Two Months Into a Crackdown, San Diego Struggles to Keep Freeways Clear of Encampments

Israel Elzy loaded an old wheelchair with all his belongings as a dozen workers, rakes and trash bags in hand, began sweeping an encampment along Interstate 5.  

The 67-year-old and three other men living near the freeway watched from a few feet away. They waited patiently for the crew to finish cleaning, so they could move their stuff back. 

On July 22, the city of San Diego entered into a one-year agreement with the state to clean up encampments along a portion of downtown freeways. While the agreement has allowed the city to clear more than 80 tons of trash and place 18 people into shelters, the same areas they clear repopulate within hours. That’s because shelter space is limited and some people don’t want to go to a shelter. 

“Until we have places for everyone to go, we are going to be in this back and forth,” said Franklin Coopersmith, deputy director of Environmental Services. “That’s what we can do is just keep trying to make contacts.” 

Homeless people have often camped along freeways, but over the last two years, those encampments have grown as more people move to these hard-to-reach areas to avoid police enforcement. 

San Diego was the first city to enter into agreement with the state. Riverside locked in a two-year agreement soon after, and Chula Vista is also exploring the option.  

The agreement gives the city up to $400,000 in reimbursement. City officials said the city and its contractors track expenses and submit them to Caltrans. The city said they have submitted their initial reimbursements for July and August 2025. 

At a state homelessness summit in August, Mayor Todd Gloria touched on the obstacles the city faces. He emphasized that the city does not have a health and human services agency – like the county – so connecting homeless people with addiction or mental health services is an issue. 

 “I have very blunt instruments. I have a police department, and I have a sanitation department,” said Gloria. 

Coopersmith has been going out to the area between the I-5 and Imperial Avenue at least twice a week since mid-July.  

The city’s Environmental Services Department conducts and documents the sweeps, while the San Diego Police Department’s Neighborhood Policing Division provides outreach and security. The city also has a contract with Urban Corps of San Diego County to remove trash, and Clean Harbors to handle hazardous and biohazardous waste. 

The city’s agreement with the state only allows the city to clear a 5-mile stretch of freeways in and around downtown San Diego, but the city hopes to expand the boundaries. Under the agreement the city conducted over 100 sweeps so far. 

The city must give 48-hour notices to people before cleaning freeway areas. In that time, the city’s homeless outreach officers will come out to the areas to try and touch base with people and understand what they need.  

City officials said the agreement has opened the door for outreach workers to go on state property. The city’s outreach partners connected 33 people to shelter programs. 

However, people like Teera Baumbach Majeski, 32, and Amanuel Hailemariam, 52, just cross to the other side of the street during the clean-up and then make their way back. 

“They know there’s not enough shelter out there – they don’t mind us going back and forth,” said Hailemariam. “That’s the game. The Caltrans people are getting paid, everybody’s happy. And we’re suffering, there’s no solution to this.”  

Majeski who has struggled with homelessness since she was 10 years old, said she got a bed at the St. Vincent De Paul shelter downtown the day before. Majeski did not say who connected her with the shelter. Hailemariam said in the past he’s given outreach workers his name and contact details to connect him with an available bed, but they never follow up. Another woman with them at the encampment said most shelters won’t take her dog.  

Hailemariam said when they go over to the residential side of the street, he feels bad for blocking the sidewalk with his belongings. He planned to wait two to three hours before moving things back to the area the workers cleared. 

Even though the city is required to give 48-hour notice, Majeski said when the day comes for the abatement, it’s difficult to gather up your stuff fast.  

“There have been times when we come up on brand new clothes,” said Majeski. “Hygiene stuff, food, medications. They just come and throw them out.” 

Shelter availability continues to be a problem for homeless people. 

The San Diego Housing Commission reported in July that of the over 24,000 requests for shelter received this year, only 12 percent were fulfilled.  

A handful of shelters have also closed over the past year including downtown’s Golden Hall with over 300 beds and the Paul Mirabile Center with 350 beds. The Rosecrans Bridge Shelter in Midway with 150 beds closed earlier this year. 

The San Diego Housing Commission also said compared to last year, there has been an increase in shelter referrals and decrease in completed referrals.  

Elzy got a bed at Alpha Project, a shelter downtown, after connecting with a homelessness outreach officer the day before the clean-up.  

For three years, he had been waiting for a bottom bunk bed that met his disability needs. He deals with congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and back problems daily, he said. The San Diego Housing Commission reported one of the main reasons for not being able to accommodate a shelter referral is a lack of available bottom bunk beds for men. 

This year more than 54 percent of referrals were incomplete because there were no beds for men. 

“I just have to give credit where credit’s due,” said Elzy about the officer who got him into a shelter. On the day of the sweep, he’d come back to pick up the little belongings he had.  

“I have to be ok with getting rid of a lot more of this stuff,” he said pointing to bags stacked up on his wheelchair. “But at least I’m going uphill now.”  

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