‘Last Thursday’ could be on its last leg
PORTLAND, Ore. - Last Thursday attracts thousands of people to a Northeast Portland street during the summer but city officials said they might shut it down.
Officials say the monthly art event on Northeast Alberta has gotten expensive for taxpayers and has become a burden for neighbors.
The art is the upside to the event but many neighbors are dismayed about the lack of parking and huge crowds that force the city to close down blocks of the street because of public safety concerns.
Also, the behavior of some people irritates neighbors.
“When you see people urinating in somebody’s truck, or in their garbage can or something like that, it’s a little upsetting,” says Jeanine Douglas, who is a resident on Northeast Alberta.
Now that the city tab for things like traffic control totals up to $10,000 a month, City Commissioner Amanda Fritz says Last Thursday has gotten too big for that kind of subsidy and too big to be run so loosely.
“There’s any number of different ways we can continue it but be slightly different, or we could figure out how to stop it,” says Fritz.
The problem with getting any agreement on any changes is that Last Thursday doesn’t have any real organizers. It’s kind of an impromptu event whick makes it difficult to deal with.
But Stacey Matney, owner of Pie Footwear on Northeast Alberta and the president of the Alberta Business Association, says keeping the event going is good for business.
“If it comes to shutting down, we definitely want to step in and help see what we can do to make sure this goes on because, for us, as a business, it’s a great marketing tool,” she says.
The city plans to hold a meeting to gather public input on this issue Monday, Feb. 8 at the Acadian Ballroom, 1829 N.E. Alberta from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.