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Portland
On Labor Day I felt inspired to take some photos of Downtown Portland. I parked at the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry on the east side of the Willamette River.
Walking north I soon reached the Hawthorne Bridge where the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade begins. The Esplanade extends 1 1/2 miles and includes a floating walkway, the longest one of its kind in the United States. At the Steel Bridge, the north end of the Esplanade, there is a walkway under the Bridge only 30 feet above the Willamette River.
Upon reaching the west bank of the River, I turned north following a wooden pathway next to the condos along the River. Near the Fremont Bridge I returned to the Steel Bridge and walked up river to the Tilikum Bridge, crossed the River and returned to my car.
I couldn’t help but notice the contrasts during my five-mile outing. There were many construction cranes to be seen. E scooters were literally everywhere. But, so were homeless camps and graffiti.
The downtown is clearly going through a transition. Where will it end?
Tilikum Bridge
E Scooters
Construction Crane
Love locks along the Eastbank Esplanade
Colorful flowers
Bikes to rent
Many signs of homeless along the way
Much graffiti to be seen
Rent-to-ride e scooters were ubiquitous
This e scooter experiment is interesting. The e scooter firms did come to the city of Portland first before dropping them on the populace, unlike what happened in cities like San Francisco. And rules were established. Your photos show many violations of the rules. No Kids under 16, got to use helmets, no riding on sidewalks, no riding in parks, only one person to a scooter. I am not anti scooter, providing folks abide by the rules but as a walker I am increasingly concerned about where this is going. I guess my biggest issue is scooters taking over the sidewalks. Portland Bureau of Transportation has a site where folks can comment on this experiment.
It is a fascinating experiment. A couple of days ago I saw an e scooter tailgating a beemer across a busy intersection on Burnside. I wonder where it will all end.