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AT&T’s Smokers Sidewalk

July 24, 2009 Smoke Free 26 Comments

Except in local restaurants & bars, smokers are often forced to take their addiction outside.  This typically means the public sidewalk.  I can generally avoid the addicted feeding their habit but when I head to Citygarden I’m forced to deal with it. I typically take 10th Street South from Washington Ave to reach Citygarden.  I may need to find an alternate route.

Sidewalks along 9th & 10tth at the AT&T building adjacent to Citygarden are covered by the building, as you see above.  Smokers congregate in these enclosed areas, making passage very unpleasant.  Even on weekends when employees are not present these sidewalks reek.

When the building was built the public sidewalks were moved inwards to allow ramps for the underground parking garage:

As with smoking near building entrances, I’d like to see smokers kept out of these areas.   It is not their private smoking lounge — others need to pass through as well. Let them smoke in un-covered areas where the smoke dissipates.

When you pass through here in a wheelchair it is worse than walking because you are down at the level where they hold the cigarettes.  I can’t yet place my left hand over my face and my right hand is controlling the chair.  I may need to get a mask to wear when I pass through.  Do you think they’ll get the message?

Somehow, someway, this situation needs to change.

– Steve Patterson

 

Currently there are "26 comments" on this Article:

  1. Seth Teel says:

    Steve,
    AT&T isn’t the only building that has this problem. Met Square is terrible too. The smokers congregate on the 6th street underneath the covered walkway, but even worse is the corner of Broadway and Olive where it may be the first thing you see (or smell) when you enter the building. I certainly don’t mind if people smoke, but the property management companies running these buildings should create designated spaces for smokers that does not impede the fresh air of others.

     
  2. Colleen says:

    In my office building down on the Landing, smokers line up in front of all the doors, esp. in bad weather when they can get just under the overhang. It’s so gross, I’d prefer going in the back entrance next to the dumpster than walking through the wall of smoke. Not only that, but they are physically blocking the doors which alone is rude.

    Ugh. I’m so over smoking it’s ridiculous.

     
  3. scott o. says:

    um – aren’t we overreacting a little here. sure, you may find the odor of people smoking outside unpleasant, but life is full of unpleasantness, and this one seems pretty minor. these folks are already outside… smokers are people too. Actually – in a weird way I kind of like a little ambient smoke – maybe its because my mom smokes… anyway – we can’t make the world in our image – we have to tolerate little things that we may find annoying – and this is one of those things. There is no possible way to argue that this is a health hazard to the public…

     
  4. Brian S. says:

    I have more of a problem with the people who flick cigarette butts on the ground instead of disposing of them properly.

     
  5. southsidered says:

    This is getting silly. C’mon, a little ambient smoke outdoors isn’t going to hurt you. Maybe the smell’s unpleasant. But so is car exhaust. So is roasting meat, to a vegetarian like me. If having to share the sidewalk with a burning cigarette is intolerable, by all means never go to Europe, or Latin America, or Asia.

     
  6. Reginald Pennypacker III says:

    “I may need to get a mask to wear when I pass through. Do you think they’ll get the message?”

    No, they’ll just think there is something wrong with you.

     
  7. Chris says:

    “I have more of a problem with the people who flick cigarette butts on the ground instead of disposing of them properly.”

    Which is pretty much all of them.

     
  8. Steve, really. I don’t like it either but just use the sidewalk on the west side of 10th Street or any of the other myriad of routes we are lucky enough to have because of the grid. You just can’t go through life never smelling offensive odors. Some people have BO — it’s unpleasant but it won’t hurt you. At least the smokers are outside. I think the littering issue is bigger.

     
  9. JV says:

    I agree with your assessment…think how much productivity is lost each day allowing the smokers to leave their perch……go down to street level….light up and then return (repeat hourly)…I’m surprised the company allows so many breaks.

