Police looking to curb highway panhandling with awareness campaign

The North Bay OPP, the North Bay Police Service and the Crisis Centre North Bay are teaming up to try and eliminate panhandling along highways in the North Bay area. 

It is common to find individuals standing on medians near bypass intersections at Fisher, Cassells and Algonquin holding up signs and asking motorists driving by for money. 

The police want this to stop. 

"So soliciting on a highway is prohibited, and it is going to cause distractions for drivers, and it causes unsafe situations," explained Constable Renée Taylor, North Bay Community Safety Officer.

"So the point of this campaign is to raise awareness, to inform that this is unsafe and that we do have to remove soliciting from the roadways and highways, but we also do understand that there is vulnerable persons and that we do need to provide support. So if we do want to give support, there's just safer ways to do it than to be providing money on the highways."

Police were set up in the parking lot at Northgate Shopping Centre handing out pamphlets about the Safe Streets Act and making North Bay motorists aware they should not engage with panhandlers on or near Ontario Highways.  

"So they are providing educational pamphlets about the Safe Streets Act and about the opportunity to provide support to our vulnerable population and safer ways by providing money on the highways, it's also causing risky situations, and we don't want to have a collision occur or anything like that, where we have a lot of traffic," added Taylor.

"So there's safer ways to give, and we want to be able to direct if you're interested in giving, please do give, because we do know that North Bay is extremely giving. We do not want that to change. But if we can redirect the support to the trusted agencies that can support the big picture, that would be fantastic."

Crisis Centre North Bay officials say they are happy to partner on such an important initiative.

"With the cold weather coming it will be crucial for people to receive information on where to find safe shelter, food and basic needs support," sated Susan Rinneard, executive director with Crisis Centre North Bay.

The Safe Streets Act is provincial legislation that regulates where and how solicitation can occur to protect both the public and individuals engaged in soliciting. It addresses aggressive solicitation and limits soliciting in high-risk areas such as roadways and intersections, where it poses safety risks for both motorists and pedestrians.