Officials say it’s meant to keep drug dealers out. Some homeless people worry it’s being built to pen them in. Either way, part of Rio Grande Street will soon be off-limits to anyone without a homeless services ID card.
On Monday, the state began installing an 8-foot-tall chain-link fence that officials say will be covered to reduce visibility and prevent dealers from passing in drugs.
But even as fence posts were planted in the pavement, the state was hashing out its plan for the space between The Road Home shelter and, across the street to the east, the day center and dining hall owned by Catholic Community Services.