeth with respect to enforcement of city ordinances, particularly with the fire marshal's oversight of capacity restrictions for different businesses.

However, for TPD, the sidewalks have been a more complicated issue when large crowds begin to form. Blankley elaborated by providing a typical example of a bar becoming overcrowded, with the line outside growing and becoming a party atmosphere all to itself.

"They come and just hang out now, drinking, smoking weed, doing everything but going into the bars," he said. "Everything mixes and then it gets out of control."

For example, at places like Glory Bound Gyro Co. on University Boulevard, the police chief said there were numerous fights outside of the establishment the night of the A-Day game.

Blankley also pointed out that several bars will run their lines two to four times the length of their buildings, but TPD has no mechanism on the city codebooks to address it.

"They are making money hand over fist, but yet when we tell them you need to cut your line, it's not their responsibility," he said.

Quick notes on proposal:

• If queuing for an establishment reaches its property line, the business must have someone to cut the line and enforce set boundary restrictions.
• Outside seating would be removed with the placement of queuing barriers, which would be in place in addition to a six-foot clearance to the sidewalk to allow for other pedestrians to walk past the queue.
• Queuing licenses could be revoked after a business receives over the established number of citations within the approved time-span. The example provided was two or three citations within a year.
• Periodic inspections would be conducted in order to ensure compliance by businesses.
• Each business would be subject to a final inspection prior to the city's signing off on its code compliance during its initial business license application.

"We've talked with downtown business owners," Mayor Walt Maddox said. "We have one or two bad things happen again and again ... the whole thing we should be solely focused on is protecting our fellow man, but even put that aside and if you have one or two more things happen down there, that's not going to be good for business. That's not good for anyone."

The Council's Public Safety Committee did not take any action on Tuesday, as the exact wording of the proposed ordinance has not been written. However there was a consensus noted in officials expressing support for the measure as a way to promote public safety during busy weekends in Tuscaloosa.

Blankley said it was his hope that, if passed, the ordinance would be in place before the next fall football season.

"I think a lot of people are going to be in favor of it," Blankley said. "I think you're going to have a couple that aren't. It's not going to be one of those things that we walk out there and your line is five people over, so hey, here's your citation ... We can tell a difference between someone trying to do it and someone who is going 'it's not our problem.'"

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com.