Secured New Funding:

Successfully lobbied the mayor to secure $2 million in additional funding to support the removal of additional derelict cars and RVs from Portland’s streets.

Secured new partnership with PPB:

Understanding that police presence drastically increases the safety and efficiency of removals, Commissioner Mapps secured a more consistent partnership with PPB’s Neighborhood Response Team (NRT), increasing the prevalence of “the RV Detail,” allowing PBOT to remove more RVs in a safer and more efficient way.

Rebuilt the connection with the court system:

A former PBOT Commissioner had decided to cut off the parking enforcement’s connection with the Multnomah County Court system, preventing parking enforcement officers from holding people deeply accountable and allowing bad actors to rack up more than $10,000 in unpaid fines on single vehicles.
Commissioner Mapps worked with PBOT staff to rebuild that working relationship and allow the courts to begin issuing tag warrants for vehicles again - allowing PBOT to restart the use of the boot, and other immobilizing devices, to more effectively remove bad actors from the road, put them in front of a judge, and hold them accountable.

Hired 22 new Parking enforcement officers:

To meet Commissioner Mapps' goal of enhanced parking enforcement citywide, addressing staffing shortages was critical. Commissioner Mapps, in collaboration with PBOT, successfully secured City Council approval for funding 22 new parking enforcement officer positions in PBOT’s 2023-2024 budget.

Started a city-wide “enforcement push”:

Commissioner Mapps recognized and mirrored long-standing public frustration with limited enforcement outside of meter districts and the central city. As new staff were brought on board, he initiated a comprehensive enforcement campaign, targeting neighborhoods across the entire city. PBOT enforcement teams began systematically issuing tickets for offenses previously deprioritized, such as expired registration, blocking intersections, and wrong-way parking. In the first neighborhood alone, over 8,000 tickets were issued.

Commissioner Mapps’ directive to PBOT was to ensure every neighborhood receives this level of comprehensive enforcement attention at least once by the end of 2025.

passed updates to city code to bolster this work:

Commissioner Mapps spearheaded an effort to pass updates to the City’s parking enforcement and towing code (Title 16), to allow for:

• Allow immediate towing of vehicles that are not displaying valid registration, covered or missing license plates, and covered or defaced VIN numbers (among other things)

• Went after the grey market and bad actors directly by allowing PBOT to pursue the cost of vehicle disposal incurred by the City, to be recovered from the last registered owner of the vehicle. Enforcement teams had reported dozens of vehicles being abandoned at homeless camps, with the doors open, and the keys on the dashboard. This indicates that bad actors are using the City (and Portland taxpayers) as a passthrough to avoid paying to properly dispose of an old and derelict RV.

• Expanded the authority to call in tows to supervisors in every Public Works bureau (PBOT, Water, BES, and Parks) to allow for more efficient removal of vehicles in emergency situations.

• Updated the criteria for allowing vehicles to be retrieved from the City’s impound. To retrieve a vehicle, you must possess: proof of ownership, a valid driver’s license, proof of insurance for the vehicle, and proof of registration for the vehicle. Otherwise, we will no longer be releasing vehicles.