Neighbors take back Southeast Portland street, replacing RVs with community garden
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A Southeast Portland neighborhood taking matters into their own hands after they say criminal activity on their street became too much.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A Southeast Portland neighborhood taking matters into their own hands after they say criminal activity on their street became too much.
For Joanne Benson and Christopher Carter-Tully, their neighborhood, right next to the I-205 bike trail, is blossoming. Silver troughs, filled with various plants line Southeast Washington Street. Even the bees seem happy.
"Look at this one. Isn't that lovely?" said Benson, referring to the bountiful plants.
Lovely, yes. But it hasn't always been that way. In fact, very recently, their Montavilla neighborhood looked a lot different. Homeless RV's lined the street, but neighbors told KATU it was more than that.
Before the planters were installed, the neighborhood along Southeast Washington Street looked a lot different. Homeless RV's lined the street, but neighbors told KATU it was the criminal activity that prompted action. (KATU)
"And one thing, several neighbors and I noticed is that there was a meth lab. So they were producing drugs. We got all sorts of unseemly people coming down the bike path. Nobody would want to use the bike path for recreational use because they were scared. The meth lab caught fire one morning. There was an RVthat was prostituting women. There was a continual cycle," said Carter-Tully.
After numerous calls to the city -- one neighbor claimed to have called for 56 straight weeks -- the RVs were removed. And the neighbors seized on the opportunity, moving in the troughs to the tune of $3,000 out of their own pockets.
Silver troughs, filled with various plants line Southeast Washington Street. Even the bees seem happy. (KATU)
Benson, who's lived in the neighborhood for 17 years, says she sleeps better now.
"Yep, I do. And I'm really happy because families with young children now take their kids on the bike path. That would never happen last year. [One neighbor] moved out because they had children whose bedrooms are on [the side facing the RVs] and they were scared to death and they moved," Benson said.
The push toward troughs hasn't been without pushback. Neighborhood surveillance video captured two people, at different times, pulling out the plants and throwing them in the street.
The push toward troughs hasn't been without pushback. Neighborhood surveillance video captured two people, at different times, pulling out the plants and throwing them in the street. (KATU)
The neighbors told KATU this isn't an anti-homeless effort, but rather it’s the criminal activity that they're trying to eliminate. And for those who don't like it?
"Because I tell anybody who thinks we're not being kind, give me your address, I'll drive them over. They can sit in front of your house. If you're that concerned about them, take them in your yard, see if you like that. Because it's people who don't live near the appalling mess that we had to live with. So if you're concerned about them, I'll bring them over to your house," said Benson.
While other neighborhoods have seen the city erect large orange street barrier to keep out the RVs, these neighbors are hoping their approach doesn't raise red flags at city hall.
"I'm sure they won't say anything about it, because A, you've got them putting the unsightly orange barriers in other neighborhoods. But this one is nice. And it keeps us from having to contact the city to have PBOT remove RVs. So, we're actually saving them money," said Carter-Tully.
And in turn, they say they are saving their neighborhood. And they see the fruits of their plantings daily.
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