What’s with people washing your windshield while you’re at stoplights in Denver
By Shawn Patrick on January 25, 2024
As a Colorado native I don’t think I ever remember sitting at a stoplight and having someone come up to my car and start washing my window, but in the last week I’ve had it happen twice in Denver…
Our friends at KDVR also noticed the new trend especially at Colorado Boulevard and Colfax Avenue. They did a deep dive into what’s going on and found that most, if not all of the people with squeegees are migrants who likely can’t find work legally, so they’ve resorted to services like washing windows, hoping for tips.
KDVR also spoke to Sarah Parady, Denver City Council member at large, and she said, “It’s a lot of young families and people that had every conceivable background coming from Venezuela, but people that are professionals,” Parady said. “I’ve talked to so many health care professionals while I’m thinking, my God, if these people could work. We have such a shortage of providers, probably hundreds of nurses that we could hire, for example, who would be fully qualified.”
In case you were wondering the activity is illegal in Denver according the Code of Ordinances Sec. 54-548. – Solicitation on or near street or highway:
[b] It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit employment, business, contributions, or sales of any kind, or collect monies for the same, from the occupant of any vehicle traveling upon any street, road or highway when such solicitation or collection:
(1)Causes the person performing the activity to enter onto the traveled portion of a street or highway; or
(2)Involves the person performing the activity to be located upon any median area which separates traffic lanes for vehicular travel in opposite directions.
[c] It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit or attempt to solicit employment, business, contributions or sales of any kind from the occupant of any vehicle on any highway included in the interstate system including any entrance to or exit from such highway.
