So far, parking on this block of Ninth Avenue without a permit is still legal. (This was Saturday afternoon.)
Homeless people camping in their cars on Ninth Avenue between Jackson Street and Pacific Boulevard in Albany can still do so, but not for much longer. The neighbors and the city council want them gone.
People have been camping there because of the proximity of the Albany Helping Hands homeless shelter. (The shelter is outside the frame and to the right in the photo above.)
When I went by there on the bike on Saturday afternoon, two or three people carrying meals were walking from the shelter back to their vehicles.
On June 8, the council voted 6-0 to add this section of Ninth, plus a short section of Jackson Street at the west end of this block, to five other street sections in the vicinity where parking is banned without a special permit.
Councilman Dick Olsen had delayed the enactment by a couple of weeks but voted with the majority on final passage.
Helping Hands and a nearby business had supported the parking ban in a letters to the council.
The ordinance takes effect July 8. Starting that day it will be unlawful for any vehicle to be parked on those sections of Ninth and Jackson “without a valid Central Albany parking area permit.”
Employers can get permits from the police for their employees and visitors. The ordinance doesn’t say anything about permits for homeless owners of vehicles.
The parking permit scheme is intended to “address an increased level of unlawful activity,” in the words of the text the council approved June 8.
The police didn’t say why moving the “unlawful activity” somewhere else by restricting parking was the best way to deal with this law enforcement issue, and the council didn’t ask. (hh)
Usual City Council move…”Lets just move it someplace else & not deal with it.” This won’t go away. Those “homeless” have vehicles, they are here to stay & ought to have some kind of an accommodation to let them live. BUT damn, at least those folks could keep the area “policed” up to use a military term!
That’s it, kick ’em out. We don’t want ’em here. How about reigning in the *ssholes who charge so much for rent. Pretty soon so one will be able to afford housing. Then what will you do? Tell them they have to live in the country? Greedy capitalists created this problem and we need to tax them to where their income is equivalent to the rest of us. No one should have the kind of money Musk or Gates has. Tax the pants off them.
Hey Fred, what do you think of housing areas that must be owner operated or targeted to income groups. Investors are a big hurdle to many home buyers and maybe some restrictions should be imposed. How about ownership of apartments by the renter, who could build equity. How about capping real estate fee? Who’s looking out for the little guy?
In Eugene, the law enforcement folks move these people when thief reports climb.
Most of those on the streets are not qualified for safe community’s, as that monkey on their back forbids their access. But then we the people can blame, A) the democrat party for a bill, voted on by we the people to decriminalized so called user amounts of drugs. And B) the waste of money created by said legislation, as very few humans participate in program, while the vast majority shoot up in public. And C) Those people whom fell for the lies and voted yes.
The NIMBY solution is alive and well in the US and I don’t blame people for not wanting to live among the homeless. However, having them live in cars is certainly preferable to them living on the street and there are virtually no living units around the area in question. It is surrounded by the railroad, highway, and industrial area and the police are within 2 blocks. Why don’t you use some of the millions of dollars wasted on CARA acquisitions and buy the houses around the shelter and build parking lots and try to contain the homeless in one area instead of on every corner in Albany. After all, you wasted $350,000 on that old loading dock building owned by the railroad just west of the area in question.
“If you build it, THEY will come.” No thanks. Don’t encourage them.
Nobody encouraged them and they are already here. It is time for the local and state governments to do something about it. If you want them gone, quit giving them money and benefits.
I asked my son that earned a MS in Social Services at the University Washington of why (and worked in the business) why the homeless populations in Washington and Oregon don’t move south for the winters. His reply was that they are here for the services we offer them.
Bless their hearts, the kind people of Oregon have made Oregon a Mecca for the homeless. Through the generosity of our tax payers and non-profits, they are relatively comfortable here as compared to many other states.
Yes Mark, the invitation is out.
Let’s use the old fore’s building, that I guess has no use as a grocery store for some dang reason anymore? It’s giant, it’s empty and it’s already an eye sore.