Excellent commentary, Richard, on City Hall’s priorities — making money off citizens who appear to have any kind of income.
Since I knew you were looking into this issue, when I went downtown Saturday, I was very careful about where and how I parked.
Normally I take the bus downtown, but since my first stop was at the PSU Farmer’s Market I drove. The temporary signs along 4th near Harrison are confusing and warn of being towed. I found a safe place to park, but while paying for the parking it occurred to me that perhaps I needed to be closer to the curb —just to be safe. The city is probably looking for any reason to ticket drivers. I got back in my car and maneuvered as close as I could to the curb.
OK, so I went to the Farmer’s Market and did my part to support the farmers (including $13 for four peaches) and returned to my car where I found a fellow standing nearby. He looked quizzical.
“Is it safe to park here?” he asked me.
“Well, I’m parked here, and they didn’t do anything to me.”
“I’m kind of paranoid,” he said.
“Not a bad way to be in Portland — paranoid.”
He laughed. I got in my car and headed to the Central Library. I parked on the south side of the building where four men who looked to be in their 20’s and 30’s were lounging and scratching amid garbage strewn on the sidewalk and on the stone benches honoring writers. Two other guys stretched out, apparently asleep.
While at the parking kiosk, this time I noticed that my front tire was touching the yellow strip painted on the curb. Another possible ticket? I returned to my car and backed up slightly.
On my way into the library, there in front of the stone bench honoring George Eliot somebody had painted in large, black letters: STOLEN LAND.
The deadbeats who littered and vandalized the library don’t have to worry about tickets. They don’t even have to worry that they will ordered to serve on a cleanup crew. The city will do nothing to discommode them.
Instead, the city will go after your neighbors and make the rest of us paranoid.
Excellent commentary, Richard, on City Hall’s priorities — making money off citizens who appear to have any kind of income.
Since I knew you were looking into this issue, when I went downtown Saturday, I was very careful about where and how I parked.
Normally I take the bus downtown, but since my first stop was at the PSU Farmer’s Market I drove. The temporary signs along 4th near Harrison are confusing and warn of being towed. I found a safe place to park, but while paying for the parking it occurred to me that perhaps I needed to be closer to the curb —just to be safe. The city is probably looking for any reason to ticket drivers. I got back in my car and maneuvered as close as I could to the curb.
OK, so I went to the Farmer’s Market and did my part to support the farmers (including $13 for four peaches) and returned to my car where I found a fellow standing nearby. He looked quizzical.
“Is it safe to park here?” he asked me.
“Well, I’m parked here, and they didn’t do anything to me.”
“I’m kind of paranoid,” he said.
“Not a bad way to be in Portland — paranoid.”
He laughed. I got in my car and headed to the Central Library. I parked on the south side of the building where four men who looked to be in their 20’s and 30’s were lounging and scratching amid garbage strewn on the sidewalk and on the stone benches honoring writers. Two other guys stretched out, apparently asleep.
While at the parking kiosk, this time I noticed that my front tire was touching the yellow strip painted on the curb. Another possible ticket? I returned to my car and backed up slightly.
On my way into the library, there in front of the stone bench honoring George Eliot somebody had painted in large, black letters: STOLEN LAND.
The deadbeats who littered and vandalized the library don’t have to worry about tickets. They don’t even have to worry that they will ordered to serve on a cleanup crew. The city will do nothing to discommode them.
Instead, the city will go after your neighbors and make the rest of us paranoid.