(Photos © J. Maus)
As we reported this morning, a tense standoff is underway on SW Main Street in downtown Portland. The street bisects the two Occupy Portland camps between SW 3rd and 4th Avenues.
Today, as many news cameras and interested bystanders looked on, people participating in the Occupy Portland protests had a loud, passionate, and often angry debate about whether or not to keep the street open.
Many people (a majority) want the street to be fully re-opened…They think that the issue has drawn too much attention and energy away from the real message of the protests. They also feel that inhibiting cars and buses driven by “the 99%” only turns what should be allies, against their efforts.
“It’s not worth the risk of our entire occupation,” shouted one man.
“If you’ve ever ridden the bus you should be well aware that there are no millionaires on the bus,” shouted another.
Mayor Adams also stiffened his stance on the issue today, saying that he’s been patient but that the time has come to open the street.
However, there’s a significant group of people who want to continue to “occupy” the street. Some are concerned that if they give up the street, it will result in a domino effect of police and City intervention. One man said the street is a “big bargaining chip.” Many others I spoke to said a decision by the General Assembly last night to remain in the street should be honored.
Things got very tense this afternoon when a man pulled up in a large white truck and attempted to drive onto the street. The media swarmed him and began interviewing the man in his car.
The police made a brief appearance at one point but there have been no arrests. Things have calmed down now and the street remains closed.
All eyes will be on the General Assembly meeting tonight at 7:00 pm where this issue will be on the top of the agenda.
UPDATE, 8:30 am on 10/13: Mayor Adams and the police have cleared Main Street. Eight people who refused to move were arrested. Watch a news conference with the mayor from a few hours ago via KGW News and read the official police statement below.
News Release from: Portland Police Bureau
PORTLAND POLICE REOPEN MAIN STREET
Posted: October 13th, 2011 8:24 AMToday, Thursday, October 13, 2011, at about 6 a.m., Portland Police reopened Main Street in downtown Portland. Main Street has been closed since last Thursday, October 6, 2011, when Occupy Portland concluded their march and arrived at Chapman Square and Lownsdale Park. Every day, police have been attending all General Assemby meetings and talking with event organizers about the need to reopen the street.While many of the Occupy Portland attendees wanted the police to open the street, ultimately, the group could not reach consensus on the issue.
Today, police have removed the barricades and arrested eight people for Disorderly Conduct and/or Interfering with a Peace Officer-both misdemeanors.
Main Street, which is a major traffic corridor for Portland’s residents, commuters and emergency services, is open and traffic is flowing again. Officers have left the area, as those causing the street closure are in custody. Officers will continue to regularly patrol the encampment as part of the effort to provide public safety resources when needed.
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The guy in the truck looks like Bill Sizemore.
I’m kind of confused about why this has even become an issue.
The City and Police Bureau had to know that “Occupy Portland” meant civil disobedience in the form of people camping in a visible public space and refusing to leave. That’s what’s happening on Wall Street, it’s been in the papers and on OP’s website. It’s been part of the concept all along.
The original plan had the occupation at Waterfront Park, but it was the City who directed the protesters to Lownsdale Park and it was the City that closed Main Street.
I give the City credit for resisting the inevitable calls to move the protesters by force. (Doing so would be a disaster on many levels.) But they created this problem by putting the protesters in this particular place, knowing that this dispute was coming.
I stopped by the parks yesterday and I was moved and motivated. There is an info booth, a free cafeteria, an engineering station, a medic station, etc. There were classes being taught, there was work happening everywhere.
C’mon y’all. Teamwork makes the dream work!
More hands make the load lighter!
I can’t imagine what other major movements must have looked like in their infancy (Ending of slavery, Revolutionary War, etc) But maybe they looked like masses organizing?
I really think that anyone who is hating on the 99% movement/ the Occupy movement really doesn’t get it.
I’d humbly like to suggest that folks who haven’t checked it out, stop in.
Wat da beef? Just get yer fat arse outta yer air-pollutin’, gas-guzzlin’, feed-da-greed monstrosity of glass, metal, and rubber, and W.A.L.K.
