Businesses and residents on or near Washington Avenue should be thanking the city of St. Louis for increasing police presence on that thoroughfare.
The only question that should be asked is: “Can we have some more?”
It’s also a great idea to stop traffic on the street between designated hours or weekends. Quite frankly, I think it’s a good idea if the entire street is designated for pedestrians only from 4 p.m. Friday until 4 a.m. Sunday morning.
Beale Street in Memphis operates in a similar way. There are bands of police on every corner, and you can’t drive down the middle of Beale Street. If there is a problem, there are police officers within a few feet—not blocks away.
This won’t stop all violence near Washington Avenue, but it’s a start and is way past due. Fights won’t start in front of police, and if fights don’t start, then gun play won’t follow. I’m not saying cooler heads will always prevail and there will be peace in the valley. I am saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
The Delmar Loop and Central West End should follow suit. More cops mean more safety. More safety means more people will feel comfortable coming to St. Louis City and U. City. Figure out the cost, and figure out how to pay it.
With the financial problems that most urban areas face, hiring off-duty police officers to patrol the streets as part of an entertainment-district force would stretch tight budgets beyond reality. So businesses, neighborhood associations, and private citizens have to chip in.
Would you rather have a visible, strong police presence or shootings and fights? That seems pretty easy to answer.
It is the city’s responsibility to protect everyone in the city—regardless of where they reside. For the city to prosper, people must feel safe.
If St. Louis had upped its police presence five years ago, when Washington Avenue was taking off, it might be a national destination by now. St. Louis has been slow to realize what other cities acknowledged long ago: Either be willing to protect the party people, or fail to become a party city.
We’ve got great music, great food, and great people. What we don’t have are enough badges on the streets to go along with the merriment. That is changing on Washington Avenue, though, and this is a good thing.
Commentary by Alvin Reid
