Aurora avenue has become infamous as a hot-spot for prostitution and other crimes.
Seattle police have doubled down on efforts to reduce crime in the Aurora Avenue North corridor by enforcing a new law that prohibits anyone convicted of a prostitution or a drug-related crime from entering prohibited zones in select parts of North Aurora Avenue and Downtown Seattle. These initiatives follow a steady decline in safety and the overall appearance of the street.
These laws, Stay Out of Drug Areas (SODA) and Stay out of Areas of Prostitution (SOAP) would make these areas forbidden to anyone previously convicted of a drug or prostitution-related offense, punishable first by a citation, then an arrest.
SODA zones existed previously in Seattle from their creation in 1993 to their eventual ban and removal in 2020, citing concerns over racial profiling in SOAP and SODA zones. City council members reinstated them in a near unanimous motion on September 19th, which was then signed into law by Mayor Harrell on the 23rd. They took effect 30 days later, on October 23rd.
The SOAP zones encompass Aurora Avenue from North 85th to 145th street, and large parts of Westlake and Little Saigon Downtown. These areas have gained infamy for their high concentrations of prostitution and drug related crime, as well as a number of murders and increased violence.
Senior Adrien Dumont, who lives only two blocks from Aurora, shared his thoughts: “I live two blocks away from (Aurora), you can’t walk there or do anything.” Dumont shared a story from his experience on Aurora’s E Line bus: “I got on and saw people with knives.”
Dumont shared his skepticism about the Seattle Police’s ability to enforce the new law. “It’s a good initiative, but hard to enforce. A law like that would be hard to regulate.” Many members of the student body have shown a similar view towards Aurora: a modern Gomorrah within our city.
Isaac Preiner (12) has had similar encounters on the street. “Aurora is full of strippers and crackheads, everyone knows it.” Preiner has an alternative idea for improving Aurora, however. “If the city opened newer, more successful businesses and regulated the strip clubs, Aurora might actually improve.”
While the issues on Aurora seem apparent to many, the solutions for this issue are more divisive. Many are unsure that enforcing this law would solve the root of the problems that plague Aurora, while more still doubt that the Seattle police could enforce the law at all.
Aurora carries many implications with it about the state of our city, and the ability of Seattle’s Police force to help remedy a level of decay that has advanced considerably in the last few decades. It looks like it will be a long way to go before students feel safe on Aurora again.