Some of the protesters have their cars parked along the blocked off street – this clearly isn’t a bike vs car issue. Maybe if more of the protesters had ridden the bus to downtown, they would understand the frustration of busses being detoured and made late. We bus riders are NOT in the 1%!
I bet most of the people driving cars are not in the 1% … most of the people living in Portland are not part of the 1%
It really doesn’t matter if there is a chance to be an attention whore.
It felt really good riding my bicycle through the barricades a few days ago hearing someone say, “Thanks for riding your bike,” and then, “You’re part of the revolution.” I think the entire downtown should be closed off to cars.
Great idea! Watch as Portland is shuttered because we have no business deliveries, no access for driving tourists, and nothing in common with cities that thrive with a vibrant economy. I dislike cars as much as the next cyclist, but this just is not feasible yet.
Maybe trucks would appreciate delivering on less-crowded car streets. Maybe tourists would spend more money walking and taking a tour bus. Maybe cities thrived without cars in the past. Anything is possible.
Great! idealogical purists alienating people who otherwise agree with them.
How does making some poor schlub late for work, or making a house frau late picking up her kid from child care stick it to “The Man”
Occupy Portland has not developed a strong case for keeping Main St closed in support of the demonstration. That’s part of Occupy Portland’s weakness which is likely to cause Occupy Portland to eventually lose the public’s support, and self destruct. Adams, the police department, and many people of the public, understand this, and are most likely waiting for the self-destruction to occur.
Without a very strong reason for keeping the street closed…a reason that everyone can relate to as well as they can to the sense that the American public is getting burned by corporate excess…the general public will become annoyed to exasperation, something like the guy in the pickup truck that tried to drive down the blocked street today.
making tactical decisions by consensus is especially difficult at the outset, when you are still finding cohesion around who exactly you are. once the group is up an running, concerns can be framed and resolved in terms of what the group has agreed are its core values, and blocks would become more rare. anyone posting to this list who thinks it is okay that a handful of financiers have been rewarded for destroying the lives of millions of ordinary folks probably has not much to contribute to a discussion of whether the occupy pdx group “should” or “should not” make thus and such a tactical decision by consensus, because guess what, you have self-identified as not being part of the group. anyone who thinks these people are trying to speak to something real is potentially part of the group and could maybe show up at these assemblies and voice what you think are valid concerns that have anything at all to do with the core values of the group. the rest of this is just a bunch of kibbitzing from the sidelines.
Yes, but as it would take nine sympathizers showing up for four hours of physical discomfort and tedious rancor to outvote one nay-sayer, and the nay-sayers ruled the evening defending a fringe and trivial point, the incentive for participation is substantially reduced. Occupy needs to revisit its popular due process.
I like how Johathan is both the authority on bikes and now world affairs. Thanks for your knowledge on the matter. What does this have to do about bikes? What lemmings!!! If you think bikes are the answer how about talking to he single mother with 3 children. Ask her how appropriate it is to ride a bike. Easy to ride your bike to your job to the coffee shop. Get real
There are ways:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3218/2828615031_491e151ac6.jpg
Let’s pose the question a different way. How is a single mom with three children expected to pay for a car, insurance, gas, and maintenance?
This delusion of eliminating all cars is so counterproductive. Cars will NEVER go away, it’s a fact: they are too convenient. I think the majority of people have it right, but a lot of people still need to shift their thinking from “anti-car” to “pro-bike.” There is a big difference. One view fights and will never win, the other view adapts and slowly improves.
You’re absolutely right, they are too convenient. In the future they will be less so, due to rising energy costs and increased traffic congestion. Bike advocates today are creating better conditions for the inevitable shift in public preference.
I’m glad we agree – bike advocates (like me and I assume you consider yourself one) are creating better conditions for the inevitable shift in public preference. You hit the nail on the head.
