Armed with video camera, man takes neighborhood traffic safety into his own hands

Southeast Portland resident Tony Tapay takes the safety and livability of his neighborhood streets seriously. His citizen activism usual takes the form of calls and emails to the Bureau of Transportation requesting speeding enforcement. But there’s one issue he’s gotten so frustrated about due to a lack of action and response from both the violators (an ice cream truck company) and the City, that he recently took the matter into his own hands.

The issue is a common one in Portland: Where PBOT has created neighborhood greenways, they often install median islands that prohibit people in cars from making turns onto certain streets. Whenever these diverter treatments are installed, they come with big “Do Not Enter: Except for Bicycles” signs. However, these diverters often leave enough room for some motor vehicles to still get through — and of course some people think the law doesn’t apply to them.

That’s what really bugs Tony Tapay. Here’s how he describes what happened:

“So there’s this ice cream truck that enters Gladstone at 42nd. The intersection is a classic greenway motor vehicle diverter with two big “Do Not Enter” signs. But he doesn’t care. He does this every week. I’ve called the company several times and left them messages asking them to have this guy respect the neighborhood. Never got a response.

Just 15 minutes ago I heard his chimes and knew he was coming and knew what he was going to do. When I started shooting video, a car came down the street and stopped at the intersection and when the driver of the car realized that the truck driver wanted to enter against the signs, the car driver wouldn’t move and gestured to him to go to another intersection. They were in a standoff until the ice cream truck guy parked and made (or pretended to make) a call on his phone. Then the car left. At this point I had walked down to the intersection and the ice cream driver thought he was clear to go. Then I stepped in his way.”

Tony emailed this video to use about 4 weeks ago and we’re happy to report hat after he posted them on the truck driver’s company website, he got a call back. “He seemed genuinely concerned and promised it wouldn’t happen again.”

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Bill Walters
Bill Walters
10 years ago

You go, Tiananmen Tony! Thanks on behalf of someone who uses that intersection, though earlier than typical ice-cream-truck hours.

Rob
Rob
10 years ago

Man, that’s fodder for a poster: photo of a man facing down an ice cream truck.

kww
kww
10 years ago

If it happens again, post flyers to the whole neighborhood about how this truck drivers makes kids unsafe. Hit-em in the wallet.

spencer
spencer
10 years ago

NICE WORK!!! More people need to actually do this to make change. Dont let ANYONE get away with this behavior

Ethan
Ethan
10 years ago

Well done.

Mark
Mark
10 years ago

You’re awesome, Tony.

Sho
Sho
10 years ago

Good job Tony keep it up

BIKELEPTIC
10 years ago

Hah! And it’s an ice cream truck! In THEORY that should be the picture of friendly idyllic summer afternoon strolls, slow Dutch style biking, pedestrians, and motor vehicles working together. In your head you see a nice little 1950s picture perfect scene. Then this. Hilarious. In the way that the driver is an a-hat. Get some brightly reflective bollards on that greenway!

Why isn’t the Ladd Circle St Police brigade tailing this bozo?!

David
David
10 years ago

Question for readers of this blog:

I ride NE Going St westbound every morning, and every morning there’s a motorcyclist who cuts through the diverter at 15th. I know that motorcycles aren’t supposed to cut the the bicycle diverters, but it doesn’t really bug me personally. Should I be annoyed? Should I “You shall not pass!” like Tony did next time?

dan
dan
10 years ago
Reply to  David

I’m with you – I don’t really care if a motorcyclist takes advantage of a diverter. It would bug me if they rode in a bike lane with an unsafe speed differential with cyclists.

Chris I
Chris I
10 years ago
Reply to  David

The bike lanes in Amsterdam are full of mopeds. Compared to that, this behavior sounds pretty harmless.

Steve
Steve
10 years ago
Reply to  Chris I

The mopeds are not bad. They are not allowed to go very fast and they don’t take up the entire cycle path like this ice cream truck.

GlowBoy
GlowBoy
10 years ago

Awesome. Go get ’em Tony!

Hart Noecker
10 years ago

Heck yeah, fight back!

feralcow
feralcow
10 years ago

I have seen this happen at least a dozen times at SE 13th and SE Spokane. The diverter is not tall enough, and just about any car can drive right over it. Traffic backs-up on SE 13th and people just turn right onto SE Spokane.

wsbob
wsbob
10 years ago

Tony…with the ice cream truck seller, nice going! Guy’s got to make a living, but doesn’t need to be a jerk about it.

