Couch Park in Chaos: City Indifferent
PBOT and City maintain blasé stance on protecting parks and children
Couch Park, with its newly built children’s playground, and in the shadow of two public schools, has descended into a lawless free for all, with little to no help offered by the City of Portland. Open-air drug deals, stolen vehicles, illegal encampments and rampant graffiti are choking the life out of the park and putting the children of Northwest District parents in danger.
The Metropolitan Learning Center, a K-12 school on the park's boundary, erected a metal fence in a desperate bid to insulate students from drug abusers smoking fentanyl mere steps away in a series of abandoned cars on NW Hoyt Street. Meanwhile the The Emerson School, a K-5 public charter school keeps their students strictly indoors in a hardened campus.
Mayor Ted Wheeler's Emergency Declaration last August—an announced ban on encampments around schools and major school routes—has had little to no effect on either cleaning up the park, or even prioritizing action. Illegal campsites persist mere feet from families trying to enjoy public playground equipment, grade schools trying to educate our children, and along several PBOT designated "Safe Routes to School."
In addition, parking in the area should be heavily enforced by PBOT, as all cars require either a PBOT Zone M parking pass or a parking meter payment through most hours of the day. However, PBOT appears to be deliberately avoiding the area.
Northwest Portland News reached out to PBOT for comment and explanation, however Director of Communications Hannah Schafer refused to comment.
Northwest Portland News later filed several reports with the City of Portland’s “campsite reporting tools" and found a disturbing lack of interest. Here are some of the reports:
Report: Abandoned car being used for drug consumption and located next to a public school (MLC).
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/LjoXMQJ79NzChnuNA
City response: “Duplicate report.”
Probability of action: very low
Report: Stolen car (confirmed with license plate check)
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/jS1bBHhzwoN71q1y7
Non-emergency phone hold time: 47 minutes.
City response: “We’ll send an officer to check on it.”
Result: car towed away in less than 24 hours!
Report: Illegal camping near a public school (MLC), and feet from a children’s playground.
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/UDuqwYv1cwuWdrpN9
City response: “Risk Assessment 41/100.”
Probability of action: very low
Report: Illegal camping near a public school (Emerson) and on a PBOT “Safe Route to Schools” corridor.
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/n81fj2fFivpNPZK77
City response: “Duplicate report.”
Probability of action: very low.
Report: Illegal camping near two public schools (MLC and Emerson) and on a PBOT Safe Route to Schools corridor.
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/ZXD8N12mzgm1mV8S8
City response: “Risk Assessment 34/100.”
Probability of action: near zero.
However, three blocks away from the chaos, in front of the posh French inspired eatery Cafe Nell, Northwest Portland News did find heavy interest and enforcement from PBOT.
MORE INFORMATION:
https://www.portland.gov/parks/couch-park
https://www.portland.gov/transportation/safe-routes-school/about
https://www.portland.gov/wheeler/news/2022/8/19/mayor-wheeler-expands-emergency-declaration-prohibit-camping-key-walking