SEATTLE — The problem of people selling stolen merchandise along the sidewalks, streets and bus stops in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District has become such an obstruction for people and businesses that Seattle’s police and transportation departments are joining forces to try to stop it.
While our photographer was at the notorious intersection of 12th and South Jackson Thursday, King County deputies were clearing out people selling drugs and stolen goods.
For years, people selling shoplifted items and drugs have blocked pedestrian access to the public right-of-way on the sidewalk and at bus stops around the intersection.
So in addition to ramped-up enforcement, the Seattle Department of Transportation and the Seattle Police Department installed 19 signs that say “No buying or selling merchandise” on city utility poles along 12th Avenue South.
Each sign is written in English, Vietnamese, and Chinese.
Outreach and enforcement action will be made in that area as the warning signs go up, and SDOT officials say that will improve safety and accessibility in the community.
Business owners, neighbors, and people passing through have long complained that the people hawking stolen goods and drugs are a menace to safety and even block people from getting to Metro buses.