On the other hand, the bike zealots are alienating and angering people while hurting the cause of gradual, progressive changes to make this a better world for cyclists.
i actually remember when coal furnaces used to be convenient
and like anything with wheels they are FUN to race and go fast with! I don’t need to commute in a car as that is boring and slow, but lord track days are AMAZING. hopefully everyone can find a safe spot to take all their wheeled vehicles to the limit!!
Um, not have three kids?
Bikes are not the answer. Of course, it is if you want to dictate to others how to live their lives…and that’s a huge part of this Occupy nonsense. Selfish desires to impose one person’s preferences on other through the coerciveness of government taxation and regulation. Sure, my wife and I can trailer our kids around to neighboorhood parks and the local grocery store. Beyond that…not to the doctor’s office, not to school, etc. No automobile means no more camping in the state’s campgrounds, no visiting state attractions, etc. All because some folks have glommed on to the religous-like, cultish faith in climate change…no thanks. Open the streets. Protestors…grow up, get a job, and join the adult ranks.
“…Sure, my wife and I can trailer our kids around to neighboorhood parks and the local grocery store. Beyond that…not to the doctor’s office, not to school, etc. …” JMak00
If peoples schools and doctor’s offices are within a 10 to 15 minute travel radius by bike from their home, infrastructure allowing for a safe, inviting trip by bike would seem to be a good idea.
Urban areas are incredibly congested by people making short trips by automobile. A reduction in the number of motor vehicles…and the noise, dirt and danger they represent as they travel the streets… balanced by at least a corresponding increase in the number of bikes traveling the street, would be quite an improvement to urban livability.
The urban area in and around Portland are heavily congested. I guess that’s one of the benefits of living in a city. Now shift that to the outlying areas. Banning vehicles is a stupid, slefish idea. I agree that if we were totally redesign our cities then cycling could become more convenient. However, it seems the majority of Americans throughout history have decided they do not share a common want/desire to live in densely populated cities as they do in Europe. And the shaggy protestors in downtown Portland aren’t going to change that,
JMak00 at…October 13, 2011 at 3:55 pm :
And why is that some Americans don’t want to live in densely populated areas?
Because they want to get away from the noise, pollution and congestion produced by excessive motor vehicle traffic that prevents them from having a bit of peace and quiet, and from having enjoyable, safe opportunities for walking and biking from their house to destinations 10 minutes away.
Thanks Mike.
I realize this may be a bit outside my usual beat, but I think it’s important, it has to do with access to a street, and I’m personally very interested in what’s going on down there.
And when did I ever say bikes are the answer for everyone all the time?
But to your point about the mom and the kids… That’s actually quite doable…
Cheers
Quite doable as long as she has all the time in the world to spend it on a bike running around. We can debate about a man on a bike v. man in a car racing point to point, but if we are talking about mon with 3 kids needing to go from school to daycare to work to grocery store to day care to work to home – well I think the auto will win over the bike.
Monday evening about 7:30pm, Beaverton Town Square Fred Meyer, an entire family was there on their bikes. Both parents, a couple kids on their own bikes, and a kiddie trailer behind one of the parents bikes.
I don’t whether they were shopping, or getting ice cream or what their business at the shopping center exactly was.
Fact is though, in a high population density area such as Central Beaverton, practical transportation by bike could work, used by more individuals and families, could and would probably be practiced to a much greater degree than it is today, if the road, street and destination infrastructure wasn’t so hugely dominated by motor vehicle use.
Comparing the use of bikes and motor vehicles, when the travel radius isn’t very large, the difference in time spent for travel doesn’t itself make use of bikes impractical.
Plenty other things though, do discourage the use of bikes for practical travel; too much danger, noise and pollution posed by motor vehicle presence, lack of an effective parking system for bikes, cargo and passenger carrying capability and convenience, and weather.
That…just doesnt look safe. Just takes one of the kids in the back to not pay attention enough, or be cranky enough, or pissed off at their sister behind them touching them or whatnot to cause the whole shebang to fall over.
I highly applaud Mr. Jonathon for including this discussion. This is one of those times when folks are having to come out and declare “Which Side Are You On” as in the union song covered by everyone from Pete Seeger to the Dropkick Murphies.
