Most of the streets in Beaumont-Wilshire and vicinity are relatively narrow, charmingly providing both quiet and coziness to residents. But narrowness has its downside as well: namely, barely enough space to accommodate street parking and through-traffic (not to mention cars backing out of driveways). Conversely, while wide-open streets like Skidmore (bordering Wilshire Park) provide ample room for parking and traffic (both motorized and non-motorized), they also serve as a venue for noisy speeders and, recently, RV camping.
Over the summer, B-W residents repeatedly complained to the BWNA board about vehicles speeding down Skidmore, 37th, and Shaver, running the stop sign at the corner of Skidmore and 37th, sailing through no-stop-sign four-way intersections along Skidmore, and whipping around the precarious corner at 37th and Prescott. But it was a recreational vehicle controversy that drew the most attention last July with the arrival of an RV with Washington license plates, accompanied by a car without license plates, parked 24/7 on the Wilshire Park side of Skidmore Street for weeks in blatant disregard for the curb-side signs that read “No Parking from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.” An online search of “zoning allowances for recreational vehicles, City of Portland” reveals that RVs are prohibited from being used as housing in Portland residential areas—except on residential property (an exception in effect only since August 1 via Ordinance No. 190381, which amended Illegal Residency Occupancy Code 29.50.050). But setting up residence in an RV on a residential street remains illegal. Residents were quick to report the violations to the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) via automated phone message, but without results. This was followed by a BWNA board member notifying the illegal camper of the violations in writing (by taping the message to the RV window), again with no result. Discussing the matter at the August BWNA meeting, there was both compassion for and frustration with this wayward camper. But would it do any good to notify the shorthanded police (via the non-emergency line) of such violations? Or would it be prudent or safe for a representative from the board to confront the individual face to face? No easy answers for the neighborhood or the camper.
As stated in its bylaws, the primary purpose of BWNA is “to enhance the livability of the neighborhood by establishing and maintaining open lines of communication and acting as a liaison between neighbors, government agencies and officials, educational institutions, area business associations, and other neighborhoods and groups.” With respect to street concerns, the government agencies most often turned to for advice and ordinance enforcement are PBOT and the Portland Police Bureau (representatives from both bureaus having been featured as speakers at BWNA meetings earlier in the year). But assistance from city government in resolving street problems has been slow in coming, in part due to COVID-related staff shortages, but also—especially in the case of the police department—due to budget cuts, early retirements, and resignations.
Nonetheless, BWNA continues to alert authorities to safety threats and to those defying the law with seeming impunity.