Safeway locked the set of sliding doors on Northwest 13th and Marshall recently, and posted red EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY signs in the windows. The signs are somewhat alarming, but as Safeway shoppers, we’ve all become accustomed to that little thrill of danger at the store. We don’t expect or even want to feel relaxed anymore. We’re high on high alert.
People entering and exiting the store now must use the Lovejoy Street doors on the store’s south end. You might already think of this as “Jehovah’s Corner” since there are always witnesses stationed there. Nonintrusive, just forever standing there til the end of time.
One Safeway employee said she felt better as a result of the doors being locked. And anyone on a casual Safeway run for half-and-half or a new bottle of Tapatío salsa picante can see that there are fewer people sinking down into the sidewalk, or circling around to walk out with free ice cream.
The architecture of discouragement seems to be working around here.
“They should have done it sooner,” she told me. “They did it at the Southwest Jefferson Street store awhile ago. Now if the city would just clean up the steps over there,” she said, gesturing to the old Bridgeport Brewing building.
“Now if the city would just clean up the steps over there”…. Now if the city would pretty much do ANYTHING to help our neighborhood we wouldn’t be having to constantly architect and adjust our lives around a problem that’s been allowed to fester and grow. I don’t want to feel uneasy when I grocery shop or walk around my neighborhood, and we shouldn’t accept that as “just the way it is now”. Please remember this in November when you vote.
The perimeter of the Safeway block (sometimes referred to as the Lovejoy Condos) is covered by 2 security companies, one that does periodic visits throughout daytime hours, and the other that is also on 24/7 dispatch (Echelon/NWCC). The humanitarian staff of the NWCC is also available to help with the perimeter and is called often by the Pearl Patrol members (who also routinely cover routes on the perimeter). The Cordage building (the old Bridgeport brewpub building) is also covered 24/7 by contracted NWCC/Echelon services. Those contracted security companies have the legal right to enforce trespassing laws (leaning against a building or being within a few feet of the wall of a building is trespassing). Also, the police should be dealing with anyone there who is dealing drugs or using openly. AND, the interior and doorways of Safeway is covered by paid, contracted internal security guards. So, it's not for lack of security services . . . it's just the utter scale of the problem, not least of which that Portland is losing many of its mom-and-pop groceries, so the larger stores are becoming stronger magnets. Many of us are guardedly hopeful that the scale of the problems around NW 13th and NW Marshall/NW Lovejoy will diminish with the closing of the 2 Pearl shelters - the RDNC and the Northrup shelter.