    They look like a bunch of pigeons milling about

     
  10. Adam says:

    yeah, i watched a lady get out of her car the other day and toss her butt on the curb. so i waited around until she came back (it was 15 minute parking and i was eating anyway) and asked her to please dispose of it properly in the ash tray over yonder. she acted so incensed, like “oh my god, how dare you call me out for littering.” why is it that some smokers, who wouldn’t throw a burger wrapper or an empty cup on the ground, don’t think twice about tossing their (often still lit) cigarettes there?

     
  11. Douglas Duckworth says:

    Rather NIMBY – homosexuals offend me. Let’s keep them off our sidewalks as well. Keep their activity at places like JJs or Novaks, out of the public sphere where children are and maybe influenced.

    Simply because you don’t like an activity doesn’t give you standing to regulate that behavior. It’s a dangerous position. If you don’t like smokers then take another route.

     
  12. Carmel says:

    I don’t think anyone, smokers included, would be OK with walking with their child in that corridor (also at cigarette level). It most definitely is a health hazard.

    And it is true that Steve could use a different route. I’m glad that he points out the situation, though.

     
  13. G-Man says:

    I can’t stand smoking either, but this post reads too much like “damn kids, get off my lawn”.

     
  14. Fluffer says:

    For a professed urbanist, you sure have some antiseptic ideas about urban living.

     
  15. prudentdriver says:

    When one considers all of the pollutants in our atmosphere in general and, specifically at street level or thereabouts, cigarette smoke in a short enclosed corridor–which happens to be open to the atmosphere at both ends–is more a nuisance than anything else. When one really understands the details and doesn’t buy into the propoganda, the only real problem here is a bad odor.

    BTW, smoking tobacco makes me feel ill.

     
  16. Angelo says:

    I have to say, the thousands of smog-emitting cars that fill our cities are far more deadly than momentarily passing through small amounts of cigarette smoke.

    It seems abit extreme to evacuate citizens from public spaces because of their slightly irritating habits. At least they are adding some energy to the environment by utilizing public space.

     
  17. Eddy1701 says:

    I quite agree with Angelo. Smoking has always seemed quite a peripheral issue to me compared to the sheer volume of air pollution we dump into the sky.

     
  18. Mike says:

    I don’t want smoking indoors either, but I think it degrades the forcefulness of your advocacy when you start sounding silly.

     
  19. Tony Palazzolo says:

    You want smokers kicked outside and now your complaining because they are smoking outside. If this is how you feel, you probably shouldn’t push for a ban. There will be 10x the number of people smoking outside.

     
  20. nick says:

    I was so glad to read the comments and see that I’m not the only one who thought this post is rather ridiculous. I don’t smoke, and I’m in favor of sending smokers outside. But I’m not in favor of banishment.

    I like your blog, Steve. But I hope this obsession with smoking is a phase that passes soon.

     
  21. Jimmy Z says:

    A perfect illustration of the Law of Unintended Consequences. “When the building was built the public sidewalks were moved inwards to allow ramps for the underground parking garage.” By eliminating one conflict, you create another (having to walk by the front door even though it’s set back from the street). By moving smokers “30 feet away from the entrance”, you just move the “problem” somewhere else. By eliminating indoor smoking, you force smokers outside. If you could make smoking tobacco as illegal as smoking crack, you might not have its use imposed anywhere in your daily travels. But since it’s still legal for any adult to possess and use, expecting never to smell it anywhere is unrealistic, even if we non-smokers are a majority – I don’t even like smelling smoke from the vehicle next me when I’m waiting at a stop light, but I don’t expect “there ought to be a law” nor do I expect a serious effort at any enforcement, given the transitory and relaitvely minor nature of the issue. And, like Brian, I’m much more offended by the cigarette butts that line the curbs of every intersection around here . . .

