Connecting downtown Portland and the city of Boring, Oregon, the 20+ mile-long paved hiking/biking trail along Johnson Creek has had a cadre of volunteers and others removing non-native plant species and replacing them with native species to enhance the watershed. They don't do that so much these days because of biohazards that include discarded hypodermic needles and...other stuff.
This abandoned campsite is typical of dozens of similar sites found and cleared in the 60-acre Gresham Woods open space just south of Southeast Powell Boulevard.
Notice the lovely foliage on the trees, and the abundant blossoming of native shrubs and other plants. Yeah. The so-called "homeless" situation has gone completely out of control, and it's got so bad that the city of Gresham has taken the unprecedented step of fencing off 60 acres of property along the trail to keep people out. Residents along the trail have taken to referring to it as "the avenue of terror".
GRESHAM, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) — The city of Gresham has taken the unprecedented step of fencing and closing 60 acres along the Springwater Trail because a large homeless population camping there is destroying the area and threatening neighbors.
In June, July and August 2014, police said there were 23 calls related to homeless issues in Gresham Woods. During the same months of 2015, there were 41 calls, including sounds of gunshots, shouting, domestic violence, concerns about a baby living in a camp, a large fire in a field, garbage and drunken behavior.
These poor "homeless" people have threatened long-time residents in the area with death, and it appears that on at least one occasion, the threat may have been carried out. The primary reason why the Portland area has a "homeless crisis" is because politicians here have spent decades enabling them. And they're continuing to do so today.
Good for the city of Gresham; they're finally adopting the right approach.
