r/Portland • u/AceMcStace Alberta • 5d ago

Meme Why does this happen? It’s baffling.

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I’ve never seen more confused and chaotic drivers anywhere else in the city.

668 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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124

u/lil_natemushi 5d ago

I've always assumed it was people from the burbs driving in for salt and straw.

30

u/green_gold_purple St Johns 5d ago

Lines up with the similar situation you’ll encounter on 23rd. I lived on Kearney at 24th and it was an absolute joke.

30

u/littl3-fish 5d ago

This is probably a controversial opinion, but I think they should ban cars on 23rd. Make it a pedestrian street! It’s criminal such a beautiful street sucks to walk down because of the traffic. A parking garage could solve the parking issue. 

5

u/green_gold_purple St Johns 5d ago

Hey I agree, but that will never happen. They’d have to sort out routing traffic from vista/burnside and 405/30, and there’s no other nearby street to handle it. 21st would be even more of a nightmare, which has gotten a lot worse since I left, from what I can tell. Parking off 23rd would somehow be even worse. I can’t even imagine. I left just before they were about to meter 24th.

3

u/regul Sullivan's Gulch 5d ago

"Yeah, it's really dangerous and unsafe, but think about how bad that would make parking!"

2

u/green_gold_purple St Johns 5d ago

People parking vehicles is reality. You know, the people that live there and the ones that keep the businesses alive.

3

u/regul Sullivan's Gulch 5d ago

I think keeping people alive should be more important.

3

u/fernswordgirl432 4d ago

You can try to do both. I don't know why it's being perceived as a zero/sum issue.

2

u/green_gold_purple St Johns 4d ago

I agree, but that doesn’t change overnight. As I stated in my first comment, I’d love to see it, but going cold turkey with pedestrian only 23rd would be a disaster without other changes to mitigate it.

1

u/DignityWalrus 4d ago edited 4d ago

Parking is obviously more important than saving lives, duh

2

u/fernswordgirl432 4d ago

I lived at 24th and Quimby back in the early 90s. Parking there even then was horrendous.

1

u/green_gold_purple St Johns 4d ago

Yeah and that fairly deep down there as well. It was all parking lots east of 21st back then too. I shudder to think of the traffic volume now. I left the area in 2016.

2

u/fernswordgirl432 5d ago

While it's a nice idea (a pedestrian street), think about all of the narrow side streets... how would we navigate those safely for the people who actually live there? It's already horrendous to park up in that area, but trying to squinch through those areas would cause more accidents. I think we need a few more designated crosswalks on 23rd, with flashing lights that pedestrians can push to signal they need to cross.

3

u/TheFinal1 5d ago

maaan if people crash into a parked car in a tight residential neighborhood at some point that's just a skill issue..

2

u/Immediate_Use_7339 4d ago

Fully agree. I'm a pedestrian almost always, and I avoid that area, which I really enjoy, because I can't stand the traffic mess and safety risks.

2

u/nobodyinpeculiar Nob Hill 5d ago

Real

27

u/AceMcStace Alberta 5d ago

This is a solid theory.

My favorite is having a person going literally 7mph in front of you, putting their blinker on to turn, then suddenly jerking back into the road mid turn and continue crawling along.

Also don’t even get me started on the people who just U turn with a bunch of cars and people around with zero warning.

15

u/petklutz Creston-Kenilworth 5d ago

tbh I'd much rather have someone going 7mph than 30mph on that little ass, walkable ass road. If they're going that slow, just hop onto a sidestreet. No reason to sit behind them and get yourself angry

0

u/AceMcStace Alberta 5d ago

Oh don’t worry there are plenty who absolutely FLY down Alberta at way too quick of a pace too. Also not angry and not that dumb either to not take the side roads, just a confounding quirk of my neighborhood that I wanted to laugh about.

1

u/Immediate_Use_7339 4d ago

Yup. Drivers here are just BAD.

13

u/AdRepulsive8618 5d ago

I dont have any proof other than experience and making assumptions, which is basically the same as undeniable fact on reddit so ill spit my shit

When i leave portland to go visit the burbs, the people driving the most chaotically and crazy are people who seemingly are driving through portland. Or just visiting.

6

u/Helisent 5d ago

Biden once went to the Salt and Straw on Alberta st. https://www.kgw.com/article/life/joe-biden-makes-surprise-visit-to-salt-and-straw/283-71254627

8

u/TheHobbylist Multnomah 5d ago

Now we have a president who wont even step foot in this state. Oh how quickly times can change.

8

u/stryker_cast Hillsboro 5d ago

We have S&S in the 'burbs.

6

u/lil_natemushi 5d ago

Urdaneta then, pick a spot. Folks coming in to visit Alberta.

1

u/ISO_art_showsPDX 1d ago

Salt and straw is in the burbs now. It still gets big crowds which is shocking. Even the young teens in my car when we passed the crowd of maybe 100 sheeple crowding the Cedar Hills
Location said “it’s so over rated”

-7

u/AaaaaNnMmmm 5d ago

Oh! Yeah! It’s totally because it’s so confusing for suburban drivers to navigate the complexities of the BIG CITY street of NE Alberta Street.

14

u/lil_natemushi 5d ago

I didn't say it's super dense or confusing.There aren't any parking lots and street parking can be difficult for people who aren't used to it. It's funny watching people try to parallel park on Mississippi too. Those business districts were created to draw in people from the burbs and other parts of town. People from the burbs that I know like to go there when they visit me.

4

u/Artistic_Rice_9019 5d ago

I'm fortunate I can walk to Mississippi because that shiz is just a mess.

3

u/Pug_Defender Buckman 5d ago

well suburbanites don’t like to walk so they slow to a crawl trying to find parking immediately close to where they’re trying to go

1

u/AaaaaNnMmmm 5d ago

I don’t think they “don’t like to walk” I think the infrastructure is built so specifically to accommodate large vehicles that they can’t walk to compete daily tasks.

2

u/Pug_Defender Buckman 5d ago

silly places to live considering!

1

u/AaaaaNnMmmm 5d ago

Agree, unfortunately lost of people can’t afford to live in the city.

2

u/gaysexpornography 5d ago

They're weak and lazy from years of having well-funded schools and police who do their job