Between a rock and a hard place: WSDOT's controversial approach to homelessness
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Boulders placed on the shoulder of I-5 in Olympia send an undeniable message: the homeless are not welcome here.
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) crews are responsible for using nearly $700,000 taxpayer dollars to install the massive rocks along the highway.
On display in Olympia
WSDOT says at one point, 150 people called a wooded stretch of I-5 home. The agency reports 130 people living near the Hobby Lobby on Sleater Kinney Rd accepted services. Of that group, all but two are still in housing.
Once WSDOT crews cleared the site of encampments and people, the boulders began to arrive—by the hundreds.
Alexandrea Johnson works in this part of Thurston County. She recalls first noticing the obstructions a few weeks back. Johnson approves of the new additions.
"It’s kind of like a strip of land and its just rocks everywhere," said Johnson. "Pretty decent sized rocks, and they're spaced so things can't be put in between them."
Local man Layne Moris supports the cleanup, but questions the state’s investment. WSDOT confirms they spent exactly $671,761 for the boulders in the Olympia area. Specifically, former encampment sites on Sleater Kinney, Wheeler, and Lilly Rd off I-5.
"There’s a lot more we could do for the homeless, that money could have been spent in better ways," said Moris.
History of the ‘hostile architecture’ tactic
Back in 2015, the City of Tacoma took heat for using large rocks along streets to crack down on loitering and crime. Many criticized the hostile architecture tactic as inhumane. Public outcry forced local leaders to reconsider.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Did city officials use boulders to remove homeless in Tacoma?
Large rocks used to deter the homeless have been documented in Los Angeles, Portland and Spokane.
What’s next?
While the intention of these obstacles is to ward away campers, WSDOT emphasized that it has not stopped caring. In a statement, the agency promised it remains committed to its Encampment Resolution Program which successfully relocated 836 people last year.
"Boulders are not used on many sites, but were employed at three places in Thurston County because of the history of encampments in those specific spaces, the size of those encampments and the risk of re-encampment and potential for fast, exponential growth. Most of those boulders were placed last fall and between that work and monitoring the sites, they have not been re-encamped." – WSDOT spokesperson, Kris Abrudan
Whether lawmakers this upcoming session will set aside more funding remains to be seen. In his budget proposal, Governor Jay Inslee is asking for another $10 million for camp removal, on top of more than $140 million already spent on the project.