We’ve very excited to share a new video that’s the first of a new collab with Portland photographer and filmmaker Amit Zinman.*
Amit and his crew tagged along with Ross Bradley from PDX Remove By Bike this past weekend to clean up a section of the Springwater Corridor at Oaks Bottom (the event was organized by Solve). It’s a spot that’s hard to reach by truck, so it was perfect for Bradley’s unique brand of bike-powered clean-up.
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When all was said and done, around 38 volunteers pulled and picked and hauled and pedaled 4,700 pounds of garbage out of the natural area!
Ross is doing amazing work and has a growing cadre of cargo-biking volunteers. But he needs help! He showed me receipts from the weekend and when he tallied up the cost of dump runs, trailer and dumpster rentals, trash bags, and snacks for volunteers, he had spent almost $500. That’s a big expense for someone doing this all out of their own pocket. If you appreciate this all-volunteer effort and want to see more of it, please consider sending Ross a few bucks via Venmo to @onetireflyer. You can also reach him via email at Removebybike@gmail.com.
Watch the video to hear from Ross and other volunteers.
See more videos here and stay tuned for more BikePortland/Bike Stuff collabs!
(*You might recall when we shared Amit’s Pedalpalooza photos back in August and his Bike Stuff YouTube channel is full of cool stuff.)
The sad thing is that some of the strewn garbage can be seen on satellite images.
Kudos to each and every one that helped. Until we can rebuild our society more in a more rational mode, we will be applying patches and bandages to try to help us all live better.
I’d be careful what you consider “trash” btw…my sister who lives there had a pretty scary run-in with a couple folks who claimed the trash she was attempting to pick up was their “belongings” and it turned into a pretty tense situation. She quit riding that Springwater path after that. I guess just hand over the public paths to some violent addicts?
When I see the cleanup crews out here in East Portland, they usually have a police escort. I would be hesitant to start cleaning up in some of these areas without police present.
We spoke to the campers near the area we cleaned in advance, and we always maintain a respectful distance from their homes. Many of them are happy to get help disposing of items and will pitch in. While the SOLVE organization we partnered with does sometimes hire private security for larger cleanups, they do not hire police.
David, I thought the same thing, but from a different perspective. “One person’s trash is another’s treasure.” The response to someone who says, “Hey, that’s not trash, it’s my belongings.” should be “Oh, I am so sorry. I didn’t realize that, and I should have asked. Here. If you do have anything that you would like to dispose of, I would be happy to take it for you.”
It’s a pity your sister felt she had to quit riding the Springwater. I have been riding the stretch along the river several times a week, and the stretch between Boring and Chrystal Springs Blvd., on average, a couple of times a month since the first Covid lockdown in March of 2020. For many years prior to that, I rode these routes, although less frequently. I acknowledge the increase in campers and garbage over the years and that I no longer ride the Springwater at night. But I feel alot safer riding past people in tents than I do among the motor vehicles with their increasingly angry and aggressive body language.
Yes, Portland has alot of work to do surrounding homelessness, but it is a humanitarian issue, not a law enforcement and violence issue.
It’s fun to see this done by bikes but I have seen maintenance vehicles on the path and I wonder why not use pickup trucks? It would have saved a step and gotten the trash out of the pathway sooner. Does using a truck require a permit or more bureaucratic work? (I do imagine so) At any rate, thank you to the volunteers all over the city who are cleaning up.
As with many dump sites around town, it’s not always clear who (if anyone) is responsible for cleanup. Private vehicles are restricted, and any maintenance trucks on the path don’t have access to the rail yard where we worked directly with the owner to arrange things. So yes, lots of bureaucracy at work. But also for us, there’s the pure joy of loading up trailers and cargo bikes and seeing the difference we can make. More efficient doesn’t always equal more fun. 🙂
God bless the volunteers making the sacrifice. But where is the City in this? There are entire campsites of garbage between the bike-trail and the river that need to be carted off. It’s an absolute scandal.