More Protests—Expect Traffic Delays

Tuesday, November 15, 2016
GoLocalPDX News Team

It is not a protest about President-Elect Donald Trump, this one is about a pipeline, but Portland should expect more traffic delays, according to police.

Two protests scheduled for Tuesday afternoon may affect traffic in Downtown Portland and the Lloyd District. The protests are part of a "national day of action" against the North Dakota Pipeline (#NoDAPL). 

At 4:00 p.m., protests and rallies are scheduled outside Army Corps of Engineers buildings, located at 333 Southwest 1st Avenue in Downtown Portland and 1201 Northeast Lloyd Boulevard. The events in both Downtown Portland and the Lloyd District may affect commuters and TriMet users if participants block streets and/or affect transit lines. Protesters are reminded that stepping into the roadway and blocking transit lines is dangerous and illegal. Protesters are asked to be considerate of other people's needs to use the roadway and the transit system. 

As with all demonstrations and marches, the Police Bureau's goal is to ensure a safe, secure and orderly event for community members, minimize disruptions to traffic, and to protect property. 

While there is no information at this time to determine if there is intent to affect traffic, recent protests suggest that there are people that may embed themselves in large crowd an attempt to influence crowd behavior. Real-time updates will be shared by the Portland Police Bureau through the Bureau's Twitter page, @portlandpolice 

It should be clear that "free speech events" do not require a permit; but, marches or demonstrations occurring in public streets that restrict movement of other community members do require a permit issued by the City of Portland to allow for the safety of all. No permits were issued for today's events.