The ‘Jungle’ is like a bad movie trilogy that just won’t end

From the people who brought you: ‘We’re cleaning out the ‘Jungle’” came the sequel “No, we’re not clearing out the ‘Jungle.’” Then came the trilogy, “Let’s put plumbing in the ‘Jungle.’” Now, there’s a brand new release: “We’re really cleaning out the ‘Jungle.’”

On Friday, the city and state teamed together to clear out the controversial Sodo homeless encampment. They’ve handed out notices and placed signage at access points of the site. At 8 a.m. on Oct. 11, it’s go-time. Heavy machinery will come in to upgrade a dirt access road so emergency responders and I-5 bridge inspectors will have better access.

Mayor Ed Murray’s name is not in this at all, so it really might happen.

ACLU homeless ordinance accepted by Seattle council

On its surface, this seems to me like a step in the right direction. But what has actually changed since episodes one, two and three? We keep hearing that the reason for not moving people out is because we need housing first. That they have nowhere to go — which is why we are still seeing tents in parks, sometimes even during youth football games. As my co-host Don O’Neill says, these displaced people will still end up at your local park, parking lot and neighborhood.

So where does this leave us? First of all, I feel so bad for the Union Gospel Mission. They have just been kicked around like a football and expected to clean up after everybody and everything. We’ve met with their leadership – they are good people and their hearts are in the right place. Their boots are on the ground and they are connecting people with services and housing. They are a success story.

Then there is the question of what Seattle leadership is actually doing. If they really want to target housing first, how about they take some of that $300-plus million over the next seven years and build your own housing!? This is not rocket science. Paul Allen and his foundation did that steel-module housing for under $1 million that he can put anywhere. So take some of this money you already have earmarked and just do it.

Let’s try Allen’s steel-container model. Or utilize those Jersey devil guys who worked at UW and have created sustainable housing all over the world. We have the resources here but, because this is what Seattle does, we want to build a situation where officials can add layer upon layer of bureaucracy so nobody can be held fully accountable.

I guess we’ll see what happens with this next blockbuster.