Say what you want, but when we go to downtown Portland we see wall to wall panhandlers and I don't know how anyone can deny that.
Well..., I'm from Portland (not there now, though) and I can deny that. I didn't say that there were no panhandlers, as I pointed out that story... LOL... It's just that they're nowhere near the "wall-to-wall" description... :-)
Now, let me point out what else you might see in downtown Portland. For a while there was "statue man" who would stand there, motionless and be painted in all one color, making out like a statue, and there would be a cup there for you to drop money into it, if you wanted.
And then, there might be a guitar player or two, with their guitar case open on the sidewalk and playing it while people dropped money into it. And I've seen violin players, trumpet players and accordian players, too... :-)
One time (and I think it was during Christmas, they had a group of guys pounding on plastic five-gallon buckets, turned upside-down, doing them like a drum set. They were actually pretty darned good and had quite a rythm going.
Over by Powell's Bookstore, maybe you'll have a guy in a wheelchair sitting there for handouts, and perhaps over by the downtown library you might see someone panhandling out in front.
But, you won't necessarily see anyone panhandling around Pioneer Square, as there are police around (or guards hired by the downtown merchants) who keep that pretty straight. And also, around in downtown Portland I always saw a lot of police presence -- on bikes or cars or horses or walking. So, you don't see trouble around there in downtown Portland and the merchants want to keep it that way, because people do come into downtown Portland during the day and evenings for business and/or pleasure or shopping -- as there's a whole lot to do in downtown Portland.
So, no, there's not trouble in downtown Portland and if there is any panhandling (which there is anywhere and there is some in Portland), they also know to not be aggressive, too, as there is an aggressive panhandling law and they know they can get in trouble for it and the police will be down on them in a flash, too... :-)
On top of the pandhandlers, you will also get the Christian street preachers, too. And actually, to tell you the truth, I don't mind the panhandlers at all, or the musicians or the "mimes" or the Christian street preachers. I sometimes talk to each and/or all of them, from time to time.... :-)
BUT, I will tell you about one time I was already in a bad mood one day when one panhandler came up to me. I was coming out of an apartment building across from the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Portland (the one with the tall spiky/pointy roof that goes up really high in the skyline (over by around 10th and Alder, I think). My car was parked across the street on the church side of the street and I just got in, when I spotted a panhandler making a "bee-line" straight for me. He didn't have to say anything because I knew what was coming next. I just blurted out (and I never do this, either...) -- I yelled, before he even got to me or said even one word, "DON'T EVEN TRY!!" LOL...
He stopped dead in his tracks, half-way across the street and turned around and walked back over to where he was before and never said a thing... :-)
I sorta surprised myself with those words coming out of my mouth, and I've never done that again. But, I kinda laughed at how it all "came down" when I thought about it again, later on. He just stopped dead in the middle of the street, swiveled around and went back without saying one word to me... :-)
And I dunno, what is aggressive? When they shout at you as you walk by, when they walk up to you, or do they have to put a knife in your gut or something? Sorry, but we couldn't walk a block without encountering one, and often two or three beggars. That's wall to wall in my book.