The mayor of Oregon’s most populous city on Friday banned encampments near highways and high-traffic intersections, saying homeless people comprised the majority of pedestrians who were killed in Portland traffic incidents last year.
Highlights
- Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s emergency order enacting the ban is set to run at least until February 18.
- Wheeler cites a report from the city’s transportation bureau, which said 19 homeless pedestrians were killed in traffic incidents in Portland last year.
- Wheeler: “We can no longer justify allowing our most vulnerable community members to be exposed to the dangers of camping in freeway and high crash corridors” The order bans camping of any kind in high-traffic areas, but Wheeler himself, however, focused on homeless people living in tents and other structures.
- The order’s preamble and Wheeler’s remarks released by his office Friday focused on the homeless people.