There’s a bit of a border war going on in the Overlook neighborhood of north Portland.
While on a ride through the area on Sunday, someone told me about a wall that had been built on the bike path that connects North Concord to North Going Street. When I went to check it out I was shocked at what I saw: Dozens of cinder blocks toppled and broken, with bent metal rebar sticking out in all directions. As I inspected, I realized the wall had once stood about seven feet tall and it had been held together by mixed concrete. The rebar is secured into the ground and the presence of concrete means it will take a concerted effort to clean this up.
Whoever erected the wall put a lot of effort into it. And so did whoever knocked it down.
Someone who came by while I was out there said it had already been mostly cleaned-up at one point — only to have the builder return and reinforce it again.
From the person who told me about it I had gathered that this was another front in the battle between Portlanders who live in houses and those who live in tent encampments. There’s a very well-established and large community of people who live along the greenspaces adjacent to N Going Street. The wall was erected in a little cut in the soundwall where people can pass between Going and Concord. It’s an important pass-through that gives people a direct connection to N Interstate (and MAX light rail line) and Swan Island (an industrial zone where thousands of people work).
Blocking right-of-way like this is not cool — regardless of why it was done.
“Having this blocked off would be safer for everyone. Anyone criticizing this should try living on the other side of it for a week and see how they feel.”
I posted a video about this on Sunday to Instagram and TikTok. One person who saw it said she lives in a house just north of the wall. She said she supports the wall and is glad someone built it because, “Having this blocked off would be safer for everyone.”
“I’ve had people in my backyard threatening to break down my back door with my own tools, a cargo bike stolen at 4:00 am, a person break into my house and go upstairs into my kids room at 6:00 am, my hose turned on in the middle of the night and left on full blast for me to turn off in the dark (I was home alone), drugs smoked and yelling in the middle of the night for years now,” she said.
The person also said the opening in the wall is a popular site for drug dealing. “I have compassion for houseless people but this needs to change,” she added. “It’s become a brutal place to raise kids. Anyone criticizing this should try living on the other side of it for a week and see how they feel.”
I’ve heard there has been some discussion of this wall on the Overlook Neighborhood Facebook page and several people have contacted the City of Portland. But so far, it seems there’s been only finger-pointing as the wall and debris has been there for over a week.
The transportation chair of the Overlook Neighborhood Association posted to Twitter today that he’s reached out to the Portland Bureau of Transportation “multiple times” but has yet to receive a response.
We’ll keep you posted.
UPDATE, 1:25 pm: A tipster says a city crew is on-site and removal is imminent.
UPDATE: Nic Cota just posted a photo of the cleared wall: