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Street View

A regular column on all things Portland transportation/city planning/urbanism/whatever writer Taylor Griggs feels like talking about.
Posted inStreet View

Street View: Sundays Are For Open Streets

Inspired by similar events in Latin America, Portland hosted its first Sunday Parkways event in 2008. Nearly 20 years later, the city has yet to fully commit to the open streets concept. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

In the early 1970s, bike activists in Bogotá, Colombia convinced their city leaders to close two major thoroughfares to car traffic, giving the space to people riding bikes and walking for one day. Thus began the tradition of Bogotá’s world-renowned Ciclovía (cycleway) events, which now occur every Sunday and on most holidays, transforming more than […]

Posted inStreet View

Street View: The Band-Aid Bill

Nobody really likes the Democrats’ transportation funding package. But Republicans are wrong when they say it’s not a compromise.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

The Oregon House of Representatives managed to squeak through the latest version of a long-awaited transportation funding package earlier this week. But nobody’s popping champagne yet—and they probably won’t be anytime soon. That’s partially because momentum on the transportation bill, which Governor Tina Kotek and Democratic leaders introduced ahead of the special legislative session, is once […]

Posted inStreet View

Street View: For Transportation in Portland, “Dreaming Big” Might Mean Starting Small

We can’t have it all.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Earlier this week, to the dismay of local freeway fighters, Metro Council moved to allow the Oregon Department of Transportation to get started on the initial phases of its I-5 Rose Quarter project. Given the controversy surrounding the freeway project, the councilors apparently felt they had to justify their decision, responding in part to the […]

Posted inLove/Sex 2025 ❤️🍆🍑

STREET VIEW: Love and Bicycles

How Portland’s bike scene facilitates romance in the age of dating apps and loneliness. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

[Read all of the articles in our Love/Sex issue HERE! Looking for a print copy? Look at this handy-dandy map!—eds.] When Carey Booth and Jack Coleman met in the spring of 2023, neither of them had any inkling of their future together. Both were in their mid-60s, retired, and single, but they were in different […]

Posted inElection Guide 2024

Street View: How Transportation is Shaping This Year’s Election

Many of this year’s City Council candidates can hold their own in wonky transportation spaces. Here’s how activists got in their ears, and what might come of it.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Despite claims about the political influence of Portland’s all-powerful “bike lobby,” transportation issues have not been a top city priority for some time. This is partially evident from the ignorant rhetoric out of the current Portland City Council, but it’s also clear just from taking a look around the city: Portland officials have long neglected […]

Posted inStreet View

STREET VIEW: The Past, Present, and Future of Sandy Boulevard

Sandy Blvd needs work. But it has good bones, and a rich, fascinating history.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Sandy Boulevard is weird. It’s a former state highway that cuts diagonally across Northeast Portland’s otherwise (relatively) tidy street grid, creating dozens of horrible, six-way intersections that can seem impossible to traverse. It’s statistically one of Portland’s most dangerous streets; the site of a disproportionate number of traffic fatalities for people driving, walking, and biking.  […]

Posted inStreet View

STREET VIEW: Is the Central Eastside Good Now?

Okay, the area has always had its charms. But thanks to new bike infrastructure and a vision for the future, it’s getting a lot better.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

On a scorching Sunday at the end of July a couple years ago, I hopped on my bike and raced over to Portland’s Central Eastside, where a massive and revelrous gathering was taking place. I had been looking forward to the event for weeks, knowing it would be a real “who’s who” of Portland; a […]

Posted inStreet View

STREET VIEW: Let Portland’s E-Bike Revolution Begin

A plan to use PCEF money for electric bike rebates could be a game-changer for the city—if leaders are willing to listen.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Over the last few years, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of witnessing dozens of people having their first experience on an electric bike. Even though the e-bike has become a standard in my personal transportation repertoire, I always get a rush of excitement when I watch someone else experience the electric pedal boost for the […]

Posted inStreet View

STREET VIEW: Biketown for Who?

Portland deserves a better bike share program.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

At the end of May, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) announced upcoming adjustments to Biketown, the city’s Nike-branded bike share program. The changes involve cuts to Biketown for All: the popular, critical component of the bike share system that has allowed thousands of low-income Portlanders to temporarily rent electric bikes, essentially free of charge.  […]

Posted inOpinion

STREET VIEW: Paying for the Pavement

Portland’s gas tax is a cheap price to pay for all the costs of driving a car.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

There’s been some anxious energy surrounding Portland’s 10-cent gas tax, which is on the ballot for renewal in the upcoming primary election. The tax funds the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) Fixing Our Streets maintenance program, going toward street paving and safety projects like traffic signals, sidewalk installation and repair, and street lighting. And given […]

Posted inStreet View

STREET VIEW: Public Transit Safety Concerns Deserve a Thoughtful Response

We can’t just sweep violence under the rug. But a punitive approach to public safety isn’t the way, either.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Last Friday evening, Michael Brady boarded an eastbound MAX train downtown. Tragically, he wouldn’t make it off the train alive. After being stabbed on the train near the 82nd Avenue station, Brady succumbed to his injuries. The suspected killer, Shondel Larkin, told police he had been hearing voices and was apparently afraid that Brady was […]

Posted inOpinion

STREET VIEW: Soho House and Portland’s Disappearing Public Spaces

The meaning of public space is being tarnished and sanitized for the rich.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Need a new place to hang out? Look no further than Soho House, which just opened in Portland’s Central Eastside: A combination community workspace, gym, restaurant, social club, and solution to any isolation you may feel. We all know about the demise of American public gathering places—what could be better than a local Soho House […]

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