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Downtown issues have slackened from last year Wednesday Aug 31, 2016 at 8:33 PM Aug 31, 2016 at 8:33 PM Julie AkinsFor the Tidings Whether or not ordinances passed earlier this year banning smoking, blocking sidewalks and aggressive panhandling downtown are the cause, the consensus seems to be that downtown issues have lessened this summer.  Sandra Slattery from the Ashland Chamber of Commerce says the people they’ve talked to say the ordinances have created a more peaceful and healthy downtown. “The no smoking ordinance in particular has been positive for people. They say it’s enjoyable to walk downtown. It’s certainly something that’s very noticeable.”  As to other aspects of the ordinances and what some have described as a concerted effort to move the homeless out of town, Slattery says the Chamber does not have that position. “I think Ashland is a draw for a lot of different sorts of people. Everyone is able to access the community as long as their behavior is positive. It’s about behavior for us. If people are following the laws and not accosting people, it’s their right to be here.”  She says they’ve appreciated city leaders taking input from residents and businesses in creating laws. “We heard from residents who didn’t want to be downtown and that’s changed. I appreciate that they care about the health and wellness of people who live here and visit and that they listened to people and cared about what they said. It’s easy to be critical but we should also say thank you when people put out the effort out to try to make the community better.”  Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara, who is charged with enforcing the ordinances, agrees that they appear to have achieved certain desired affects. “The ordinances appear to have helped," he said, "but it’s not just because of the work the police are doing. The Ashland Peace Commission being downtown, the mental health worker, even though that’s new, has helped. A lot more than ordinances have developed.” The chief has maintained since the discussion of laws regarding downtown behavior began that policing is only one part of dealing with it. “A lot of what happens downtown is not a police problem but a mental health or a social problem.”  Still, he says he is getting reports from downtown businesses and the Ashland Chamber of Commerce that it’s getting better.  As to the exact number of citations given downtown since the ordinances passed, Chief O’Meara says he can assume there have been more tickets since there is greater enforcement and presence downtown, but he won’t have the numbers to calculate until the end of the year. Solving the issues downtown wind up creating new ones elsewhere, according to city Councilor and candidate for mayor Carol Voisin, who says homelessness and the ordinances affecting downtown are related in the sense that many being ticketed under the new laws are the homeless who can’t pay the tickets. “Their basic need is a shelter, a safe place," Voisin said. "That can come in many forms. Ninety to 95 percent of the folks that were downtown and are homeless want a safe place and we’ve totally ignored what their real need is. I think not taking responsibility for what its costing them is lack of foresight on the part of the community. We need to take another look at these ordinances.”  Homeless advocate Vanessa Martynse Houk echoes that concern. “I spend most Tuesday mornings sitting in the municipal court in Ashland, watching to see who is most affected by these recent laws … I am seeing a surge in homeless people caught up in a cycle of fines and warrants. When these laws were passed we were told that they were not meant to target the homeless, but who else is sitting on the sidewalk with their belongings?”  Houk, who organizes a Friday community meal with the Ashland Peace Commission for primarily homeless people says while the intention may not have been to punish homeless people, it winds up occurring. “These ordinances have the biggest impact on our homeless population and (perhaps unintentionally) as a result are filling up the court dockets. I don't think the behaviors have changed. People are still homeless. They are still trying to find a place to sit down, generally in the middle of the downtown and they still don't have anywhere safe to store their belongings. We have this system in place were the police have to move people from places to place and our city resources are tied up managing something that isn't working.” Attempts Wednesday afternoon to reach Mayor John Stromberg for comment for this article were unsuccessful. Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/@julieakins.