July 2009
1. Clean
& Safe to keep new transit mall vibrant
2. Clean & Safe security news
3. Clean & Safe maintenance program
4. Neighborhood based district attorney update
5. West Side Community Court statistics
6. Sidewalk Ambassadors
7. Big Belly solar trash compactors
8. Downtown Retail Council
9. Club Rouge update
10. Pedestrian counts
11. Development Committee presents findings
1.
Clean & Safe to keep new transit mall vibrant
Beginning
July 1, Downtown Clean & Safe began providing security and
maintenance services on the TriMet Mall and Cross-Mall. Downtown
Clean & Safe are utilizing an additional eight unarmed and
two armed officers, and 12 maintenance workers, to help keep
the Transit Mall vibrant and inviting for everyone. This additional
presence will greatly enhance safety and cleaning in the retail
core and transit lines of the Business Improvement District.
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2.
Clean & Safe security news
Aggressive
panhandling, street drinkers and order maintenance issues
were at the forefront of Clean & Safe activities in June.
Urban campers began making their annual pilgrimage to downtown
Portland, adding to police and Clean & Safe concerns. Adding
to this issue was a Multnomah County Circuit Court ruling
in June that the state's disorderly conduct statute preempts
the city's sidewalk obstruction ordinance as it is currently
written. Alliance staff is continuing to meet with the city
attorney's office and city council members to craft a response
to the most recent opinion. Until a decision is reached by
city council on how they would like to proceed, Portland Police
Chief Rosie Sizer has instructed her officers to stand down
on enforcing the sidewalk obstruction ordinance and to begin
charging individuals who intentionally obstruct the sidewalks
with the crime of disorderly conduct.
Following
the police precinct reconfiguration on June 11, Clean & Safe's
police bicycle patrol officers have been strengthened by an
additional two police officers, for a total of six bicycle
officers. Clean & Safe is able to have even faster police
response to problems, assistance with citations and police
presence when necessary.
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3.
Clean & Safe maintenance program
 During
June the cleaners were busy upgrading equipment and adding
personnel for the upcoming additional cleaning they will be
providing to the Transit Mall. In addition, cleaning supervisor
Matt Smiley represented Central City Concern in a Veterans
Stand Down and assisted with more than 500 veterans of multiple
wars who were looking for jobs.
The cleaners
report the following for June:
- 2,026
graffiti tags removed (public/private and Tri-Met)
- 1,584
bags of trash
- 782
citizen cleaning responses
- 101
needles items of drug paraphernalia
- 1,559
restroom inspections and cleaning
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4.
Neighborhood based district attorney update
The Neighborhood
District Attorney reviewed 301 cases for June and issued 289.
Twelve were declined. Of these, one was a 41 case issued against
a defendant that was the result of successful tracking by
the DA Legal Assistant, paid for by Portland Downtown Services,
Inc.
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5.
West Side Community Court statistics
In June,
233 defendants were ordered to complete community service.
- 94
defendants were in compliance
- 122
defendants working toward completion
- 17
defendants unsuccessful and facing additional court sanctions
- 89
jail days saved by the program
West Side
Community Court Work Crew statistics for June:
- 735
block faces covered
- 303
bags of trash removed
- 1,336
street cleaning hours
- 167
People reporting for crew
The West
Side Community Court Theft Accountability class program continues
to retain a 77 percent success rate. Other statistics for
June:
- 67
sentenced to attend
- 31
successful completions
- 8 failures
resulting in jail sentences
- 25
open cases
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6.
Sidewalk Ambassadors
The Ambassadors
had a busy June participating in Rose Festival, Grand Floral
Parade and Dragon Moon Festival activities. They have also
been active in distributing the new Downtown Dining Guide
and continuing to assist with the Transit Mall and bus scheduling.
The Ambassadors have also been keeping their eyes open for
a small dog, Veronica, who was taken from The Funny Bone in
downtown. A community-wide effort, including police and Clean
& Safe officers, have been looking for Veronica.
The Ambassadors
have ramped up staffing for the summer months and have five
members working currently. In June they welcomed a new face,
Kelly Butler, a recent graduate of Clackamas High School.
Look for Kelly's bright smile and great attitude during our
summer season.
