January 2009
1. Clean
& Safe Security
2. Notes from the Field
3. Neighborhood District Attorney Update
4. Clean and Safe Maintenance Program
5. West Side Community Court
6. Community Service Crew
7. Theft Accountability Class
8. Sidewalk Ambassadors
9. Downtown Business Census & Survey
10. Semi-Annual Pedestrian Counts December
18, 19, 20- Cancelled
11. DMI launches "Seek the Unique" holiday
promotion
12. Construction Moratorium
13. Holiday Retail Sales
1.
Clean & Safe Security
Clean
and Safe security officers, Central Precinct Street Crimes
Unit, the Mounted Patrol, and Portland Police Bureau Clean
and Safe bicycle officers combined their resources in December
to prepare the downtown retail district for the anticipated
increase in holiday shoppers.
In early
December, Portland Police Officer Mike Cox received information
from a Downtown Retail Council member and a Clean and Safe
security officer and began surveillance on a ring of shoplifters
who were selling stolen merchandise, meat and soft drinks
to outdoor food vendors out of their kiosks on parking lots
in the retail core area. The mission, Operation Chain Link,
resulted in 12 arrests of food vendors who were purchasing
stolen property out of their kiosks, and the District Attorney's
Office is prosecuting the offenders. The offending food kiosk
owners also had their leases terminated by the property owners.
The Holiday
Car Prowl Reduction Program has been in full swing since early
November. Downtown shoppers are being reminded this is a 'high
break-in season' and to use caution with valuables left in
their cars. More than 20,000 flyers were printed and distributed
on car windshields. Since this program began in 2005, car
prowls have been reduced by an average of 20 percent during
the holiday season.
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2.
Notes from the Field
On December
2, Clean & Safe security officer Butch Button was in the SW
10th and Yamhill Smart Park Garage. He contacted a despondent
person sitting on the 7th level (roof top) stairs. The person
was very emotional and depressed. He told the officer he wanted
to die and would jump if the officer left him. Officer Button
requested back up and positioned himself between the despondent
person and the edge of the parking level wall while conversing
with him. Clean & Safe's police bicycle officers responded
and the person was taken into custody for a psychological
evaluation. Excellent work, Butch.
On December
8, Clean & Safe security officer Nate Hartley observed a suspicious
person sitting in the passenger seat of a parked vehicle at
the SW Third and Alder Smart Park garage. The officer noticed
the person was acting very nervous and the front passenger
window was broken out. The person admitted the car was not
his and said the numerous items in the vehicle belonged to
a friend. Clean & Safe police bicycle officer James Powell
responded, and the vehicle was verified stolen and the suspect
had an outstanding arrest warrant for burglary. Portland Police
Bureau detectives were assigned the case, and more than $10,000
in property has been recovered from the defendant along with
the stolen car; three burglaries in SE Portland were also
cleared, and the District Attorney's Office has filed multiple
criminal charges against the suspect. This is an excellent
example of the partnership between Clean & Safe, Central Precinct
and the District Attorney's office that has led to a 38 percent
reduction in crime in the Business Improvement District (BID)
since 2005.
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3.
Neighborhood District Attorney Update
The Downtown
Neighborhood District Attorney Legal Assistant reports the
Neighbor DA reviewed and issued 202 criminal cases in December.
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4.
Clean and Safe Maintenance Program
Commissioner
Randy Leonard successfully launched his new "Portland Loo"
24-hour public restroom. The City Water Bureau contracted
with the Alliance to re-supply and clean the Loo twice daily,
and Clean & Safe security will regularly patrol the area to
make sure the restroom is used appropriately and does not
become a burden on downtown. The Loo is expected to be a great
help in relieving the restroom concerns of downtown visitors
and property owners. If this pilot unit is successful, Commissioner
Leonard would like to add at least five others at various
downtown locations.
December
snowstorms brought many challenges to our maintenance workers.
The hazardous winter conditions downtown required significant
snow and ice removal from the sidewalks and clearing of TriMet
shelters to keep transportation running smoothly. Participants
in our homeless-to-work program were out in force at 6:00
a.m. daily and greatly assisted in making downtown a safer
place to shop and visit during the two-week winter storm.
The cleaning supervisor reports that approximately two
tons of de-icer was used on downtown sidewalks to keep
them clear for use.
