City officials tout Browne Street viaduct fencing as a success, but long-term impact unclear

The viaduct beneath Browne Street is clean and clear of people camping since the city erected fencing along the sidewalks beneath the Browne Street viaduct earlier this month.

But the city’s approach remains the subject of public debate and scrutiny.

The move quickly drew mixed responses, with some lauding the city for taking action to reduce public camping and others accusing the city of moving – rather than solving – the problem.

Mayor Nadine Woodward believes the city’s fencing has cleaned up the sidewalks, while acknowledging it’s not a long-term solution to homelessness.

“If we can keep it clean, and if we can provide a safe way for pedestrians to make their way through the viaduct, then it’s a success,” Woodward.

The mayor’s office has been contacted by 13 people to weigh in on the fencing, and eight of them have voiced opposition to it.

When David Carlson read that the city had erected fencing on Browne Street, he pulled out his tape measure.

Carlson, an attorney with Disability Rights Washington, wanted to make sure the remaining sidewalk for pedestrians met the 36-inch minimum under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standard. He measured 48 inches.

But Carlson wasn’t finished.

Every 200 feet, the ADA requires a 60-inch-wide gap to allow people to pass one another.

Carlson’s tape measure didn’t stretch that far, so he paced it out and estimated the fencing stopped just short of 200 feet.

But just because it meets the measurements, Carlson argues the fencing might still violate the ADA.

As Carlson sees it, the city is discriminating against people experiencing homelessness.

“I do think that there is exposure for the city as they target homeless people and they know that they will disproportionately impact people with mental illness, people with substance use disorder,” Carlson said. “That is actionable.”

Even if the alleged discrimination is actionable, someone would have to be willing to enter that legal “gauntlet,” Carlson said.

Woodward has heard comments from those who feel like the fencing is confining and poses a threat in its own way. But she questions whether the people who have voiced that complaint ever walked through the viaduct when it was occupied by people camping.

“That’s far more unpleasant than fences,” Woodward said.

Woodward has not personally walked beneath the viaduct since the fencing was built, but said the city could possibly modify the height of the fencing on one side to make it feel less imposing.

One neighbor who appreciates the change is Catholic Charities, which operates the nearby House of Charity.

Catholic Charities employs a neighborhood safety team that patrols the area 24/7 with an approach that is “one of service to people, not enforcement,” according to Jonathan Mallahan, vice president of housing for Catholic Charities.

Since the fencing was put in place, Mallahan said the safety team has seen a decreased need for response under the bridge.

Prior to the fencing installation, Catholic Charities had called on the city to take measures that would limit camping beneath the Browne Street viaduct.

“It can pose a challenge to the people who are using our services,” Mallahan said.

The nonprofit said it has offered many of the people staying there shelter, but staff have been rebuffed. Like Woodward, Mallahan said he’ll wait to make a judgment on the fencing’s long-term efficacy.

“We want to support innovation and understand that there’s a need where downtown can be safe for visitors, for people who don’t have a home, and people who live there,” Mallahan said.

Woodward said she’s unsure where the people under the Browne Street viaduct have relocated, or if other camping spots have popped up around town. Shelter capacity has been stretched through the winter, so it is unlikely that they relocated into a shelter.

The Spokane Police Department also view the fencing as a success, but it is also uncertain where the people formerly living there have gone.

“SPD officers report the problems associated with people living in the underpass have disappeared since the fencing was installed; garbage, human waste, drug use, and violent encounters,” Julie Humphreys, a department spokesperson, wrote in an email to The Spokesman-Review.

The city continues to work on a plan to expand emergency shelter capacity, but has yet to finalize details.

The mayor stressed that the city erected the fencing only because its earlier efforts to clean the viaduct area on a daily basis weren’t sustainable.

“We don’t have the resources to put there on a daily basis to make it clean and safe for people,” Woodward said.

But Woodward said measures like fencing are just one component of the broader homelessness response that her administration continues to formulate.

“This is a solution to a specific problem in a specific location. This isn’t the overarching solution to homeless,” Woodward said.