I love the Lan Su Chinese Garden. I really do. It's bad that they have been experiencing vandalism. But that new fence is all wrong. In response to a cry for help from the Garden, the City of Portland (so I hear) took it upon itself to slap up a freestanding chain link fence. (I guess this will prevent graffiti? Not really sure what else it achieves, tbh.) It has those metal feet that stick out, and it takes up most of the sidewalk. I saw a person (a normie, if you must) trip over one of those and go down hard. So this new "safety" measure actually harmed someone. Worse, it's on both sides of the street. So, no wheelchairs, strollers, or differently abled pedestrians can go down NW Flanders between 2d and 3rd. Maybe there has to be some physical safeguard for a while. But people should be able to use the sidewalk. More to the point, who wants a city full of hardened perimeters and security guards? The Garden should be integrated with the neighborhood, friendly and welcoming to all. What we need is a city where people don't lose their minds on the street and become violent in the first place. Duh. Everyone knows we need to pour a LOT more resources into mental health, addiction treatment, antipoverty measures and housing, right? Maybe instead of putting up a fence, swarm the block with social workers. I don't know. I don't have all the answers. I just know this ain't it.