I know people love their Voodoo pastries and puffs. I get it. But, in light of the sidewalks crackdown outside Portland City Hall—in the name of safety!—does anyone see anything wrong with the following pictures?
- Photographs by Denis C. Theriault
- The sidewalk on SW 3rd outside Voodoo Doughnut has been declared a high-pedestrian zone. The sign says, unless you’re a pedestrian, “Please Keep Clear.”
- The line no longer stretches past Voodoo in front of the Paris Theatre. Now it doubles back over toward Ankeny. Pedestrians can’t get past unless they use the street.
- Leaving Voodoo or any of the businesses in the Ankeny alley now requires, if you’re going north, walking into the road.
I’ll tell you what’s wrong. This scene—fueled by summer weather—plays out every day. Just like the protest outside city hall that swelled this summer and last summer. One difference? This is way worse. The entire pedestrian zone is filled, leaving people to walk along the curb or in the street. The city hall protest was crammed along the curb and sometimes strayed into the pedestrian zone but never filled it. That protest built in a place that didn’t have a high-pedestrian tag until Mayor Charlie Hales decided, among several reasons, he wanted to clear the plaza for food carts. The sidewalk around Voodoo has long had the designation.
The other difference? No police or press conferences about safety. This is a beloved business, written about in national media, that caters to tourists and out-of-towners. In high traffic zones, the sidewalks ordinance allows exceptions for customers going directly to and from a business. I guess you could make the case that a long twisty line is direct. But I doubt it. It also exempts permits.
“We don’t have a permit,” the guy who answered at Voodoo just told me. “I don’t think the city bothers us.”
So, basically, this is also what happens when complaints drive the enforcement process. Some violations are treated differently than others.
Well, these folks haven’t moved into and set up camp on the sidewalk outside of Voodoo. They are transients (oh, sweet irony) and move themselves along.
“Some violations are treated differently than others.”
Exactly. Some violations are treated differently than others because they ARE different than others.
How many complaints does the city get about the Voodoo lines blocking pedestrian traffic? How often do those in line ask passers-by for money? How many of them take up space with their belongings? How many are there hour after hour? How many of them have taken a skateboard to the head of an old man? How many are drunk or high? (Nevermind — scratch that last question.)
True, the safety aspect of it is still worthy of mention. Perhaps it’s just as dangerous as some of the homeless encampments/protests are in certain ways, by forcing peds into the street. However, i think we have much more pressing issues elsewhere to worry about first.
And if we ever do get around to doing something about the Voodoo line, i guarantee it won’t take several police officers to get the job done — a couple of signs posted on the wall by a Voodoo lackey and maybe a piece of rope would do the trick.
as someone who works in the area I will tell you that the city may not get a lot of complaints but the area is fucking maddening. trying to walk down that sidewalk without going in the street is near impossible and even when you’re in the street it is just as congested. there are drug deals, people spare changing and a million idiots waiting in line for donuts with no sidewalk.
Those people come to two for three days to spend a bunch of money and ruin Voodoo Donuts. Filthy beligerent cruchies come to town for three months to leech leech money off of locals and ruin downtown.
Yes, I said “leech leech”. Not taking it back.
I hope they nail por que no on Hawthorne. There is nothing more infuriating than having an arm full of groceries and unable to get through the suburban jerks contesting the sidewalk
Maybe we should ban cars downtown. Then there would be no shortage of sidewalk space.
These pictures don’t reveal much unless you can prove people are being removed for standing outside City Hall. They are enforcing people sitting or laying down in these zones. The sign reads “…for pedestrian movement” which is what people in line are doing.
I see no pictures of people sitting or laying down or their stuff piled everywhere outside VooDoo. Theses are the bigger trip hazards than people standing.
I am the type of person that believes large events that snake around sidewalks merit permits such as Apple product releases, large concerts, including stuff like this.
I don’t believe there’s current city permits for that outside of what we have for cafes.
Maybe we need one? But this post doesn’t prove a discrepancy, maybe more about gaps on what does and does not spur a permit.
Design wise that street needs to be reduced in width to accommodate more people with increased sidewalk space that ties nicely into the pedestrian-seating alley.
“…does anyone see anything wrong with the following pictures?”
Poorly cropped, also you could sharpen them a bit and increase the contrast. But that’s just me, not sure what “the guy who answered” might see.
If only those wanna be rainbow family occupationist transients would take a hint from old school dead lot hippies and set up a hibachi across the street from city hall and start frying up some grilled cheese and garlic sandwiches.
I’ll bet the chick with the kid could get some WIC coupons for some of that artisanal guvmint cheese (or at least an Oregon Trail card). Maybe they could get a small business loan for signage, equipment, and start up costs from Bank of America or Chase if they drafted a comprehensive proposal that included some spreadsheets with a 48 month profit and loss projection, marketing and demographic survey, breakeven analysis, and short term loan amortization schedule.
The absolute worst part to me is the people who think these doughnuts are any better than safeway. Hope you like stale cereal. They also have multiple locations, so some of these douche bags could in fact “Move the fuck along” instead of being douche bags downtown.
Chazz and the other posters are right, it is hard to get through there without going NFL Running Back. Just a bizarre scene.
Safeway doughnuts? …hmmm. I don’t think so. But about the smelly disgusting homeless people who live on the streets of Portland, there should be a smell test. Smelling bad isn’t a constitutional right, is it? So they can discriminate based on that. Problem solved.
You can always just walk straight through the crowd. Believe it or not, people will get out of your way if you just politely say excuse me. I know it makes some of you sweaty and nervous to talk to strangers but its better than walking into traffic.
Ill paxton, you are correct. It could be an unpleasant experience for some though. You have street performers, roaming hordes of panhandling youth (or whatever it is they do) I am just entirely perplexed by the popularity and the actual scene at that store…bizzaro