Thread: Day laborers not immediately deterred by 'no stopping' signs

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Day laborers not immediately deterred by 'no stopping' signs


By: DEIRDRE NEWMAN - Staff Writer

TEMECULA ---- "No stopping" signs put up by the city and county this week in an effort to keep day laborers from gathering on Butterfield Stage Road appear to have had little effect.

Thursday morning, it was business as usual on the street for a dozen workers as they waited for people in need of short-term labor. At least one was hired by an employer whose car stopped briefly.

Workers installed the signs Tuesday and Wednesday, the majority of which were put up in the main stretch where day laborers gather between Rancho California Road and Rancho Vista Road. The no-stopping zones were OK'd by the council in response to a complaint filed by an official at a nearby school.


Although the designation does not make it illegal for the day laborers to congregate on the side of the road, it is meant to deter drivers from stopping their cars in the area to negotiate with workers.

"I don't know why they put up the signs," day laborer Feliciano Baptista said. "Everyone's looking for work here. It's not a problem."

Since the signs were installed earlier this week, the department has assigned a traffic officer to patrol the area, said Temecula police Lt. Cynthia Wait said. No tickets have been written so far, she said. Other officers from have been asked to also monitor the area when they are able to do so, she added.

"We know it's a priority for the city, so it's a priority for us," she said.

The City Council approved the establishment of the "no stopping" zones in late July, responding to concerns raised by representatives of a parent-teacher group at St. Jeanne de Lestonnac, the nearby school. The group contends that the day laborers' loitering poses a threat to the children's safety and that they engage in unlawful behavior, such as urinating in public.

The street-based jobseekers have gravitated to Butterfield Stage Road on and off for at least the past five years, and Councilman Mike Naggar said recently that their numbers have mushroomed in the past two years. City leaders wanted to take some action before the Catholic school starts up again.

If the current level of enforcement does not yield success, then it will be stepped up, Mayor Jeff Comerchero said.

Some of the day laborers said they feel like the signs are just the latest injustice they have had to deal with in the area.

"Years ago, we were out in the orange fields and they moved us over here and the county and police told us we wouldn't be harassed," said Albert Lopez. "Now they're putting up signs and I think it's a form of racism and discrimination because we're not (committing any crimes)."

The "no stopping" signs have caused a decrease in both the number of day laborers and would-be employers who visit the street, said Lopez, who identified himself as a California native who has been looking for work sporadically for the past six years on Butterfield Stage Road.

Lopez said the day laborers are interested in meeting with the mayor to discuss the situation on the street.

One homeowner, who lives down the street from the school on Avenida de Lestonnac, said she is glad the signs were put up. There is a lot of traffic congestion in the area when school is in session, and with day laborers running in and out of the street and their cars parked on the street, it just exacerbates that, Kelly McLaughlin said.

"It just makes it nasty," she said. "I'm hoping the police eventually show up and ticket people stopping so (the laborers) will finally go somewhere else. Not that I wish it on anyone else."

The street straddles the city and county; the west side is under the city's jurisdiction and the east side is under the county's. Police officers and sheriff's deputies are prepared to write tickets to violators on both sides of the street, Wait said.

"I don't know why they put up the signs," day laborer Feliciano Baptista said. "Everyone's looking for work here. It's not a problem."

Well genius, I guess you can't understand that it is a problem
for others.

"Years ago, we were out in the orange fields and they moved us over here and the county and police told us we wouldn't be harassed," said Albert Lopez. "Now they're putting up signs and I think it's a form of racism and discrimination because we're not (committing any crimes)."

Uninating in public is a crime in a civilized society. I guess you don't understand what a civilized society is. If you are here illegally, you are commiting a crime.

Since the signs were installed earlier this week, the department has assigned a traffic officer to patrol the area, said Temecula police Lt. Cynthia Wait said. No tickets have been written so far, she said.

No one respects a shark with no teeth.