For at least six weeks, maybe much longer, an old Subaru SUV was parked along Southwest Salmon Street beside the First Unitarian Church, gradually filling with “stuff.” Bags filled the vehicle and then began accumulating on the roof and spreading to the “yard” around it. An electric scooter could be found among the detritus, perhaps to provide transportation to the owner of the Subaru, who would have been unable to find space inside the car, much less drive it.
Why was this car allowed to grow into a trash pile so long without being ticketed and towed? Was it an informal policy the Portland Bureau of Transportation once had to waive parking code enforcement on cars people were living in?
One neighbor asked the emailed the city on June 21.
“I get ticketed if I am 10 minutes overtime. Why haven’t they been towed?” he asked. “Does PBOT have a homeless hands-off policy?”
We followed up with PBOT and finally got an answer.
“The vehicle parked on Southwest Salmon Street near Southwest 12th Avenue had a disabled parking permit displayed that allows the vehicle to be parked within three blocks of its registered address,” PBOT spokesperson Dylan Rivera wrote. “PBOT staff worked with the person living in the vehicle to consider options for where they might relocate, and it became clear that the vehicle was inoperable.
“The Impact Reduction Program posted the site on July 10, sent outreach teams to the site on Monday to clean up any trash on the sidewalk. Outreach workers are also working with the vehicle occupants. We expect the vehicle to be towed today (July 15) or tomorrow.”
Sure enough, the car and associated trash were soon gone as promised. This is the city that works, after all.
“The Impact Reduction Program posted the site on July 10, sent outreach teams to the site on Monday to clean up any trash on the sidewalk. Outreach workers are also working with the vehicle occupants. We expect the vehicle to be towed today (July 15) or tomorrow.”
Sure enough, the car and associated trash were soon gone as promised. This is the city that works, after all.
.
We spoke to the police about a man in a car without license plates parked for weeks near Jamison Park. The man has posed a problem at times, intimidating park-goers. We called the non-emergency police line and gave up after a half hour on hold. We then saw a police car in our area on another call and stopped to talk to them. The police responded very quickly and spoke to the man but said they could do nothing UNLESS THE CAR WAS MOVING. Really? If I overextend my Parking Kitty by 10 minutes, I get a ticket. Why the double standard? Why so many city, county, and state silos that just point to each other and nothing gets done?
I had a similar situation near the Housing Authority of Portland's Hollywood East Apartment Complex that I complained to PBOT about. Van with expired Minnesota Plates with a tow bar attached to an unlicensed VW Bug that appeared to be seriously inoperable. Think taking up two spaces. I took pictures and complained in December, January, and March. I finally tried to contact the Mayor's office because (with our new, improved City Government) he's supposed to be supervising the City Manager. Mayor's office never responded (surprise, surprise, surprise!). Couldn't figure out how to contact my City Councilor at the time (and I later figured out that when you do, they don't respond anyway). It finally disappeared sometime in early May (I believe), only to arrive in the exact same spot about 6 weeks later, once again taking up two parking spots. It's still there, but I'm exhausted trying to get anyone's attention.
At minimum, any car with plates expired more than a year should automatically be impounded and towed. Any car that has no plates should be immediately impounded and towed. These cars are uninsured, and pose a risk to the rest of us when they are being driven. We have allowed our local governmental leaders to create a two-tiered system that allows certain designated "victims" special privileges over those who follow the rules and pay the taxes that keep this city and county running. This political favoritism breeds resentment in those who follow the rules, and contempt for the law in the rest.
If you cannot afford to license and ensure your vehicle, and if you cannot afford to park that vehicle, guess what? You can't afford a car!