NEWTON
Hawking products and services from the road will no longer be legal in Catawba County if commissioners give final approval to a solicitation ban.
County commissioners approved the first reading of an ordinance Tuesday night that prohibits solicitation on streets, highways or rights-of-way in unincorporated areas of the county.
The purpose is to protect the safety of motorists and pedestrians.
The Sheriff's Office has received an increasing number of calls from citizens concerned about individuals soliciting at intersections and from the side of the road, said Maj. Coy Reid.
"It is a distraction to drivers. The ordinance will help the Sheriff's Office deal more efficiently with the problem," he said.
State law gives local governments the authority ban soliciting from a roadway.
The roadway is basically ditch to ditch, said County Attorney Debra Bechtel.
"The right of way varies," she said, but the ordinance addresses solicitation in the road, at intersections and on the side of the road.
Parking lots and other private property are excluded. The ordinance will not apply to municipalities.
Commissioners will have a second reading at their next meeting.
The board also approved a resolution supporting a partnership among Caldwell County, the City of Lenoir, the City of Hickory and Catawba County that wants the Hickory-Lenoir corridor to be selected as a test site for development by Google of a new ultra-high-speed broadband Internet network.
Google will build gigabit-per-second fiber networks in multiple communities. The test sites will apply new ways of deploying fiber, new construction methods, and new technology.
Catawba County has partnered with all of the county's municipalities, Lenoir and Caldwell to submit a joint proposal for the Google test network.
"This has created excitement that hasn't been here in a long time," said Terry Bledsoe, head of the county technology department.
"The community has pulled together at the speed of light."
He cited the presence of Google, Corning, CommScope and Draka as positive elements in the coalition's applications.
Requests for the public's ideas, videos and comments in support of the project have resulted in thousands of responses, Bledsoe said.
"We want this to transform our area like is was and take us into the future," he said.
Commissioners agreed the Google project is a prevalent topic of discussion. Their approval was unanimous.
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