Mayor Announces Cleanup of Springwater Corridor

Responding to an increase of violence connected to homeless camps along the Springwater Corridor, Mayor Charlie Hales Friday announced a plan to cleanup the area.

"We have resisted removing campers from the area because we don’t yet have good options for all the people living there," Hales said. "But public safety and environmental issues have reached a tipping point."

The mayor reports that there has been a 50 percent increase in reports of simple assaults along the corridor compared to last year.

Starting Monday July 18th, social service providers will increase outreach along the corridor, Hales said.

HAVE PATCH EMAIL YOU ALL THE LATEST NEWS

Then, on July 29th, signs will go up designating the area for cleanup, which will begin the following Monday - August 1st.

On that day crews will begin clearing camps, belongings, garbage, and other hazards.

Work will start in Lents and Brentwood-Darling neighborhoods, where the largest number of campers have been reported.

Efforts will then proceed west.

Once an area is cleared, signs will be posted stating that camping is no permitted and camps, if erected, will be removed.

The mayor says that several hundred people will be displaced as a result.

"We are committed to helping our social service partners connect as many people as possible with short-term shelter options," Hales said. "But we also have to be realistic: many of these displaced people are going to have to sleep outside.

"For those who have to sleep outside, we will continue to support their need to do so safely. But large, entrenched encampments that we see in the corridor are not acceptable."

The mayor declared a state of emergency in housing and homelessness last October.

Since then the city council has committed $500 million to affordable housing.

A lawsuit challenging the state of emergency was thrown out this week but it is expected to be re-filed before long.

More than 400 shelter beds will be opening over the next few months, beginning with the Hansen Shelter in East Portland, which is set to open on July 22. The City-County Joint Office of Homeless Services will continue to ensure services are available for those sleeping outside.