    [slp — I’m going to respond to some of the above comments here. With varying curb cuts and construction my choice of routes is more limited than an able bodied persons. I’d prefer a world where nobody smokes but I understand smokers have a bad habit and if we don’t allow it inside the they will be outside. These sidewalks are technically outside but the design is quite enclosed. Is is like all the office smokers just going out in the hall. I pass by many smokers on the sidewalk and I can easily deal with that brief unpleasant smell. The cigarette butt issue is disgusting. Recently as I passed a guy he flicked a butt that nearly landed on me. He apologized but I doubt he’ll change his tossing the butt.]

     
  22. Chad says:

    “I have more of a problem with the people who flick cigarette butts on the ground instead of disposing of them properly.”

    Which is pretty much all of them.

    ===========

    Yea, if you’re fed up with the smokers at AT&T, check out the planters along Pine where the trees are. Loaded with butts. Disgusting habit of disgusting people.

     
  23. Jimmy Z says:

    OK, we pretty much agree on the definition of the problem – what are the logical or possible solutions? Expect the smokers to be more considerate? To have the building or the city ban (and enforce any ban) smoking in a public arcade (the legal definition of this space)? To request or require that the building provide better ventialtion (fans)? To request or require any employer and/or building provide an enclosed smoking room (and to make sure their employees always use it) if they prohibit smoking in individual and/or common work areas? If they have public arcades? To ban all public smoking in the city? Including in the sidewalk dining areas outside restaurants?

    Urban life is messy. Living in close proximity to other humans can and does produce friction. None of us are royalty. What offends you may or may not offend me – I don’t like seeing scooters parked on the public sidewalk, I don’t like having to squeeze between diners on our sidewalks and I don’t like seeing people hanging out on street corners with cardboard signs asking for money. Do I expect the city to specifically outlaw any of these activities and to devote resources to enforcing any of these potential restrictions? No. I expect a certain amount of live and let live. You say “I may need to find an alternate route.” I agree – with the downtown grid, both sides of 8th & 11th, the east side of 9th and the west side of 10th all offer “alternate routes”. They may be slightly less direct, but most, if not all, will allow you to avoid this particular situation. And since it’s an ongoing condition, it’s one that can also easily be anticipated and avoided!

    [slp — I’d like to see the building managers encourage smokers to use more open areas of the sidewalks, except during heavy rains. Also keeping them from congregating in groups would be nice. Future buildings should not be allowed to be built over the sidewalks. If so, smoking should not be allowed on those sidewalks. My alternate routes are fewer than others. People going from Citygarden to City Grocers or the new Schnucks on 9th will pass through this smokers hallway. Yuk]

     
  24. Matthew says:

    “Also keeping them from congregating in groups would be nice.”

    They’re not steer. They’re people.

     
  25. matthew says:

    No wonder many folks think liberals are loony; for some there has to be a law or a rule for everything that is offending to someone’s particular sensibilities. Live free, or die, indeed.

     
  26. Non Smoker says:

    Oh my. Love the site, but this post goes beyond the pale. Hold on…let me turn on some sad violin music while I read this again….. Wow. I need a tissue.
    .
    I now better understand the term “bed wetting liberal”. Why is the answer to every minor annoyance a whine to pass another regulation? I find it hard to believe someone can’t stiffen the upper lip and show a little toleration for this minor, temporary inconvenience. Who should we target next—fat people? Should we ban ‘em? They do take up a lot of room on sidewalks. Their poor dietary habits cause them to experience various obesity-related medical conditions (strokes, heart attacks, etc) which impacts everyone else’s insurance premiums. Let’’s ban the fatties. Any drinkers out there? Get in line everyone. We need more gubment to help us find happiness.

    [slp — this is not your typical sidewalk. When the building was constructed the city had to grant them permission to build it as they did – using public right of way for their garage drives. I don’t think it is liberal to expect something in return when a major corporation uses public land for their own use as was done here. Hopefully the building owner/manager will see fit to encourage their smokers to smoke in more open spaces.]

     

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