In addition
to their great work during the winter storm, Clean & Safe
maintenance workers responded to 462 calls for cleaning service
and removed:
- 2,012
graffiti tags (public and private);
- 1,686
bags of trash;
- 1,121
bags of leaves;
- 462
citizen cleaning responses;
- 96
needles;
- 306
pieces of drug paraphernalia; and
- 101
condoms.
Mr. Mark
Wilson, Restoration Ecologist for Portland Parks and Recreation,
called to commend cleaner Stephanie Noll. Stephanie had found
a small handheld computer that belonged to Mr. Wilson in the
street, then took the time to research and contact him to
arrange a return of the item. Mr. Wilson offered a reward
and Ms. Noll declined, telling him it was her job. Mr. Wilson
contacted us to let us know how much he appreciated her dedication
to downtown and her job.
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5.
West Side Community Court
The West
Side Community Court reports in December that:
- 134
defendants were ordered to community service;
- 44
defendants were in compliance;
- 72
are working toward completion;
- 18
were unsuccessful and face additional court sanctions; and
- 13
jail days saved at $176.00 per jail day = 2,288.00 in county
savings.
During
the inclement weather in December, Community Court Judge Steve
Evans ordered that, if a person showed up only to be sent
home due to the weather, they would be given four hours credit
and re-scheduled to finish their hours of service. The Work
Crew leader reports that 15 people showed up and were given
this credit.
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6.
Community Service Crew
 Sidewalk
Ambassador Marcus Marchand has accepted the position of Crew
Leader for the community service crews. Marcus did a great
job as an Ambassador, and is known for his outgoing and enthusiastic
personality. He is working with Community Court Coordinator
Bryan Dillon to learn the areas needing particular cleaning
attention in the BID and how to help defendants successfully
complete their community service.
Through
calendar year 2008, the Community Service Crew performed 10,000
hours cleaning and removing debris from 8,400 assigned block
faces in the BID. The
crews were kept particularly busy in December assisting the
Clean & Safe cleaners with the snowstorm. The crew leader
reports:
- 536
block faces were covered;
- 46
bags of trash were removed;
- 465
street cleaning hours were performed; and
- 58
defendants participated in community service.
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7.
Theft Accountability Class
Theft
Accountability Class (TAC) has a 72 percent success rate since
inception in 2002, based on recidivism within the first year
of completion. The TAC had another successful month in December,
with:
- 36
sentenced to attend;
- 30
successful completions;
- 2 failures
resulting in jail sentences; and
- 4 open
cases.
The coordinator
reports a 78 percent success rate overall in 2008, with 514
people sentenced to TAC.
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8.
Sidewalk Ambassadors
During
December the Ambassadors helping holiday shoppers locate their
various destinations by providing directions and escorts,
and making referrals to the many great businesses and restaurants
in downtown. The Ambassadors report that TriMet ridership
seemed to be at an all time high during the inclement weather
at the end of the month, leading to a particularly festive
and lively atmosphere around the retail core and lots of shoppers
downtown who reported being unable to travel to the suburban
malls.
 The
kiosk was placed daily at Pioneer Place near SW 5th and Morrison
to maximize visibility and usage. The Ambassador's also participated
in an array of holiday events around downtown and distributed
lighting window clings to businesses in the retail core announcing
the new LED lights paid for by property owners that are now
powered by renewable energy.
Beginning
in January 2009 the Ambassador Program is being restructured.
Initially there will be two full-time Ambassadors participating,
with part-time Ambassadors being brought in during high retail
seasons. The program will be re-evaluated this spring to determine
how to best utilize the resources brought by the Ambassadors.
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9.
Downtown Business Census & Survey
The Annual
Downtown Business Census & Survey has been mailed to all businesses,
non-profit entities and governmental agencies in December,
using Oct. 1 as the baseline for data collection. The results
will be collected over a six-month period in order to receive
a 100 percent count of all employees and a statistically significant
amount of survey information. This is the eighth annual business
census conducted by the Alliance.
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10.
Semi-Annual Pedestrian Counts December 18, 19, 20- Cancelled
The Portland
Business Alliance conducts biannual pedestrian traffic counts
at fifteen intersections within the Business Improvement District
from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The purpose of the counts is to track
pedestrian traffic volumes in front of key intersections within
the downtown core to assist brokers with leasing available
retail space and other parcels poised for redevelopment. Pedestrian
counts were slated to occur December 18, 19, and 20 but due
to the severe winter storm and harsh outdoor conditions, the
counts were canceled, as the safety of the counters was a
concern. The next pedestrian count will occur in June 2009.
