(no subject)

[olivermoss]

Portland is a dark, soaking wet mass of rotting plant matter. It's nice to have some things be as they should be.

It's a bit of a challenge for walking, though, because no one cares for their sidewalks where so it's all sloping pavement slick with rotting leaves. I have no sense of balance, so going down a slope I look like an idiot. I take these tiny steps like I'm navigating the most treacherous terrain. Also, crosswalks are reliably where the streets start flooding.

I really need some shots of that aspect of Portland. I need shots of how wrecked by tree roots sidewalks can be, how in heavy rain plants that grew large over summer have structural failure in heavy rain and just droop or collapse over the sidewalk, and how crosswalks become mini-lakes. I've take a few stabs at those pictures, but don't have one I really like, yet. The rain is letting up for a few days so I wont get my flooding shot. I tried a few last night, but I don't think any are the shot. Still, gotta keep taking wacks at it.

I know I've walked over some ridiculously wrecked sidewalks, but didn't think to shoot them at the time. I hadn't started focusing on 'Portland flavor' shots.

Comments

[dine]

you're so right about neighborhood sidewalks - it makes walking an adventure! I hope you do manage some shots, that's be a good glimpse at Real Portland

[olivermoss]

I gave it a some tries, but I don't have a picture I am fully happy with yet. Gunna keep working on it. I wish I'd gotten out in the 'atmospheric river' more.

[mistressofmuses]

Take those teeny tiny awkward steps because it beats the FUCK out of slipping and falling.

It does not surprise me to learn that Portland would flood in interesting ways, but living in the near-desert, our sorts of flash flooding here I think are very, very different.

[olivermoss]

We just ... can't handle rain? The leaves clog the drains and streets in a lot of parts of town get mini floods. The crosswalks are the low points in the streets for some reasons? We are bad at roads, very bad.

Yeah, I am fine looking like a big stupid dork with tiny steps and my camera on a capture clip.

Desert is more of a 'dry ground can't absorb water' problem, right?

[mistressofmuses]

Yeah, we get so little moisture for such long stretches, that when it does rain there's just nowhere for the water to soak in, so we get a lot of runoff and flash flooding. There are also all the burn scar areas from the fires in 2020, so those caused a ton of mudslides when the spring rain and snowmelt hit.

But that seems kind of surprising (in that way that it probably shouldn't, with everything I find out about Portland), but since rainfall isn't really a rarity, I would think the city would be able to handle it! Things like the crosswalks as the low point is just wild, haha.

[olivermoss]

Portland infrastructure is bad. Like, really bad. We haven't even paved the whole city to this day. I have dirt roads near me, though St. Johns neighborhood takes the cake. We are hilariously bad at rain and flooding in common in some parts of the city. I could go on, like a lot, about Portland's infrastructure. It's all very aesthetic, the cracked roads, broken sidewalks, the bridge from 1917 we still haven't replaced, the areas of town with no drainage, etc. I think we also have the oldest power station still in use in the US.

Yeah, the burn scars are causing lots of flooding all over recently. It's rough.

[mistressofmuses]

I had no idea until fairly recently just HOW bad Portland infrastructure is, and a good amount of that awareness definitely came from things you pointed out! I'd heard things about it before, but didn't quite get just HOW bad a lot of it is. Much of it DOES seem quite aesthetic, and I'm sure adds to the weird-Portland vibe, but... sure does make parts of living in a city difficult when you don't have functional city infrastructure.

[olivermoss]

Yeah, sorry, I'm a bit of a logistics nerd. I can talk water supply, bridges, etc all day.

On one hand, I love it being in such a janky state. It really gives a unique feel and look to the city. The train route problems kneecap gentrification in some areas. But also I will always vote and argue online in favor of maybe replacing the I-5 bridge before it collapses, permanently closing old route 30 to cars, etc.

[mistressofmuses]

I like logistics, so I'm glad to find out more about it. And it's often most interesting when either it's really stunningly effective or... you know, an utter disaster.

I can certainly see it giving some of the unique vibe the area is prized for/prides itself on. But... yeah, "cute and quirky and inconvenient but unique" can only be pushed so far before it is genuinely a safety issue, and I would hope the safety things can be addressed without removing all of the charm and quirkiness that the area has.

While I did drive through part of Portland, it was very brief, so I never got to see MUCH of it. The only part of Oregon I spent any real time in was Newport, which I don't think has *nearly* the scale of weird infrastructure that Portland does.

[olivermoss]

Our infrastructure problems mostly come from political and funding issues that I'll spare you:) I mean, I'd love to complain for a while about the I-5 Bridge, but ...

So much more I need to shoot in this town! I have an infrastructure folder, but not a lot in it. I didn't start with those 'Portland flavor' shots until more recently. Hopefully, I can shoot tonight and find some terrible sidewalks.

[mistressofmuses]

Political and funding issues seem to be the bane of just about ANY project for any reason, ugh. Hahaha, sounds like the I-5 bridge is An Issue.

I like the Portland flavor shots that you have shared. Good luck on your quests to find more!

[olivermoss]

Thanks! I was out last night but had little luck. I thought I'd found a section of blocks I hadn't walked, but I was wrong. Oops.