Have You Seen Blue Lines Painted On Curbs? Here’s What They Mean

Social media has been all a buzz lately about something called "The Safe Harbor Initiative". Basically, painting a blue strip on the curb in front of your home is meant to signify that you support police and "have their back." Great, positive idea in theory, but perhaps there are a few things to consider before we all go crazy with the blue paint.

A man from San Antonio, Texas by the name of Anthony Welichko is the one who kicked off "The Safe Harbor Initiative" with this Facebook post:

Personally, I applaud Mr. Welichko for starting a movement meant to support law enforcement who risk their lives daily to support us and a safer community. I decided to do more research on "The Safe Harbor Initiative", and came across some valid concerns on snopes.com:

One issue with this proposal is that curb markers are often used by agencies such as public works departments to indicate locations work sites or important structural information.

Additionally, blue strips painted on curbs are not particularly visible during non-daylight hours. It’s not reasonable to expect that police responding to evening or nighttime calls will first examine neighborhood curbsides with their flashlights to determine whether they have any community support in the area.

Another matter is whether or not the proposal is (or ever will be) known outside of a few thousand shares on Facebook.