State transportation officials said Wednesday that they plan to clear a tent encampment just off Interstate 295 in Portland on Nov. 1.
Dozens of tents have occupied half of the park-and-ride lot on Marginal Way in Portland for several months now. But the Maine Department of Transportation has warned for weeks that the tents can't stay there.
The DOT said Wednesday that setting a Nov. 1 deadline "prevents the disruption of unhoused individuals during the winter months and allows MaineDOT to prepare for its winter maintenance responsibilities at the lot."
“MaineDOT has coordinated with the City of Portland to implement this restoration,” the department said in a statement. “he city and other service providers will continue to work with unhoused individuals to provide offers of housing or shelter as Nov. 1 approaches. On Nov. 1, MaineDOT will work with the Maine Department of Public Safety to safely and respectfully remove any remaining camps.”
This will be the latest in a series of sweeps of encampments around the city – actions that have sparked criticism from people living in the camps as well as advocates for unhoused individuals. The Marginal Way camp, which is located between I-295 and a business district, grew in size in August and September after the city cleared two other tent villages over the course of several weeks, prompting many individuals to move to Marginal Way.
The city is under pressure from all sides to provide more solutions to Portland's growing unhoused population. Portland officials have explored adding beds to the homeless services center, although City Council members narrowly rejected a 50-bed expansion this month. Advocates have said the city needs to provide more services, such as mental health counseling and substance use disorder treatment, to help the homeless population transition.
Portland officials also plan to clear tents from abutting, city-owned land along Marginal Way on Nov. 1.
“The City’s Encampment Crisis Response Team (ECRT) is committed to continuing to work with unhoused individuals at the Park & Ride encampment until that date, and hope to successfully encourage as many individuals as possible to transition to emergency shelter or other housing alternatives,” city spokesperson Jessica Grondin said in a statement.
