City crews remove large number of bicycles from street encampment on SE Alder

Taylor Griggs contributed to this story.

This morning Portland Bureau of Transportation staff and a crew from Rapid Response Bio Clean removed property from a street encampment on Southeast Alder near 30th. The location was flagged by neighbors over concerns about the large number of bicycles parts lined up on the sidewalk.

We were first made aware of this location today when it came up in a thread posted on the Shift email list by people who referred to it as a “bike chop shop” and said it has been reported to authorities several times in the past. “The inventory of bikes changes every few days,” a person wrote.

A local bike shop owner who is well-aware of this location chimed in to say crews were currently at the site and, “That chop shop has more inventory than I do. There is a sign that says ‘bike shop’. I need a permit for commercial signage. I also need a business license.”

BikePortland reporter Taylor Griggs arrived at the scene as Rapid Response crew members loaded bikes and parts into the rear of a large flatbed truck. There were no police at the scene, but there were PBOT Parking Enforcement workers watching the process unfold. They told Griggs campers willingly gave up their space and property and that they’ll be offered space in a shelter.

One man referred to himself as the manager of the camp. He told Griggs he wants to run a bike repair shop for friends and other campers and the bikes were not stolen. A lot of people simply give away “really nice bikes” he said. He didn’t deny some people do steal bikes. He also said he’s happy to talk to anyone whos think their stolen bike is at the camp. If they can prove it belongs to them, he’d give it back. “Nobody wants to talk to me. They come by with leers and jeers,” he said.

Gianna Bortoli, who lives a block away from the camp, said she’s seen the number of bikes skyrocket in the past few months and that complete bikes will often be brought to the site and get quickly dismantled. “I can’t say if the people there are stealing them or if people are dropping them off, but I have seen extremely expensive bikes there including multiple brand new looking bikes.”

Allegations of large scale chop shops at street camps have been around for years. They have always been very tricky for the city to handle given there’s often no way to prove if they’re harboring stolen bikes. In May 2020, the (now defunct) Portland Police Bureau Bike Theft Task Force made two arrests and recovered 15 stolen bikes from an encampment.

Bikes are a very common and valuable mode of transportation for people who live on the street. They provide folks a cheap way to get around the city to reach jobs and medical appointments, and to connect with friends — all the same stuff you use your bike for! If you see bikes in encampments, please do not assume the worst. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty and these folks deserve the same respect you’d show anyone else.

The City of Portland was sued last year by homeless residents over the handling of seized property. Yesterday the city enacted new policies to comply with the demands in the lawsuit. See this new city website to learn more.

UPDATE, 5/12: On the night of May 11, some bikes still hadn’t been cleared by the official crews. Some campers moved the bikes off site, but as of the morning of this morning, some bikes still remain.