It’s the duty of the Colorado Springs City Council to hear everyday people when they are calling out for help, as is the case regarding quality of life in a couple of neighborhoods near the heart of downtown.

The Colorado Springs Police Department shared with City Council this month that police believe a city ordinance prohibiting sitting, kneeling, reclining or lying down on public sidewalks, trails and other rights of way needs to be expanded geographically from the city’s core.

The police cite, as demonstrating the problem, many hundreds of calls from residents reporting trespassing, disturbances and suspicious activity in the areas where the expansion is proposed.

Originally passed by the council in 2016, the ordinance, the Pedestrian Access Act, encompasses a 9-block north-to-south area from East St. Vrain Street to Cimarron Street. The area also runs from a westward boundary of Interstate 25 east to South Wahsatch Avenue.

If the council votes to approve the ordinance revision, which the Gazette reported could come as soon as Tuesday, the affected area would expand to the north by four blocks, to East Cache La Poudre Street.

The bigger expansion would be southward, dipping down to where Interstate 25 wraps beneath Dorchester Park and – on the other, south side of the interstate – to a triangular sliver reaching Cheyenne Road between South Tejon Street and South Nevada Avenue.

Police Commander John Koch told the council this month the existing reality on public rights of way in these areas isn’t safe. That’s for the people engaging in the conduct – whether they are being preyed on by other individuals or being hit by vehicles – or surrounding workers and residents.

A public decision on this policing proposition isn’t an easy one for City Council members as, back in 2016, opponents of the ordinance protested it “criminalized homelessness.”

From Colorado Springs to most every city across the country, those in favor of permitting people to loiter, live and camp on public rights of way have described legislation like Colorado Springs’ ordinance as lacking “compassion” or a “holistic” approach, as city councilwomen Yolanda Avila and Nancy Henjum, respectfully, said to Koch on Jan. 10.

We disagree with Avila – the lone council member yet to voice direct opposition – in her belief that city government and law enforcement could show more compassion to those on the street. Police already exhibit a ton.

Consider, first, the ordinance is not a 24-hour law. It’s effective, Sunday-through-Thursday, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and, Friday and Saturday nights, until 3 a.m. Further, police are only arresting lawbreakers after previous warnings and encouragement to seek out shelter beds – which Koch said are typically available to serve anyone in violation of the ordinance.

We agree with Avila there should be increased focus on root causes of homelessness, such as addiction. But a city’s effort to tackle addiction isn’t mutually exclusive from the city’s ability to address crime.

As for the council’s questions on practicality – including Councilman Bill Murray’s concerns shifting lines just relocates crime and an expansion without more police might be a waste – those aren’t reasonable excuses to not empower police in the area.

Enabling preexisting law enforcers to help citizens now is the right move considering, as Koch said, “we just know the problem exists in the areas where we are requesting an expansion.”

Colorado Springs Gazette editorial board