Gov. Tina Kotek recently showed that she is willing to keep the homeless issue on the top of her agenda. She directed her staff and Oregon transportation officials to come up with money that Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler needs to resume sweeps and camp cleanups of state-owned property. The camps abutting highways and interstates within city limits are top priority.
Portland ceased state-contracted work on government properties in late January. The city had spent all of the annual funds allotted to it by the Oregon Department of Transportation halfway through the fiscal year. Wheeler said that the city spent its allotted money more quickly than expected because of growing demands from state transportation officials.
Mayor Ted Wheeler brought attention to the Portland Bureau of Transportation data that shows 53% of all pedestrians killed in city traffic crashes in the last two years were homeless at the time of their deaths. Half of the victims are on state-owned roads and freeways. Gov. Kotek recently reiterated her campaign pledge to clean up trash and work closely with Portland leaders on the many problems that continue to plague Oregon’s largest city.
It has been a rocky road on clearing camps. The city of Portland first took over camp cleanup duties along interstate corridors from Oregon’s transportation department in 2019. There were many complaints about how the state agency performed the work. The city stopped doing homeless camp removals on state property Jan. 26, with the exception of a few isolated cleanups.
Govenor Kotek was not happy to hear how current camp removals has gone in Portland. She said she only learned about the depleted state funds during a meeting with the mayor in early February. At that meeting, Wheeler asked her for an additional $1 million to resume cleanups through June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
