September/October
2009
1. Sidewalk
Management Plan Update
2. Clean & Safe Security Update
3. Clean & Safe Maintenance Program
4. Neighborhood Based District Attorney Update
5. West Side Community Court Program
6. Sidewalk Ambassadors' Activities
7. Holiday Lighting Enhancements
8. More BigBellys hit the streets
9. Mayor's Downtown Retail Strategy Task Force
1.
Sidewalk Management Plan Update
The Alliance
is working with Mayor Sam Adams and other Portland City Council
members on a new Sidewalk Management Plan that encompasses
all of the competing uses of the sidewalk. The mayor asked
for feedback about the draft plan and the Alliance worked
with downtown property owners and retailers to respond to
the plan. A letter to the mayor was submitted in September
that addresses and supports different components of the plan.
Included in the plan is a campaign that educates the public
about negative impacts of panhandling and encourages individuals
to give to assistance non-profit assistance organizations.
Council will discuss this new plan at the October 21 council
meeting. Read
the letter here >>
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2.
Clean & Safe Security Update
Clean
& Safe security and police bicycle officers continue focusing
on panhandling and "road warrior" issues in the core downtown
area. With the opening of the new Green Line Max, sidewalks
in the core downtown and petty crime issues were at the forefront.
Business owners have chimed in with the concerns of livability
and are asking how to get involved. Clean & Safe officers
continue to engage with their verbal skills and presence contacting
many individuals and problem solving. Central Precinct officers
have run drug and livability missions. Most recently, a police
bicycle officer rode with a Multnomah County Animal Control
officer because of dog complaints downtown. During that day
alone, 20 citations were issued, 40 people were contacted
and seven were jailed on various charges. Clean & Safe police
and security are committed to enhancing livability within
the Business Improvement District.
The Mounted
Patrol Unit (MPU) has recently had all of their radios adjusted
to receive transmissions from Clean and Safe security officers.
Along with the four Clean & Safe police bicycle officers,
the additional seven horse officers responding gives a huge
push to the Clean & Safe program when they need the police
on scene in the Business Improvement District. In addition,
to support MPU's efforts in downtown, Clean and Safe Director
Norm Sharp recently accepted a position on the Friends of
Mounted Patrol Board of Directors. Thanks, Norm.
Portland
Police Commander Reese reported that crime in the downtown
area is down 34 percent and that this is a four-year downward
trend. He pointed out that many things have contributed to
this reduction and noted that the Clean & Safe program and
business support for Central Precinct programs and policies
is an integral part of the entire model.
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3.
Clean & Safe Maintenance Program
The cleaners
moved to a large storage space at NW Broadway and Couch and
are now housing more pressure washers and cleaning equipment
as demands expand. With the new contracts with TriMet for
the transit mall, Central City Concern purchased four new
electric vehicles. This purchase reflects the success of the
electric cleaning vehicle purchased by the Downtown Business
Improvement District that went into service several months
ago.
The cleaners
were also out in force for the new Green Line opening, September
12. The cleaners report the following:
- 2,676
graffiti tags removed (Public/Private and Tri-Met)
- 2,044
bags of trash
- 721
citizen cleaning responses
- 708
needles and items of drug paraphernalia
- 1,649
restroom inspections and cleaning.
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4.
Neighborhood Based District Attorney Update
The Neighborhood
District Attorney issued 273 cases for September and declined
11. The mandatory booking procedure is reflective of this,
with a person charged with a crime automatically going to
jail and facing charges in court the very next day. The goal
is to offset the immense amount of warrants that are generated
when defendants fail to appear for court and make offenders
more responsible at the front end of arrest.
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5.
West Side Community Court Program
West
Side Community Court statistics:
- 222
defendants were ordered to community service
- 92
defendants were in compliance
- 112
defendants working toward completion
- 18
defendants unsuccessful and facing additional court sanctions.
- 96
jail days saved by the program
Westside
Community Court Work Crew statistics:
- 965
block faces covered
- 95
bags of trash removed
- 896
street cleaning hours
- 112
People reporting for crew
Theft
Accountability Class:
The program continues to retain an average 77 percent success
rate. Other statistics:
- 48
defendants sentenced to attend
- 32
successful completions
- 16
failures to complete resulting in jail sentences
- 14
open cases.
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6.
Sidewalk Ambassadors' Activities
 In
September, the Ambassadors worked long hours helping TriMet
with the opening of the new Green Line. During the grand opening,
ambassadors staffed the kiosk and were in places to provide
the maximum amount of information for folks who were looking
for that special part of Portland to explore. Ambassadors
now have an "extended bicycle," which serves as a mobile information
kiosk. The goal is to have an ambassador staffing the kiosk
in the core downtown area, an ambassador on foot, roving downtown
and an ambassador who is quickly mobile.
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7.
Holiday Lighting Enhancements
The Annual
Holiday Lighting program did a soft launch of its 2009 lighting
enhancements on October 1. The program will officially kick
off in November. This year, enhanced lighting on Yamhill and
Morrison streets will help support the mayor's Downtown Retail
Strategy to support the retail signature streets. Lighting
crews have worked with the Urban Forestry department to begin
wrapping not just the branches but also the bases of the trees
along the alignment with LED lights to create a more pedestrian-friendly
environment and promote retail connectivity. Last year, the
tree lighting program went through a conversion of all lights
to energy saving LED lights. The lighting will extend through
March, keeping downtown lit up during the darker months of
the year as a crime deterrent as well.
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8.
More BigBellys hit the streets
 The
first of the BigBelly solar trash compactors have been installed
in downtown Portland, sponsored by Melvin Mark Properties,
City Center Parking, Portland Downtown Services Inc, and NW
Natural. Each BigBelly is designed to hold five times the
amount of garbage that a normal garbage can hold, and less
trips made by garbage trucks to empty these units saves on
carbon emissions. Fifteen additional units have been ordered
and will be installed in the next few months. Future sponsors
include US Bank, Gerding Edlen Development, and TMT Development.
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9.
Mayor's Downtown Retail Strategy Task Force
On September
25, the Alliance worked with Mayor Adams to host an overview
of the Downtown Retail Strategy with retailers. The strategy
provides a targeted approach to ensure the long-term viability
of the retail core. The Retail Strategy Task Force is currently
working on 14 action items, enhancements to the pedestrian
environment on Yamhill and Morrison for this holiday season.
Retailers responded positively to the strategy and other feedback
is being incorporated into the plan.
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