Fwd: Portland Police - WNBR

[Carl Larson]

Hi all.

Just wanted to pass on to you the nice response I got from the PBB about the WNBR. Good stuff.

Carl

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Barnum, Bret <Bret....@portlandoregon.gov>
Date: Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 4:54 PM
Subject: Re: Portland Police - WNBR
To: "carl.s...@gmail.com" <carl.s...@gmail.com>
Cc: "Dillmann, Katja" <Katja.D...@portlandoregon.gov>, "Hendrie, David" <David....@portlandoregon.gov>

Thanks for the nice comments Carl.  I will pass it along to our members and command staff.  I would whole heartedly agree regarding the alcohol piece.  Thanks for doing your part at prevention with the alcohol signs (great idea).

My two cents:  this event is friendly and fun for several reasons.  One because of the start time.  It encourages so many more (non party type) people to participate, and it keeps it less problematic for the police.   I would imagine if the later start and drinking angle became more on the forefront, we the police,  would be faced with additional issues and thus depleting resources intended for securing your actual ride route, thereby creating a risk to your participants from an unsecured route.

With that said, I appreciate the positive feedback, and the Police Bureau has really been trying hard to bridge the gaps with many of our community groups over the years.

It was a good time had by all.  Look forward to working with you on this event in the future.

Regards,

Bret

Sgt. Bret Barnum
Portland Police Bureau
Traffic Division
Special Events Coordinator
503-823-5024 (Desk)
bret....@portlandoregon.gov

-----Original message-----

From: Carl Larson <carl.s...@gmail.com>
To: "Barnum, Bret" <Bret....@portlandoregon.gov>

Cc: "Dillmann, Katja" <Katja.D...@portlandoregon.gov>
Sent: Tue, Jun 19, 2012 18:40:03 GMT+00:00

Subject: Re: Portland Police - WNBR

Bret,

Just when I thought I was done with scantily-clad parades, my girlfriend convinced me to march with her on Sunday, in a tshirt and briefs, in the Pride Parade. Seeing all the officers supporting that event, some of whom I probably passed the night before, I was very thankful for all of the Traffic Division's hard work. 

I just wanted to express my gratitude for being such a willing, forthright, and flexible contact within the PPB. All night long on Saturday, I heard people remark on how much they appreciated your support and how proud it made them of their city. Your officers were friendly and professional and there was never a doubt that their chief concern truly was everyone's safety.

I also wanted to thank you for your comments about alcohol at our meeting. You may've noticed that we had signs prohibiting alcohol at the start and, in future years, we hope to continue to discourage pre-ride binging. There has been some talk about pushing the event back to midnight again and, largely because of alcohol concerns (for participants and spectators) organizers have pushed back against that suggestion.

I have some thoughts on route and meetup point improvements. If you or your team have any comments or suggestions to pass on, I'd be happy to direct them to the right people.

Thanks again for your good work.

Carl

[bro...@badexample.org]

Carl,

Thanks for sharing this! I'm kind of surprised to hear the thoughts about the potential downsides to pushing the start time to midnight. I would have assumed that would mean much smaller crowds, fewer spectators, less traffic on the road to contend with. Hmm, lots of food for thought.

Anyway, thanks for passing it along!

- b