Not so subtle graffitti on Salmon Street stop sign
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor) on July 19th, 2007 at 8:59 am
The infamous stop sign at SE 23rd and Salmon Street has been vandalized and the message is loud and clear…
Stop sign at SE 23rd and Salmon.
(File photo)
(File photo)
My assumption is that this was done by a local resident. After snapping this photo (with my phone) I hung around for a few minutes, hoping someone would approach me to talk about it.
I guess cyclists blowing through this intersection is still an issue.
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July 19th, 2007 09:09
It's been like that since at least the beginning of June, maybe longer.
July 19th, 2007 09:13
Nice how people who want to preach following the letter of the law are willing to put themselves above the law and vandalize city property...that's a sure-fire way to make a point, isn't it? Nice and credible and everything?
Seriously. I stop at all stop signs and this pisses me off.
July 19th, 2007 09:21
Yeah, it's kind of like spraying "STOP VANDALISM!" on a wall....stupid people doing stupid things.
July 19th, 2007 09:24
if i recall correctly this 4-way stop has no engineering justification at all; it was planned to be a 2-way for vehicles crossing the bike route, but a neighbor insisted that bikes stop too on their way down the hill. somebody doesn't like bikes.
July 19th, 2007 09:26
Umm, has anyone called the Graffiti Removal Squad? It's trash like this that just ruins the neighborhood's image.
503-823-5860
mdennis@ci.portland.or.us
July 19th, 2007 09:26
I'm newly inspired to express my opinion with a socket wrench.
July 19th, 2007 09:27
Clearly gang-related.
July 19th, 2007 09:31
That neighborhood is ripe with renters, squatters, nerds, broken down cars, phobes of all kinds and unkept everything...take your pick who did the damage.
July 19th, 2007 09:37
I like the Stop Hammertime stopsign in NE the most. And that stopsign has been like that for at least a month.
July 19th, 2007 09:40
Somebody needs to add, "And Cars" to the top line.
And, to make it even better, let's add, "Or Else!" underneath the line, "Too"
Sigh.
July 19th, 2007 09:42
Hey, it's just as valid as the Stop War ones I see around.
And just as fair as a barometer of public sentiment.
I find it endearing, frankly.
July 19th, 2007 09:57
Maybe one of the legal types can chime in on the validity of this defense, but I am so distracted by the graffitti on the sign it is difficult for me to even identify what kind of sign it is. I would have guessed yield and continued through the intersection after slowing slightly to check for cross traffic...
Bjorn
July 19th, 2007 10:00
the other day at NE 15th and Ainsworth someone put "DRIVING" under neath the stop sign so it read STOP DRIVING
I laughed.
I need some of those stickers (ok not really just another boyish dellusion)
July 19th, 2007 10:12
Come on, boys and girls... let's play nice and stop!
We can't be on a high horse/bike towards cars, if we don't play by the rules.
July 19th, 2007 10:12
It has no effect. Many bikes still bomb through that intersection without slowing and often without examining the cross street.
July 19th, 2007 10:14
I actually find it sort of charming...I hate that stop sign (why is there a stop sign smack in the middle of a designated bike boulevard? it's the bike equivalent of a stop sign on a freeway) but I have a thing for rogue, homemade traffic control devices. And this one's nice and to the point.
It makes me smile every time I slow, look, and roll through it.
July 19th, 2007 10:22
"if i recall correctly this 4-way stop has no engineering justification at all; it was planned to be a 2-way for vehicles crossing the bike route, but a neighbor insisted that bikes stop too on their way down the hill. somebody doesn't like bikes."
I think that the all way stop sign there actually makes sense. It is a steep hill (the Salmon Part) with cars parked on the sides of the street making for a blind intersection for cars at least. Furthermore, 23rd slopes down to Salmon from Taylor, so you have two steep hills converging at that stop sign.
While I agree that it is a huge momentum killer to stop there, from a safety point of view, this just isn't a safe intersection to completely blow through, cars cannot see you very well.
July 19th, 2007 10:34
I think it is great! They've obviously seen the MANY stop signs that say "stop DRIVING"...