About the speeding cars issue you’ve had on your neighborhood’s streets, I hope the recent bikeportland story on Ted Buehler’s suggestions for dealing with that type situation, was inspiration, or at least some help to you.

JohnS.
JohnS.
10 years ago

Why an ice cream truck in the first place. A progressive ice cream company would have a custom Metrofiets decked out instead.

Racer X
Racer X
10 years ago

Yes, news too me too…as I thought ALL ice cream was now delivered by bakfiets in Portland. You learn something new every day.

Opus the Poet
10 years ago

Didn’t any one notice that when he left he drove in the bike lane?

Admiral Longpour
Admiral Longpour
10 years ago
TonyT
tonyt
10 years ago

A little known fact, that song IS about me. Or so I’m told.

indy
indy
10 years ago

In theory we can all do this for speeders in our neighborhoods using Citizen’s arrest techniques.

In reality: Death. 🙁

Dan Kaufman
10 years ago

That makes sense. Tony Tapay is a 2007 baddest badass award winner: check out this video from the archives (with a guest appearances by Jonathan Maus, Tad Bamford, and Greg Sanders). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENWSVGqdaQY

Joe Partridge
Joe Partridge
10 years ago

Nice work!

Adam
Adam
10 years ago

I think the real problem here is that you can DRIVE over a diverter. If you can DRIVE OVER a diverter, then it rather ceases to function as a diverter, or have I missed something obvious?

Our diverters need bollards on them, no ifs, no buts.

Oh, and if anyone thinks motorists pretending diverters don’t exist is not a common occurrence, I highly suggest you go plant your a** at SE 20th & Ankeny for ten minutes and watch the depressingly high number of vehicles illegally driving over that diverter.

Chris Shaffer
Chris Shaffer
10 years ago

The contrast between our “diverters” and the mechanized diverter in the Groningen video is startling: http://vimeo.com/76207227#t=416

Chris Sanderson
10 years ago

Hey, go to the Ice Cream Express website (http://icecreamexpressportland.com/), and send them a message of disapproval. I just did that, telling them that I depend on these diverters for my transportation.

Spencer Boomhower
Spencer Boomhower
10 years ago

What stood out to me was the way the guy in the truck clearly saw someone in front of him on foot and DID NOT STOP until he was right on top of the person on foot. Assuming the intimidation factor of a mass of motorized metal would clear the way for him, apparently. Cheers to Tony for not being intimidated.

BIKELEPTIC
10 years ago

Very true Spencer! That could be construed as “menacing” or “attempted assault with a deadly weapon” – definitely intimidation. Why hasn’t the dude who has so clearly broken the law and driven soooo unsafely lost his license?!

TonyT
tonyt
10 years ago
Reply to  BIKELEPTIC

Because he’s not rolling stop signs in Ladd’s Addition.

TonyT
tonyt
10 years ago

Yup. I mentioned that to the manager I spoke with. As the person who was standing there it was obvious that he intended to intimidate me.

K'Tesh
K'Tesh
10 years ago
Reply to  tonyt

With the video, you could make the argument… a nice little citizens initiated citation might go a long way in stopping this kind of behavior in others.

Joe Suburban
Joe Suburban
10 years ago

Nice! This jerk does this every week; has his employer’s name and phone # on the van, then mouths off on video…genius!

jim
jim
10 years ago

This guy must just hate ice cream trucks with a passion.

Stretchy
Stretchy
10 years ago

Now if we can shame the portland police bureau into stopping their illegal parking on SW Madison just before the Hawthorne bridge.

Steve
Steve
10 years ago

Why are there no bollards set up at the entrance of this green-way? I mean, you expect people to obey the signs, but still.

TonyT
tonyt
10 years ago
Reply to  Steve

But bollards wouldn’t have done anything to stop him. You’ll notice that he fits neatly into the outbound lane.

Spencer Boomhower
Spencer Boomhower
10 years ago
Reply to  tonyt

So, driving aggressively so as to intimidate someone on foot, AND driving the wrong way down what is basically a one-way lane. Yep, that’s someone you want driving a van designed to attract swarms of children.

Zaphod
10 years ago

Thank you. This made my day.

jd
jd
10 years ago

Shoot. My kid and I get ice cream from that guy every now and then. I hope he’s learned that traffic laws in general are there to keep people safe, not just that he can’t do that one specific thing he got caught doing. I’ve never seen him drive unsafely in my neighborhood, but he is going about 5 m.p.h. the whole time…