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11.
DMI launches "Seek the Unique" holiday promotion
 The
Downtown Marketing Initiative's (DMI) retail holiday promotion,
titled "Seek the Unique," had more than $500,000 in additional
marketing dollars from the city. These dollars allowed for
more radio and airplay promoting downtown in addition to the
print, billboard and public bench advertising supplied by
TriMet and our other partners. This year, downtown Portland
was portioned off into five districts, each with a theme based
on five to 10 of the unique offerings per district. Shoppers
were encouraged to take holiday tours of downtown via the
DowntownPortland.org
Web site to get a sampling of offerings in each area. When
a district was highlighted, a link titled "See more like this"
connected the shopper to a more comprehensive list of retailers
in the area.
The DMI
has become an important economic development tool, especially
during a time when it is needed most. With the weather conditions
in December, DMI proved especially nimble by adjusting marketing
efforts and messaging to better support downtown during the
holiday season. Components of DMI's marketing include broadcast
media (television and radio), promotional, Web site, transit,
public relations and interactive programming.
In collaboration
with Travel Portland’s GoSeePortland
Web site, DMI created an enhanced Web site chock full of valuable
content including a “Web cast” of television spots, “Seek
the Unique” retail and dining promotion, event listing and
deals. Perhaps one of the most exciting developments comes
through our partnership with the Portland Bureau of Transportation
resulted in the ability to provide real-time parking information
for all SmartPark garages. We saw approximately 8,000 hits
per day with visitors to the site spending an average of three
minutes per visit, which is double national average.
DMI partnered
with PICA and North Advertising to create a new holiday-themed
art installation at the corner of Alder & Sixth. The installation,
called “Snow,” featured three different interpretations of
snowfall that allows the public to interact and direct the
snowfall via computer motion detection software. “Snow” provided
yet another significant holiday attraction to draw shoppers
to downtown and the retail core.
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12.
Construction Moratorium
The Construction
Moratorium continued this holiday season, which began on November
21st at 6:00 p.m. and ended January 2, 2009. The moratorium
halted approximately 90 percent of construction within the
retail core, easing traffic flow and freeing up additional
parking. The Downtown Marketing Initiative and PDOT hosted
a press event November 20th featuring then Mayor-Elect Sam
Adams and a special appearance from Santa, who came into downtown
not on his sleigh but on the Vintage Trolley. The duo invited
shoppers to visit downtown and highlighted the fact that having
the streets free of construction makes it a much more pleasant
experience for the holidays. As an added bonus, the holiday
break from construction freed up at least 400 parking spaces
that were previously reserved for construction activities,
which brought the total number of parking spots available
for the public to 20,000. By comparison, Washington Square
has approximately 6,000 spaces.
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13.
Holiday Retail Sales
December
retail sales in Portland were affected negatively by a combination
of the national recession, widespread discounting and adverse
winter weather. The International Council of Shopping Centers
now estimates that nationally December retail sales declined
1 percent; Downtown Portland retailers have reported sales
results across the board, from increases of 3 percent to declines
up to 15 percent. Many retailers began the season with their
traditionally scheduled promotions in November, but the discounts
were deeper, from 40 to 60 percent, and broader, to include
basic items as well as seasonal designer clothing. Retailers
reported increased foot traffic in Downtown on Black Friday,
in the midst of the Macy's Holiday Parade and Fur Free Friday
protest march.
As December
progressed, national retailers heavily promoted their sales,
boldly emblazoning windows to draw customer traffic from the
streets. The additional promotional activity drove traffic
for the first two weeks in December. The severe winter storm
hampered holiday shopping in weeks three and four, as people
were unable to leave their homes. Downtown Portland experienced
continued traffic (though reduced from previous years) to
retailers from the continued Tri-Met Max and bus service,
as many people were desperate to complete their holiday shopping
and leave their homes but unable to visit the outlying shopping
malls. After-Christmas sales were also very successful for
area retailers, with giveaway prices up to 70 percent off
at many outlets. After Christmas sales will continue through
January as retailers clear seasonal goods and make room for
Spring merchandise, which should be in stores by early February.
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