Protesters, Petitioners Free to Assemble on Sidewalks Bordering Bayshore Mall

Petitioners and protesters can take to sidewalks bordering Bayshore Town Center again after an understanding was reached among the mall, City of Glendale and the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin on Tuesday.

In separate incidents last fall, mall security told petitioners to leave the sidewalks surrounding the mall and another man protesting Trader Joe's was arrested and cited for trespassing by Glendale police.

Capt. Mark Ferguson of the Glendale Police Department said the understanding is limited to the sidewalks bordering Bayshore, including North Port Washington Road, East Silver Spring Drive and North Lydell Avenue, and doesn't include the sidewalks lining the interior of the mall center.

"There has always been some disagreement about the sidewalk surrounding the mall and whether it was private property," he said. "We will no longer issue trespassing citations for those exterior sidewalks."

The ACLU attorney Jim Gramling called it a “victory for the most basic form of free speech," in a statement Tuesday.

“Sidewalks and parks are places where people traditionally have exchanged ideas and tried to persuade their neighbors to adopt their views, " Gramling said. "And unlike other forums for expression, like television or the radio, they can be used without charge, so anyone, rich or poor, can seek an audience there.”