Park Blocks curfew?
KGW's reporting (registration required) that Mayor Potter's about to announce a five-part plan to make downtown Portland safer. And that the plan is going to include a 9 p.m. curfew on the South Park blocks. Hard to believe that is going to be part of the plan, or if it is, that it will be enforceable.
| Posted at 11:18 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (9)
south park blocks? is there a big problem there - i've never seen one. how about do this at the north park blocks and china town...that's where the real problem is.
also - even though I feel safe downtown - using a statistic like "crime decreased 7% this year" is pretty meaningless if downtown has 25% less people around.
Posted by rod | October 11, 2005 11:40 AM
Curfews, like seatbelt laws, are mostly mechanisms by which the cops can pull over anyone they want, and go from there. "Pretext stops" are I believe what they are called in cop lingo.
That's not an anti-cop point--just making the observation that the curfew will be put in place so that they can have total flexibility to stop and question anyone they want to after 9pm. Young couple out walking their dog at 10pm has no chance of being stopped. Three guys in camo pushing a shopping cart full of cans will definitely get stopped.
Posted by Dave J. | October 11, 2005 11:51 AM
Uh, oh, better not let the police catch you going from the Schnitzer to the Arlington Club after the symphony.
Posted by solarvore | October 11, 2005 11:54 AM
what they came up with for a plan? how ridoculous. a curfew ahaha. omg. what are we 5?
they really should reach out to groups like the ones that walk around in pink jackets; small non-profit organizations love to help out in these capacities. they feel proud to be responsible for something once theyve been asked by the city to do something. but what do i know. im just an unemployed portlandian.
Posted by pdxkona | October 11, 2005 1:23 PM
I would have guessed tearing up the mall would make Portland safer ... as all the remaining businesses are driven out of the downtown core.
Maybe the mayor and start a new slogan for the city
Portland: You're not welcome here.
Posted by Ric | October 11, 2005 3:17 PM
The mayor said Portland will spend $1.3 million to set aside 57 jail beds to house suspects until they can be arraigned on one of seven specific crimes downtown, including burglary, drugs and prostitution.
Who will be matrixed out to make room for the Park Blocks troublemakers? Felony Flats meth-head burglars?
Posted by Jack Bog | October 11, 2005 5:49 PM
He's focusing on the wrong Park Blocks. The problem's North, not South.
Posted by RAH | October 11, 2005 7:49 PM
The selection of the South Park Blocks as the focus of a hot new law enforcement zone has a strong odor of the art museum/historical society crowd about it.
Not that that's a bad thing. But it's sort of like the Mount Tabor reservoir cover saga -- when the West Hills speak, City Hall (finally) listens.
Posted by Jack Bog | October 11, 2005 8:35 PM
The footage KGW has been using from their Monday night expose of drug-using-urinating-in-public-South-Park-Blocks-miscreants shows a couple of college age kids toking up on a bench.
If the mayor's action was, indeed, spurred by the Schnitz/Museum/OHS crowd, then those folks are probably just jealous of the undergrad crowd's ability to do what PDX's old money only feels comfortable doing in their West Hills villas.
You'd be amazed at the number of Portland's landed gentry who regularly buy "sink screens" from finer establishments in NW.
Posted by Murray | October 12, 2005 8:50 AM