Nothing to see here: New law prohibits stopping on Las Vegas Strip's pedestrian bridges
The bright lights of the Las Vegas strip can set your soul on fire but after the implementation of a new law you won't be able to pause to see them.
Clark County began enforcement of a "pedestrian zone flow" ordinance Tuesday that prohibits people from, "stopping, standing or engaging in an activity that causes another person to stop" on pedestrian bridges and surrounding escalators and stairways.
Violating the ordinance, which the Clark County Board of Supervisors passed unanimously earlier this month, could draw a $1,000 fine or up to six months in jail.
The measure “will help to ensure our world-class tourism destination remains a safe place for people to visit and transverse,” Clark County said in a statement to the Associated Press.
Opponents question ordinance effect on free speech
Opponents of the ordinance questioned the safety effects of the ordinance and said that is could have an effect on free speech on the strip.
“That might mean the right to protest. That might mean someone who’s sharing expressions of their faith. That might mean a street performer,” Athar Haseebullah the Executive Director of ACLU Nevada told the AP.
Clark County said that the ordinance was not targeted at street performers on the pedestrian bridges, in the statement to the AP.
Before the ordinance was passed earlier this month, Haseebullah told ABC affiliate KNTV that the organization would challenge the ordinance if passed.
"If we say crime is up and we criminalize the act of stopping, your crime rate naturally will increase if that's put into place. This notion that crime rates are up is not actually telling," Haseebullah said. "I can assure you if this passes, there will be litigation. You have the power to work with Metro to have officers placed on those bridges permanently if the crime is so bad. That hasn't been done."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Las Vegas pedestrian bridge stopping ban takes effect on Strip
