1) OKNA signs letter regarding homeless camps
2) Overlook pandemic vignettes
4) N Going Street on-ramp to I-5 south will close for five days
6) Big backyard photography contest
1) OKNA signs letter regarding homeless camps
At their monthly meeting last week, The Overlook Neighborhood Association Board voted to sign onto a letter of support for homeless camps throughout Portland. OKNA joins other North Portland neighborhoods in endorsing the letter that was developed collaboratively among the chairs of neighborhood associations.
Specifically, the letter asks the city to pursue a three-pronged approach to dealing with the current homeless crisis, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the recommendations are the following:
In the short term, Portland should expedite permitting for the opening of a privately run homeless shelter and services at the never-opened Wapato facility. It also should create safe, sanctioned locations for camping and increase the delivery of sanitation resources to sanctioned homeless camps.
In the long-term, Portland should pursue more legally sanctioned, managed camps akin to Dignity Village and the Kenton Women’s Village. Such sites would include managed self-governance, access to social services and transition services to permanent housing.
During both the short and long term, Portland should clear campsites in all parks, waterways and public paths, as well as camps where illegal activity has been documented. It also should ask every neighborhood in the city to identify one or more potential sites for local managed camps and seek to install them in every sextant of the city.
2) Overlook pandemic vignettes
The Overlook Neighborhood Association Board will not publish the summer edition of the Overlook Views, our quarterly newspaper delivered to every household in the neighborhood. The COVID-19 pandemic has limited our ability to produce content and to guarantee the safety of delivery people and residents. The board hopes that things have reached a point that we can print the next edition in late summer.
The pandemic has changed Portlanders’ lives in many ways. Most non-essential work has ceased or slowed way down. Restaurants and schools are closed. Jobs and businesses have been lost with the future uncertain. Shopping for food, medicines and other essentials has become more time-consuming and risky. Just walking the dog, jogging and bicycling around the neighborhood has involved wearing masks and avoiding getting closer than six feet to others for fear of giving or getting the bug.
We’d like to share some stories Overlook residents tell about how the pandemic emergency has affected them. We hope these stories will inspire neighbors to persevere through the current challenges.
Board members Peter Parks, Casey Boggs and Brad Halverson have been speaking with neighbors (while maintaining appropriate social distancing) about their experiences. For the next several weeks, we’ll share these stories in this weekly update.
If you’d like to share your COVID-19 story, send an email to info@overlookneighborhood.org.
This week’s pandemic stories:
Annie’s urban farm
Annie Forsthoefel has her business at home in Overlook. She can be seen often in her garden, covering and uncovering plants, weeding and otherwise nurturing a very healthy looking crop. She grows organic produce, sells produce and seedlings. She reports that part of her business is doing well with about 50 regular customers. Other aspects of her business are mostly on hold during the emergency. Urban farm dinners, cooking classes and private events will have to wait until Portland is no longer sheltering in place.
Life at Hazelnut Grove
Jackie Hooper, a Hazelnut Grove resident, is glad to have a safe place to sleep. Hazelnut Grove is protecting its own and not letting non-residents inside during the emergency. Residents also help other homeless people camped in the neighborhood when they can, especially during this emergency. Hazelnut Grove gave several 20-gallon water barrels so that some local campers can maintain cleanliness and be less likely to become sick.
3) I-5 closed Saturday night
The Oregon Department of Transportation will close Interstate 5 in North Portland on Saturday (May 16) night from N Alberta Street/Swan Island (Exit 303) to Route 14 (Exit 1A) in Washington. All on- and off-ramps in that area also will close. The full closure will run from 11 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday, but lane closures will begin at 7 p.m.
The closure is part of the ongoing project to install informational signs over the highway. Keeping traffic out of the area will ensure the safety of construction crews as they operate large cranes to install two new sign bridges on I-5 at the same time. The new sign bridges will span the full width of the freeway, across all lanes in both directions.
Travelers should expect the following traffic impacts:
- In the work area, travel lanes and entrance and exit ramps on I-5 will close.
- Only one lane on the bottom deck of the Fremont Bridge (I-405) will
remain open to access southbound I-5. - I-405 northbound off-ramp to N Kerby Avenue will close, with access for emergency vehicles only.
4) N Going Street on-ramp to I-5 south will close for five days
The Going Street on-ramp to I-5 south will close 24/7 for 5 days from 9 p.m., Wednesday, May 13 to 10 a.m. Monday, May 18. Detour directions, a detour map and closure fact sheet can be found on the project website. During the same period, the Kerby Street on-ramp to I-405 south will close.
During these closures, the Fremont Bridge will remain open. Detour signs will direct travelers to an alternate route.
5) Adidas construction update
Like most businesses, adidas has mostly closed down its American headquarters in Overlook during the pandemic. That included halting construction for a few weeks. The company is slowly ramping up construction work while following all social distancing guidelines and state regulation.
As a result of the temporary suspension of work, construction of the new buildings is about a month behind schedule. Adidas hopes to make up the lost time in the coming months.
6) Big backyard photography contest
The power and value of nature is shining clear during the COVID-19 pandemic. With our community staying at home as much as we can, with our essential workers shouldering the burden to make this possible, getting outside and into nature is more important than ever. It’s time to show off how you’ve been getting your nature fix.
This could be in your backyard, in your local park, on a trail. It could be from inside watching the bird feeder. Nature comes to us in many ways and many forms. Celebrate it with a photo.
To win, enter the photo contest for Our Big Backyard, Metro’s quarterly parks and nature magazine.
The winner has the choice of an annual parking pass, a full-day picnic reservation at Graham Oaks or Scouters Mountain nature park, a tennis court session, or a round of golf for four people including cart at Glendoveer Golf and Tennis Center. Not all of these may be available when the contest winner is announced, but they can be used when the facilities are open and you feel comfortable using them.
Deadline to enter is May 31.