In my travels, I have seen mom & pop and kids, dog, luggage, groceries, whatever, all on chinese klunkerbikes going about their business every day of the week, no problem.
One does not need to be an “expert on public affairs” to see that it SHOULD be possible to do that here, perhaps if both parents didn’t have to work to survive, and the perception that everything has to happen NOW, and status did not depend on making appearances in some hulking profit-heavy wasteful corporate-pushed product (SUV). Hmm, a different way-of-life. I’d better be careful to not get the House Un-American Activities Committee on my case.
So yeah, realizing how a bike-friendly society would benefit us all is a good enough reason to have this discussion on BP
Based on OPB reports this morning, it sounds like there’s just a few people gumming up the works for everyone on this, and the city is more or less content to let this run it’s course if it can get the street open. I’m going to have to agree with the guy saying “there are no millionaires on the bus,” no point in keeping the street closed especially given that the fountain and no lane change zone on that block troll most motorists into taking alternative routes already.
As for Dan Saltzman just passing through essentially oblivious to what’s going on around, there’s just one explanation that fits. This is Portland, therefore desensitized to activists and weird. Might as well been any other afternoon walk home.
Let’s inconvenience the 99% to protest the 1%, that will get people on our side!
This morning about 6:15, the police had also blocked off the intersection at 2nd and Main.
It’s OK to protest in PDX as long as you don’t inconvenience anyone, especially those driving motor vehicles.
No, you just don’t inconvenience the people who’s support you need. That’s protesting 101.
whom did the people sitting in at the lunch counters in greensboro inconvenience
People who gave them no support or sympathy. Am I missing your point?
not true, first of all, unless you are suggesting that no sympathetic whites ever ate at that lunch counter, and secondly the point was to invite/compel people to think about something they had been refusing to think about. so yes, i think you have missed and are continuing to miss the point.
did you ever actually read MLK’s jailhouse letter?
Are you really comparing this to the Civil Rights Movement?!
stick around another five or ten years and ask that question again
no, you’re right, the civil rights movement did not use any tactics that bear discussion in any other context
Why not inconvenience those on bikes too? Are we to believe only the 99% ride bikes? Or is it only the 1% drive autos and ride busses?
If the “movement” is trying to inconvenience people to make some point, then they should be equally obnoxious to all and not discriminate against all the millionaire Ford Focus owners and billionaire public transit users.
I’m not wealthy, but the Inconvenience Portland movement lost my support.
Re: “there are no millionaires on the bus”. Really? Millionaires don’t go around with signs on their chests, so how do you know? I’m a millionaire, but you wouldn’t know it to look at me. And, I ride the bus. And yes, I ride a bike, which is why I know about this blog.
The whole idea of the protest was not to protest wealth, but it appears that is what its becoming. This whole occupy wall street is a complete failure because they had no clear message. Heck yeah I’m angry about TARP, bank bail outs, exec compensation, etc, but I have nothing in common with this protest any more.
Didn’t they say the civil rights movement had no clear message when it got going? Didn’t they say the labor movement had no clear message when it got going? How is this not those two movements joining forces?
Oh yes… though I’ve lived in a country where most of the people driving cars are the 1%. In those cases it would make perfect sense to blockade their access in protest against them.
awesome post !
Protests, at least in Portland, seldom do anything except obstruct and annoy people who have nothing to do with that which is being protested. Combine that with the fact that the majority of protesters fall into the attention-needy, young and “retired”, uselessly confrontational, “Hey Everyone, we have to keep Portland WEIRD!!!!!” crowd, and the end result is that the protesters shoot their cause squarely in the groin.
Yes, Wall Street is corrupt and in need of change and control. So let your brain and your wallet speak for you, not your rudeness, your condescension, and your self-righteousness. And please don’t get in my face – I’m not rich.
You’re right. I think the protesters are producing an awareness to those who don’t know what’s going on, but is affecting them. Seeing the protests might give others an idea to change banks, stop investing in corporate greed, and valuing other life possibilities.
