Commission discusses safety at DeBose Street food distributions; staff suggests off-site or volunteer traffic control

Commissioners discussed recurring traffic and safety disruptions during volunteer food distributions on DeBose Street and McLeay, and staff recommended low-cost operational fixes and interfaith coordination rather than immediate infrastructure changes.

Commissioner Dolores Rodriguez described firsthand observations of double parking, blocked lanes, trucks that could not back up, and pedestrians crossing without sufficient lighting. She said organizers historically distributed about 160 boxes to roughly 100 cars during events and urged the commission to help find safer options. "It was so dangerous because constantly we hear people doesn't pay attention and they break like, you hear the brakes," she said.

Police and public works staff who visited the site said signage existed but the location was not designed for a drive-through distribution and often exceeds capacity. Staff recommended partnering with a nearby church that has a larger circulation area, using a designated off-site parking lot with volunteers to shuttle people, or adding volunteer traffic marshals in orange vests to guide vehicles and reduce double parking. A staff member warned that forcing formal permitting or stringent traffic controls could complicate charity efforts. "If we get too deep into it and we start talking about traffic control and some of these other things and force them to go through a formal permitting process, it can really complicate what they're trying to do at its core," the staffer said.

Commissioners asked that staff and commissioners continue outreach to the pastor and food-distribution leaders to explore low-cost alternatives, including offering public parking or swap-meet lots and adding volunteers to manage flow, and report back on feasible operational changes.