 Recently,
Ambassador Kean Glassmeier saw a woman near O'Bryant
Square having trouble and offered help. She was attempting
to get to her doctor at the Old Town health clinic. Kean walked
with her to the clinic and made sure she was safe prior to
leaving. Excellent work, Kean.
The care
by a single Alliance employee illustrates the goal of the
entire Clean & Safe program, a better downtown for everyone.
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7.
Big Belly Solar Trash Compactors
 Recently,
the Alliance established the Big Belly Program through the
Charitable Institute, allowing businesses and property owners
to purchase tax deductible solar trash compaction units to
donate to the city. In June, the city council passed an ordinance
allowing for receipt of the compactors and setting up a system
for placement throughout the Central City. There has been
much interest in the program both from business downtown and
in the Lloyd District. Ten Big Belly units have been purchased
and will be installed in downtown in July. Additional information
is available at www.portlandadoptabelly.com.
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8.
Downtown Retail Council
The June
Downtown Retail Council meeting featured a brainstorming session
with retailers and representatives of the Downtown Marketing
Initiative to identify a short-term marketing plan to immediately
increase traffic at downtown stores. The group identified
three major target customer segments: downtown office workers,
suburban residents, and visitors and convention goers. Members
also requested the focus be on core messages of "Seek the
Unique" and ease of accessibility, parking availability and
transit options. Retailers requested that key messages and
promotional listings be disseminated through several mediums,
both already existing and newly suggested: DowntownPortland.org,
Facebook, iPhone's Forkfly application, Portland Monthly Magazine,
GoSeePortland.com, TriMet advertising, and strategically placed
billboards on major freeways and thoroughfares outside of
downtown. Various retailers spoke about the importance of
a "Fall Fashion" focus being added to the promotional calendar,
as it is their most important and lucrative full-price selling
opportunity. Retailers also requested a renewed public relations
outreach effort to morning shows AM Northwest and KGW Studio
on the Square, and discussed the option of hiring a fashion
stylist to act as a downtown spokesperson on these shows.
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9.
Club Rouge update
A liquor
license for Club Rouge, an adult dancing establishment at
403 SW Stark, was granted after a six-month investigation
by the OLCC that conducted at the behest of the Alliance and
several neighboring retail businesses and property owners.
The primary concern is that the operations of this establishment
are not in keeping with the character of the neighborhood
and will interfere with the ability to successfully conduct
business nearby. Two restrictions have been placed on the
licensee by the OLCC:
- a patron
may possess no more than one container of alcohol at one
time and a container of alcohol may have no more than 16
ounces of malt beverage, 6 ounces of wine, or 2 ounces of
distilled spirit
- the
licensee shall have at least two State of Oregon certified
security staff on duty at the premises every night of operation
from 6:00 pm to the close of business.
The primary
duties of one of the certified security staff will include
monitoring patron activity outside the licensed premises.
Central Precinct officers and Clean & Safe will monitor activities
outside the club, which plans to open later this summer.
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10.
Pedestrian Counts
The Alliance
conducted its semi-annual survey of pedestrian counts at intersections
within the Business Improvement District on June 18 through
20. This season, counts were expanded from past years of 15
corners to 21 intersections, with additional sites on Yamhill
and Morrison added to inform the Downtown Retail Vision Task
Force and their discussion on Retail Signature Streets. Four
of the six intersection counted on Yamhill and Morrison showed
heavier foot traffic on Morrison, though the percentage difference
was slight; counts at Broadway and Morrison remained highest
of all other corners counted. Overall foot traffic decreased
33 percent over last year, most likely the result of extreme
rainstorms that occurred on Friday and Saturday during the
counts.
View
pedestrian counts >>
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11.
Development Committee presents findings
The Development
Committee, a subcommittee of the Central City Standing Committee,
in conjunction with the Urban Land Institute presented a Summary
of Findings for their Commercial Development Strategy to the
Central City Standing Committee. The purpose of the strategy
is to inform the Central Portland Plan Update on how to maintain
and improve the market position of the central city as a competitive
location for commercial activity in order to:
- Encourage
and enable commercial development in the central city;
- Support
retention of market share in the central city, and;
- Stimulate
the demand for central city office space.
The Central
City Standing Committee is reviewing the Summary of Findings
and the Development Committee will continue to refine the
Strategy and work with the Bureau of Planning & Sustainability
on incorporating their recommendations into the planning process.
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