Mayor Dion is failing the residents of the Portland peninsula. While I sympathize with the challenges faced by addicts and marginalized individuals, why are we, along with tens of thousands of tourists, continuously exposed to people injecting illegal drugs, often beside others who are passed out, along Commercial Street? Just this morning, on my way to vote, I encountered a half-dressed person, surrounded by debris, in a building alcove. To avoid disturbing them and their food, I stepped off the curb with my dog, only to navigate around a stream of urine and into another type of human waste on the street.

Needles are increasingly scattered along the new walkways near the Narrow Gauge Railway, and distressed individuals are frequently found at Exit 7 off 295 North, asking for money and littering the intersections.

It is disappointing to find myself treating the clearly troubled and desperate with the same lack of respect that the city, and those responsible for managing these issues, show to us, the residents, visitors and workers.

Where are the police on the waterfront? Why, at the very least, are they not moving the open drug use away from the main roads? And, why are the streets littered with the mess left by these individuals?

The city must prioritize funding for social services and retrain the police to tackle these recurring issues effectively.

Vicki Friedman
Portland