Sidewalks, as the term suggests, exist primarily as spaces for people to walk to the side of a roadway, with the occasional cyclist or Segway rider, or certain other human interactions.

Now and then, there will be buskers with a hat out taking donations for their music or other performance pieces, or someone making an impassioned speech, for whatever reason. Such things are allowed, even vigorously defended, in free-speech America.

But by and large, sidewalks are pedestrian passageways, so it does make sense to keep them clear for that purpose — devoid of movable kiosks, tents and random other obstructions.

That’s the intent of Bill 51, which is due for a final vote before the Honolulu City Council next Wednesday. It should pass and be signed into law, which almost certainly will follow, as it is the proposal of the Caldwell administration.

The bill is written fairly generically, titled “Created, Causing or Maintaining Obstructions on Public Sidewalks Prohibited.” It applies to any person who creates an obstruction on a public sidewalk that impedes pedestrian traffic between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

It was introduced along with another measure, Bill 52, but passing one doesn’t hinge on the other being approved as well, said Mayor Kirk Caldwell in an Aug. 3 letter to the Council.

The latter bill addresses those who are living on a sidewalk or in some other public place; it bars them from “lodging” there, as long as shelter space is available and they have been offered transport there.

Bill 51 also could affect homeless camps that obstruct pedestrians, but the city Office of Corporation Counsel has indicated it also would tag kiosks with citations.

The measure already has drawn significant support from community leaders and owners of brick-and-mortar businesses who object to the sidewalk clutter of the myriad wheeled kiosks that occupy spots on the sidewalk, especially in Waikiki, seeking customers for various tourist-themed attractions.

Critics include the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, which sees the proposed crackdown as a law that “criminalizes” the homeless on the street.

“We encourage the city to spend its limited resources in addressing the root causes of homelessness instead of pursuing the constitutional suspect path of criminalizing its unavoidable consequences,” Mateo Caballero, ACLU-Hawaii legal director, said in written testimony.

However, the city ought to be able to make a credible case in defense of this measure, if it becomes law. Rather than targeting the homeless specifically, it correctly focuses on the need to maintain public safety by preserving safe passage on the sidewalks, barring anything that obstructs them.

Under the existing ordinance, mobile kiosks had been allowed as long as a space 36 inches wide remained clear on the sidewalk for passersby.

That exemption, rightly, has been excised in the current draft of Bill 51, at the insistence of business representatives of neighboring shops. Owners raised their objections at the hearings because they see the kiosk operators as vying unfairly for customer attention without paying rent.

The Waikiki Improvement Association, through its president, Rick Egged, contended that the conventional shops in leased spaces are active contributors for Honolulu’s key resort district, an area that contributes about one-fifth of the city’s tax base.

The association “believes Waikiki’s sidewalks are no place for these rolling billboards promoting their commercial products in the public right of way.”

There is a carve-out for those seeking a place for their constitutionally-protected right of expression, as there must be. Once Bill 51 is enacted as it should be, the city must enforce this right for those who merit it — not for mere hucksterism standing in everyone’s way.