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Transportation
Posted inNews

ODOT Denied $750 Million Federal Grant for Rose Quarter Expansion

Advocates hope the financial quandary will prompt ODOT to rethink the scale of the I-5 project through central Portland.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) officials say the state transportation department didn’t receive a coveted $750 million federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant it hoped would help fund its plan to expand and cap I-5 through Portland’s Rose Quarter.  While ODOT leaders say they’ll seek other means of funding for the entire Rose Quarter […]

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 inNews

De-Paving Paradise

After years of pop-up block parties and meetings with the city, a nonprofit will de-pave and revegetate a dangerous intersection on SE Sandy Boulevard.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Organizers with the nonprofit Depave have been working for years to transform a sketchy Central Eastside intersection into a car-free plaza with some much-needed green space. After many rounds of community outreach and several pop-up activation events, Depave is close to turning its vision of a permanent plaza at the intersection of Southeast Seventh Avenue […]

Posted inNews

TriMet Board Members Say They Do Ride Public Transit (But It’s Unclear How Often)

Updated records from TriMet paint a fuzzy picture about board members’ transit use, but still suggest infrequent ridership.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

TriMet says it provided incomplete records to a Portland resident who asked how frequently the public transit agency’s board members use the transit system. The notice from TriMet came in response to reporting in the Mercury that detailed the number of times each board member tapped their agency ID cards, which double as Hop passes, […]

Posted inNews

Majority of TriMet Board Members Don’t Ride Public Transit

Four out of seven board members never tapped their TriMet ID cards last year, records show. One critic says it makes the members unfit to serve.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Updated: August 1, 7 pm The TriMet Board of Directors is responsible for making key decisions for Portland’s public transit agency, affecting everybody who rides the system every day. But according to TriMet ridership records, only two of the agency’s six current board members regularly used their transit passes last year. The other four never […]

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 inNews

At a Critical Point for the I-5 Rose Quarter Plan, ODOT Critics Urge Feds Against Funding the Freeway Expansion

ODOT is up for a major federal grant to expand and cap I-5 through Portland’s Rose Quarter. In letters to USDOT, environmental and transportation advocates lay out their opposition.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

In May, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) submitted an application for a $750 million U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) INFRA grant that could make or break its plans to expand I-5 through Portland’s Rose Quarter. However, while ODOT waits for the award announcement, environmental and transportation advocates who oppose the freeway expansion are urging […]

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 inNews

Portland Will Rev Up Parking, Vehicle Registration Enforcement

Parking fees won’t sustain PBOT, but transportation leaders say increased enforcement will boost public safety and the financial health of the bureau.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Parking enforcement in Portland has ranged from lax to nonexistent over the past few years thanks to pandemic restrictions and staff shortages, but the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) says the days of leniency are officially over.  With Portland City Council giving the bureau the green light to hire 22 new parking enforcement officers, 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 inNews

Portland Transportation and Climate Groups Sue Over I-5 Expansion Plan

The five plaintiffs say the Oregon Department of Transportation’s I-5 Rose Quarter project goes against city and regional climate plans. They also say it’s a bad way to spend $1.9 billion.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has spent the better part of the last decade trying to change the public narrative about its plan to expand I-5 through Portland’s Rose Quarter. A new lawsuit, filed last Friday by five local environmental and transportation safety advocacy organizations, is just the latest indication ODOT’s efforts haven’t worked.  […]

Posted inNews

Industrial Northwest Redevelopment Plan Includes Streetcar Extension and Housing

The Montgomery Park Area draft plan envisions a new neighborhood in an underutilized part of the city.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Northwest Portland has seen significant changes over the last several decades. The Pearl District and Slabtown neighborhoods, formerly dominated by industry, are now some of the city’s chicest enclaves—with an impressive number of affordable housing developments and public transit options to boot.  But Northwest Portland’s transformative projects have mostly remained south of NW Vaughn Street, […]

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