Portland to use traffic barrels as a solution to high-speed shootings rather than refunding police

Portland officials are attempting to solve a spike in city gun violence, with traffic barrels instead of police.

According to the Portland Tribune, City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty ordered the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to install the barrels across a six-block area in the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood which has seen an uptick in shootings, some of which have been perpetrated by high-speed drivers.

"I'm directing PBOT to be more active and engaged in holistic solutions to community safety that can supplement police and other bureaus' roles in this effort."

Workers have installed eight traffic barrels near Southeast Woodstock Street and 72nd Avenue, and will add another 18 barrels next week.

According to the outlet, since last year Portland officials have been placing hundreds of 'local access only' barriers as part of their Slow Streets program, designed to create more road space for cyclists and pedestrians. In August, Hardesty approved PBOT spending $250,000 to replace the temporary signs with concrete barriers.

Many ridiculed the move for the city, which is experiencing skyrocketing homicides since the police were defunded.

Shootings have skyrocketed in the city after Hardesty abolished the police gun violence reduction team last year. She has a history of anti-police radicalism. Most recently, Hardesty and anti-police activists tried to get a contracted city worker fired for displaying a Thin Blue Line flag decal on his truck.

The "Defund the Police" councilwoman called the cops on an unprovoked Lyft driver over an insignificant dispute about an open window. Hardesty later pulled the race card to defend herself, blaming the incident on "white supremacists."