Couldn’t those that want to commute through this recently repatriated section of road show their support by honking, yelling, ringing their bell or any other sort of loud disruptive noise?
I’m just remembering the tactics used to mess with Manuel Noriega. Maybe Bono would lend a bunch of his low popularity “B-side” songs for torment of the 1%.
No, I honestly did not understand your point. Now that I do, I disagree with it, at least in the case of occupying Main Street. I don’t find Portland commuters comparable to Woolworth’s corporate policy.
the idea was to interrupt complacency and create a sense of urgency. if you are off in a corner interfering with nothing you do not accomplish that. it would of course be better if these demonstrations could be focused on a financial center. not sure if there really is a natural venue for this in portland, and maybe someone thought the local government center was at least provisionally it. if the protest continues, maybe they will seek a different focus.
Well, the protests, here and in NYC, have failed to achieve both. Look, these protestors don’t represent anything more than their individual selfish desires. Hence, the incoherent nature of their “protests”. hence, the demands for free this, free that, punish people they envy and dislike.
I agree that Occupy-type actions are intended to have a disruptive factor. I also agree with Chris that intentionally provoking those who would otherwise be supportive is not a good tactic for a nascent movement. Any sense of urgency or compulsion imparted to Main Street commuters in general was lost to eye-rolling derision after Monday.
Occupy’s point about Main Street had been made since Friday. By Tuesday evening’s General Assembly, the vast majority (over 80%) were ready to open Main, but “consensus” required 90%. On Wednesday, procedural maneuvers at the GA prevented even proposing the option of opening Main but support for it was even higher, and that did not include hundreds of people watching and chatting on the ‘net whom nearly unanimously supported opening and whose support was relayed to–and ignored by–GA facilitators. At 6am today any chance to make political hay of the situation was forfeited.
A suggestion I heard which makes sense to me is requiring very high consensus to approve breaking the law as a group, as opposed to consensus approval to cease breaking the law.
As for venue, now that Occupy has lost “The Elk,” and seeing as how the focus of Occupy’s complaints is primarily federal, the amphitheater of the federal Terry Shrunk plaza immediately south of Chapman has a certain appeal, particularly for lawful assembly of the GA.
Thank you for the suggestion to re-read Letter from Birmingham; it has been a long time since I did. It is not only apropos, but all the more poignant under the present circumstances. However, while I understand the polemic position of the immorality of car culture, it’s a bit of a reach for me to call laws against blocking public streets “unjust laws.”
thanks. it is good to have a civil discussion, and if my tone has been intemperate i apologize. actually i have not thought of these protests as having much or anything to do with “car culture” except as that is bound up with the consumerist culture more generally. and while i am pleased to see some number of people (finally) taking to the streets on these issues, i do not imagine that many of them have yet thought it through, and the circumstances that have brought them to the streets may fade away. the antiwar movement lost its momentum when the draft was removed as a threat to all but a handful of people. the civil rights movement persisted only until a critical mass of blacks were allowed to participate in the consumerist culture itself. and this protest may very well fade away when the job market improves. but the underlying injustice and imbalance will still be there. nonetheless i am slightly optimistic that each of these steps brings us closer to a tipping point.
No offense taken, and my apology if I offended. Fair warning accepted about the hazard of the “white moderate.” I, too, look forward with at least a grain of hope to what King called “a positive peace which is the presence of justice.”
Maybe they could focus their protests on parking meters? They are setup and ran by the man. They collect tax and give a portion of it to another man, is it givin back to the dude? no. they tax you everytime you come downtown to shop, pay your water bill, stop to protest, go to court to pay your parking ticket you still have to pay the man.
Perhaps they should hancuff themselves to the parking meters and demand “change”. Hold up a cardboard sign saying “change”.
I’m not saying we should have a revolution and throw all the meters in the willamette mind you, or to pile them all up on the steps of city hall, just hold up that cardboard sign saying “Change”
Caption to one of maus’s pictures to this story:
“City Commissioner Dan Saltzman strolled by during the arguing and didn’t even stop. He simply glanced over and kept walking. Weird.”