July 19th, 2007 10:41
just for good measure i vandalized one down in ladd's addition that says: "STOP rolling out of bed at midnight just to stand on the curb in your PJs and try to spot one of the 500 MMR cyclists that doesn't have lights on and yell at them"
i'm probably one of the most hardcore pro-lights dudes out there....but come on folks, all of this is getting kind of ridiculous.
July 19th, 2007 10:46
However, nothing beats "stop HAMMERTIME"!
July 19th, 2007 10:59
where is the 'stop hammertime' sign in NE?
July 19th, 2007 11:15
I ride through this intersection fairly frequently and when I first saw it, I definitely stopped and chuckled. Since then I've gone back to just slowing, checking, double-checking and rolling through it.
I can't imagine being SO frustrated with cyclists that they aren't obeying the law that you MUST try to enforce it yourself.
July 19th, 2007 11:16
There's also:
STOP Collaborate and Listen
STOP Making Sense
STOP Ticketing cyclists (same intersection)
STOP IT
and...the mysterious masterpiece of a hurried stencil artist/gangland thug trying to replicate the STOP IT message...
STOP TI
July 19th, 2007 11:22
Can't you people just stop, collaborate and listen? You need to realize that Ice is back with a brand new edition.
Seriously.
July 19th, 2007 11:24
Crap. I was going to post, "Collaborate and listen," too.
July 19th, 2007 11:24
Bjorn (#12) - That defense won't get you anywhere. Traffic control devices have distinctive colors and shapes for each function, expressly so that people who cannot read (or cannot read English) can understand what they are supposed to do. A red octagon means stop, regardless of whether the text message has been altered. Indeed, the shape alone is enough, for those red-green colorblind folks out there.
July 19th, 2007 11:24
The first time I saw the "Bikes Too!" enhancement (as I stopped as it, as I always do), a car blew through the sign on 23rd. I had two chuckles.
Maybe "Cars Too!" on 23rd would be an appropriate accompaniment? Equal opportunity chastisement.
July 19th, 2007 11:29
oh the outrage over someone telling cyclists to stop at um, stop signs!
I think it's funny and instructive (and i empathize with the vandal, 'cause my annoyance at cyclists who run stops signs all over town is only increasing).
July 19th, 2007 11:50
"where is the 'stop hammertime' sign in NE?" next to the clown house :)
July 19th, 2007 11:53
Has anyone spotted a "Stop in the name of love" sign? That's one I'd like to see.
I think we need more stop sign flair.
July 19th, 2007 12:03
There is a 2-way stop sign in front of my house in NE, and I can sit on my porch for hours and not see a single car come to a complete stop. I mean 0 out of hundreds of cars. The only cars that stop are the ones that have no stop sign. They stop to avoid a car that blew the stop sign.
This is not a scientific survey though, since I am only on the porch to drink beer. Give me $242 for each roll through though and I'll gladly document it!
To all the self-righteous control freaks on bikes and in cars-- live your life as you see fit and stop trying to live somebody else's!
July 19th, 2007 12:11
oh, NIMBYism. I've missed you.
July 19th, 2007 12:22
Defacing, or worse yet removal of a stop sign or traffic control device is a very big crime.
Changing the wording is condisered a distraction, distracting away from the intended result of the sign.
I recall, on a slightly related note, a number of years back where three 18 year old's in another city stole a stop sign.
A wreck happened there the next morning where someone died, and due to the preconceived notion of stealing and or defacing the stop sign, three life sentences with no possibility of parole were handed down.
I hate graffiti, like no other thing.
And when it is probably someone who lives right next door doing it, it becomes even sicker...
July 19th, 2007 12:58
theres actually a few of the "hammer time" ones around pdx.
a few others i've seen:
"STOP guessing"
"STOP eating animals"
"STOP for chickens"
and my favorite (seen in a few places in NW especially):
"STOP buying crap"
July 19th, 2007 13:33
Pix or none of these signs exist.
July 19th, 2007 14:15
STOP...
...vandelism
...graffiti
...being a jerk
...public defacement
...and pay attention
...Godzilla
Yes, as much FUN as it would be to see these on STOP signs, it's nothing but a bad idea to deface public signs ESPECIALLY when people should take it seriously.
