Reply #5: The proposal is to close the street (one block) to vehicles.

[soup]

The area is jammed on Saturday night. It's a hub for entertainment - restaurants, bars, theaters and gift shops within a complex. The sidewalk in front of the complex is where the protests take place. Check out the pictures at St. Pete for Peace.

The only drawback to closing the street on Saturday nights that I can see is the possibility of the city putting up 'free speech zone' barricades in a distant corner and saying to the protesters something along the lines of - 'Here's your corner, people. Stay in it.'

Probably the worst that could happen is that the city gives the sidewalk fronting the property to the corporation that owns the complex, giving them the power to say 'get off OUR property.' To me, that would set a horrible precedent.

That's just my take on the situation. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will answer.