[Read all of the articles in our Portland Fun Guide HERE! Looking for a print copy? Look at this handy-dandy map!—eds.] After years of depending on TriMet to get around Portland, I’ve developed a complicated relationship with the city’s transit system. One can direct many valid criticisms TriMet’s way—it’s plagued by asshole fare cops, a troubled […]
c3Category — Transportation & Urban Planning
Posted inStreet View
Street View: For Transportation in Portland, “Dreaming Big” Might Mean Starting Small
We can’t have it all.
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 inNews
Metro Says “Yes” To ODOT’s I-5 Plan
The agency plans to begin construction on the Rose Quarter project this summer, but doesn’t have the funding for the entire $1.5-1.9 billion plan.
The Metro Council voted on April 1 to move the Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) I-5 Rose Quarter plan forward, approving $250 million in additional funding for the freeway expansion project. Most members of the Council agreed that while the project may have its flaws, those are outweighed by its potential community development and economic […]
Posted inNews
ODOT Wants To Start Building The I-5 Rose Quarter Project—With Only Enough Money for Half of It
Critics are skeptical the transportation agency will fulfill its promise to reconnect the Albina neighborhood with caps over I-5.
After nearly a decade of planning and frequent political and financial obstacles, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is closer than ever to breaking ground on its I-5 Rose Quarter project—at least, part of it. ODOT’s full plans for I-5 through Portland’s Rose Quarter include widening the freeway in both directions and covering it with […]
Posted inNews
Portland Preps for New, “Toes-in-the-Water” Riverfront Park
The waterfront bowl south of the Hawthorne Bridge is set for redevelopment, giving Portland another access point to the Willamette River.
For years, parks and river access enthusiasts have looked at the Tom McCall Bowl and seen unrealized potential. The bowl, a strip of beach located just south of the Hawthorne Bridge at the tail end of the Tom McCall Waterfront Park, is one of the only places a person can dip their toes in the […]
Posted inNews
Steel Bridge Skatepark Rolls Forward After Major Land Swap Approval
A land transfer between the state and city is officially in motion, putting the long-awaited Portland skatepark closer than ever to actualization.
Portland is closer than ever to breaking ground on the long-envisioned “crown jewel” skatepark on the west side of the Steel Bridge in Old Town. The Steel Bridge Skatepark has been in the works for nearly two decades, with progress waxing and waning throughout that time. But the project has seen significant momentum in the […]
Posted inNews
The Promises and Perils of TriMet’s Safety Response Team
Former and current staff say the program, which TriMet launched as part of an initiative to reimagine public safety in 2021, is exploitative of employees and hasn’t lived up to its potential.
When TriMet launched its Safety Response Team in 2021, sending unarmed workers trained in de-escalation onto Portland’s public transit system, the agency emphasized the program as part of a wider movement to rethink public safety beyond armed police and security guards. The program was developed in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd […]
Posted inNews
Proposed Legislation Threatens Oregon’s Plan to Reduce Diesel Truck Emissions
Some truck manufacturers say they can’t meet requirements under the state’s Advanced Clean Trucks rule and need more time. Climate advocates say the regulation is feasible and important.
When Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission approved the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule in 2021, many people celebrated the move as an important step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality. Emissions from diesel trucks make up a significant chunk of national and statewide greenhouse gas emissions, and exposure to diesel particulate matter is […]
Posted inLove/Sex 2025 ❤️🍆🍑
STREET VIEW: Love and Bicycles
How Portland’s bike scene facilitates romance in the age of dating apps and loneliness.
[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 inNews
Federal Transportation Program Eyes Another Albina Reconnection Project at I-405 Ramps
The US Department of Transportation will give Portland $1 million to study alternatives for the “overbuilt” I-405 ramps in North Portland, which have contributed to neighborhood disconnection for more than 50 years.
North Portland’s Boise and Eliot neighborhoods are some of the most walkable and bikeable in the city, with easy access to cafes, bars, and parks. New residential and commercial developments are popping up regularly in the neighborhoods, especially along North Mississippi Vancouver, and Williams Avenues. But some neighborhood residents and advocates say the area is […]
Posted inNews
With $850 Million Secured, ODOT Plans to Break Ground on Rose Quarter Project
A recent funding allocation gives ODOT enough to start the long-awaited I-5 expansion—but the agency doesn’t have enough to finish the rest of the project.
Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) officials say after years of planning amid financial and political uncertainty, the state can finally begin work on its plan to expand and cap I-5 through Portland’s Rose Quarter next year. But the agency is still hundreds of millions in the hole for the project, and its current construction plan […]
Posted inNews
As Public Comment Deadline Looms, Critics Elevate Case Against Current I-5 Bridge Replacement Plan
There’s a rare opportunity to comment on controversial environmental impacts of the plan to replace and expand I-5 from Portland to Vancouver.
Monday, November 18 marks one of the last opportunities to comment on environmental impacts of a current plan to replace and expand the I-5 bridge from Portland to Vancouver. The Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) project is currently projected to cost north of $7.5 billion. As the project undergoes evaluation by the US Department of Transportation, […]