Celebrating New Year’s Eve safely in Portland. Police adding extra patrols and free rides on transit

As the City of Portland prepares to ring in the new year, police are reminding people to celebrate responsibly.

“This is a night where a lot of people are going to celebrate and we want to make sure that people do so safely,” said Sergeant Kevin Allen. “This is definitely one of the big nights of the year where we see a lot of drunk drivers and that’s not what we want to see.”

Downtown Portland was filled with people Tuesday, some from out of town who came in to ring in the new year at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

“I’m coming with my grandma to stay at a hotel to celebrate New Year’s and watch the drones,” said Lauren Powell.

The free celebration includes light shows at 9 p.m. and midnight with more than 200 drones and an 80’s dance party.

“I thought oh my gosh she would love that,” said Kippi Wesely, Lauren’s grandma. “I decided we’d come down here and stay in a hotel. It’s a nice hotel and they’re very, very nice inside there. I figured if we can’t see it really well we can just come here and see it.”

With more people on the streets, Portland police officers are increasing their presence too. You’ll see walking patrols downtown throughout the night.

“We encourage folks, if they see Portland police officers, come say hello, we’d certainly love to see you,” said Allen.

Allen said the community has asked for more visible police, and they delivered.

“That’s that’s such a great idea to establish a sense of community,” said Jim Buzan. “People supporting each other and supporting law enforcement because they need help too.”

Allen says it’s also up to the community to keep one another safe by making good decisions.

“Our ask for folks is to plan ahead, utilize the rideshare, utilize transit, a designated driver, just know what you’re going to do before you get down there. We all know that once you’ve imbibed a little bit, it can be difficult to make those decisions and figure out how you’re going to get home so planning ahead is the key in this.”

TriMet is offering free rides on busses and trains starting at 8 p.m.
Portland Street Car and C-TRAN are also free Tuesday night.

https://katu.com/news/local/portland-police-on-patrol-for-drunk-drivers-urge-responsible-behavior-on-new-years-eve
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Author: KATU News
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News post in at: January 1, 2025, 3:00 am.

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