Park Blocks Curfew
The mayor of Portland just announced that a 9pm curfew will be enforced in the South Park Blocks area of downtown Portland. The reason for the curfew is to deal with the problem of large groups of street kids congregating in the park, using and selling drugs, and harassing passers-by.
Ok, time for me to put in my two cents, I suppose. (wow, how tentative can I be?)
- First of all, the park blocks are not my favorite place. The kids there are unpredictable, many are paranoid meth addicts. I have been threatened there, and people we know have been attacked there as well. The park blocks used to be a great place to hang out, but the majority of the previous crowd moved to the Square (as in Pioneer Courthouse) when a younger, rowdier group of kids moved in from the waterfront area.
- Something should be done about the park blocks situation. At the very least, the people responsible for the actual offenses (selling/using drugs, starting fights, etc) should be targeted. It should be noted that these people do not represent the entire group, but one or two bad experiences is enough to sour someone's perception of the whole. Which leads to my next point...
- This is all about "perception." The article in The Oregonian reports that crime rates downtown have been steadily decreasing over the years, but for some reason people still feel unsafe downtown. Apparently dirty, unkempt looking people make non-dirty, kempt looking people feel unsafe. But we all knew that.
-The unsettling aspect here is the city's attitude toward the situation. "Just make them go away." As long as we don't have to look at them, we will at least feel safe. What matters is that people are coming downtown and spending money. If the bottom lines begin to sag, then the automatic reaction is to find someone to blame. And I have a sneaking suspicion that "someone" is usually going to be flying a sign and asking you for change (aka "Agressive panhandling")
- I have written this before and will say it again: one thing we can do, if we oppose this attitude, is to go downtown more often. If nothing else it will show them that not everyone is afraid of homeless people.
Ok, time for me to put in my two cents, I suppose. (wow, how tentative can I be?)
- First of all, the park blocks are not my favorite place. The kids there are unpredictable, many are paranoid meth addicts. I have been threatened there, and people we know have been attacked there as well. The park blocks used to be a great place to hang out, but the majority of the previous crowd moved to the Square (as in Pioneer Courthouse) when a younger, rowdier group of kids moved in from the waterfront area.
- Something should be done about the park blocks situation. At the very least, the people responsible for the actual offenses (selling/using drugs, starting fights, etc) should be targeted. It should be noted that these people do not represent the entire group, but one or two bad experiences is enough to sour someone's perception of the whole. Which leads to my next point...
- This is all about "perception." The article in The Oregonian reports that crime rates downtown have been steadily decreasing over the years, but for some reason people still feel unsafe downtown. Apparently dirty, unkempt looking people make non-dirty, kempt looking people feel unsafe. But we all knew that.
-The unsettling aspect here is the city's attitude toward the situation. "Just make them go away." As long as we don't have to look at them, we will at least feel safe. What matters is that people are coming downtown and spending money. If the bottom lines begin to sag, then the automatic reaction is to find someone to blame. And I have a sneaking suspicion that "someone" is usually going to be flying a sign and asking you for change (aka "Agressive panhandling")
- I have written this before and will say it again: one thing we can do, if we oppose this attitude, is to go downtown more often. If nothing else it will show them that not everyone is afraid of homeless people.