Get your jokes out of the way, folks, and START doing something to get EVERYONE to play nice with each other.
July 19th, 2007 14:53
Stop saying things like...All gods creatures have their place on earth...next to the mashed potatoes.
July 19th, 2007 15:09
I don't understand why residents would have such an issue with cyclists running stop signs. Please explain.
July 19th, 2007 15:36
well i think that this is all apart of the larger issue of how to deal with more and more cyclist using roads and traffic control devises that were designed for cars. Not just stop signs either, we need to find a way to deal with this issue in a way that motorist and cyclist can understand and obey.
July 19th, 2007 15:51
I think everyone is misreading this sign. From top to bottom it reads, "BIKES STOP TOO!" which if interpreted literally translates to "Cyclists also come to a complete stop at this sign and others like it."
And if you go further down, it reads "ALL WAY" which I think means that we always stop at these signs.
July 19th, 2007 16:01
"That neighborhood is ripe with renters, squatters, nerds, broken down cars, phobes of all kinds and unkept everything."
As a renter (and a nerd, I guess) who lives in that neighborhood, I have to say I've never seen myself as contributing to the general ripeness of the district. What a bizarre comment. Are those meant to indicate varieties of moral lassitude?
July 19th, 2007 16:18
Officer Hosely was once giving me a ticket for not having a headlight (I actually had one on my bike, and it was turned on at the time) as a car ran a red light. He saw it an didn't so much as flinch. If cars can run redlights, I can run stop signs. If I am not allowed to take up the entire lane as a car does, I should not be governed as an automobile. If I am not allowed to take my bicycle on the freeway I should not be governed as an automobile.
July 19th, 2007 17:16
You're not governed as an automobile. Where did you ever get the notion you are?
July 19th, 2007 18:03
Jack; in Portland you ARE allowed use of the full lane. Also, if you have a light that was on at the time, did you contest the ticket?
Now on the subject of the sign; I have to say when I first saw it I was caught somewhere between a cold anger and light amusement (an odd combination, I assure you). On the one hand, I hate seeing cyclists act like the sign isn't even there. On the other hand nearly every car I see rolls through neighborhood stop signs at about the same speed I do, and with less viability (as evidenced by multiple cars starting to drive and then slamming on the breaks as I swerve away from them when I had the right of way).
July 19th, 2007 23:01
There's a stop sign at 23rd and Salmon??
July 19th, 2007 23:55
Yea, a giant, RED, octagon on a stick is just way too subtle for me to be able to understand what this is. When I bicycle through it, I am so distracted by this grievous act of vandalism that I almost die - each time I ride through it.
I highly support filing a lawsuit against the neighborhood for reckless endangerment of the bicyclists who must be tormented and subjected to such dangers as they ride through this gang-and nerd infested section of town!
July 20th, 2007 07:27
#41 Jeff...call it lassitude if you want. But the fabric of that area, as strong as those within it, is a tangled web of short timers ready for the next train to come along to hop on and get out of there. No real direction, or plan. Is there a central area, or "mecca" that you can establish as a bookmark for your hood? Think not. Weak...no, confused...yes.
July 20th, 2007 07:48
I'd call that "editing," not "vandalism."
July 20th, 2007 12:23
It is very much "Vandalism", and I wouldn't be suprised if it was now on the 'pdot list of problems to fix...."
Graffiti is bad.
Running stop signs is bad.
Bitching and moaning about it is useless.
July 20th, 2007 12:52
I've had two little experiences with neighbors on the corner.
One lady thanked me loudly for stopping at the sign.
Next day a different lady was sitting in the yard nearby and, hoping to provoke another "thank you", I loudly skidded to a stop at the intersection. She just glared at me.
July 20th, 2007 13:37
Martha S. "in Portland you ARE allowed use of the full lane"
Could you please elaborate? My understanding of the Oregon Statute is cyclist are only allowed the full lane when they are able to hold the posted speed limit, and no more than two abreast. I thought cyclists had to stay "as close as practicable" to the right if they are causing any slowing of traffic. Does Portland have other Municipal rules that allow full lane usage in spite of the state statute? Just curious.