Re “S.D. will clear camps from freeway land” (July 23): The camping ban pushed the homeless off the streets, so they chose the freeway ramps and margins because the city didn’t have jurisdiction there so they were safe from getting rousted and having their property thrown out.
Mayor Gloria is now saying it is too dangerous for them to use those locations, but he was warned that the homeless would go to those locations. When the mayor talks about providing services, what he means is that they will be put on a waiting list that is weeks or months long.
The alternatives are now either back to the streets or to the riverbed or the canyons. The canyons pose an extreme danger of wildfires started at homeless camps, as we have already seen.
This is not a solution — it is setting up a dangerous situation. The solution is housing.
— Bruce Higgins, San Diego