It is disappointing but expected to see that the city of Portland continues to push its ban on panhandlers and others standing in medians (“Portland heads to appeals court, hoping to salvage its ban on standing in medians,” Jan. 6). Though there have been no reports of accidents or injuries caused by these actions, safety is still the alleged concern.
Too bad the city’s concern for safety doesn’t appear to extend to pavement maintenance, including sidewalks, pavement marking for vehicular and pedestrian traffic and access for the handicapped.
As to the panhandler “problem,” here’s a plan for the soon-to-be-banned-again: There are a number of pedestrian crossings in the city, some of which are near or even at the median locations. Many have crossing signal buttons.
Pedestrian panhandlers, with appropriate signage, simply need to gather at these locations, press the buttons and cross sequentially while displaying their signage and stopping to receive “donations.” Problem solved!
Maybe, in the interest of safety, the city will ban street crossing by pedestrians. Perhaps pedestrians should be banned altogether, as there is some record of injury and death associated with pedestrian traffic in Portland. Unless, of course, there is some issue in mind other than safety.
William Hobbs
Portland
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