What was it that maus though was ‘weird’ about a city commissioner not stopping to listen to a bunch of people in the Occupy group arguing about whatever, if one stops to consider the commissioner may not have had the time or the inclination to stop and listen to the people there at that particular time maus was present?
Doesn’t make a lot of sense to criticize somebody without offering some reasoning for the criticism. There’s been no mention that people passing by the occupation of the parks are obliged to stop and listen to people there arguing. So the caption maus used for his picture doesn’t seem called for.
Looks like he could be on his way home with a little something from the package store. I’ll be over shortly, commish!
People here and the Occupy protestors should check out the work of Carlota Perez who was recently interviewed at the Web 2 Expo. It’s very relevant to what’s happening with the economy, the shift from mass consumption to techno/info sustainable society, and the cultural impact that comes with any economic revolution. Lineage of thought is a big theme. I encourage everyone to check out her work.
As an aside having that section of Main closed was a huge improvement. In a more perfect Portland we would close down that section of Main permanently to create a more continuous public space. Lownsdale Park and Chapman Square are both great parks but combined the two parts make more than a whole; without traffic this past week one of Portland’s underutilized treasures, The Elk, became the center of a grand European style plaza in the heart of our downtown. People were able to sit on it and gather around it to talk, sketch, read, be, etc.
Also Main Street is a pretty ironic place to be arrested in a protest about Wall Street. There may be better places nearby to practice civil disobedience that would send a clearer message i.e. a bank or some other center of power.
I dropped by the parks where OP is located. Tarps and tents cover nearly every square foot of the lawn area of both parks. Many…many people are present at these parks, many of them presumably sleeping over at the parks. Somebody has brought in a lot of straw to lay over big areas of the ground as a means of countering the inevitable tendency towards muddiness occurring from lots of feet treading soggy turf bed.
The northernmost park is the quieter, more mellow of the two. A spacious, supervised play area tent assemblage for kids has been set up on this park’s NE corner, and kids ther seemed to be in a great mood and having lots of fun. Met someone there I knew from some years back. At this location, I also talked with a middle aged person that, with other kids area staff, is going to possibly put together some classroom instruction for kids at the gathering…reading…math.
A guy from Occupy had a brush and was scrubbing out the toilet when I went to use the men’s. Soap dispensers either don’t work or don’t have soap. Not sure that water at the goofy old wash basin is working. Never worked well times I checked it out 3-4 years back. Be nice if the city…or somebody with supplies and plumbing experience could get those critical fixtures up and running. Basically though, looks like the restroom is being kept in good order.
There’s so many different things going on at any given time in these two blocks, it’s impossible to get much of a true sense of it with just a simple walk through. A lot of organization has already gone into enabling the gathering to go on for an extended period of time. Unless, or until occupiers decide to leave…or they eventually get chased out, most likely even more sophisticated measures will be implemented by occupiers to prepare for a sufficient occupation of the parks in the coming cold and wet. A row of about ten or fifteen showers…hot showers…would probably be nice.
Unless people of Portland and Mayor Adams decide to give ’em the boot, it doesn’t look like people in this gathering will be leaving for awhile. There’s some things going on in the parks that could grow into problems the city could use to move the people out. But if occupiers are smart and work together, they’ll be able to figure out constructive ways to avert that from happening, as has been done in NYC OWS at Zucotti Park.
There was a good story in the Times last week…’Dining’ section, about OWS Zucotti Park food. Sorry…didn’t bookmark the link. With the help of social networking, OWS is getting food and other donations called in from around the globe.
Just read a story that popped up on yahoo. It’s worth reading. OWS has donations amounting to $300,000. Also, warehouse space to store supplies for the coming weeks. OWS may move from Zucotti, since this park is private, unlike Portland’s public Lownsdale and Chapman parks.
http://news.yahoo.com/occupy-wall-street-shows-muscle-raises-300k-223255806.html
I noticed a quote etched on the building across the street from the protesters (the Courthouse Building at SW 3rd & SW Madison). It reads, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” – Martin Luther King Jr.