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(Graphic by Parametrix)
The Lloyd Transportation Management Association (TMA), a non-profit business association, wants to convert NE Holladay Street to a “carfree transit corridor” that would run between the Rose Quarter and NE 13th Ave.
with MAX on other side of the median.
The street currently carries two-way MAX light rail traffic on one side and one-way (east) motor vehicle traffic and a lane for parked cars on the other.
By closing the street to motorized traffic, the Lloyd TMA says they’ll create “a green corridor that connects Holladay Park, Oregon Square, and the Eastbank Esplanade for the use of pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users.
In a proposal about the project sent to Mayor Adams’ office and City of Portland traffic engineers, Lloyd TMA staffer Heather McCarey wrote that Holladay street is, “a strong candidate for one of the City’s first conversions of an auto prioritized street to a bike and pedestrian prioritized street.”
“The corridor will be a place for tourist and business visitors to experience Portland’s famous bike infrastructure and culture first-hand. It will boost business for area restaurants, cafes and retail by creating an attractive furniture zone that is free from noise and pollution caused by the automobile.”
— From the project proposal
According to the proposal, once the street is closed to cars, the city would install bike activated signals at all signal crossings.
The Lloyd District is a major destination for thousands of Portland commuters, tourists, shoppers, and students. It is the home of major regional employers like Metro, Integra, Kaiser Permanente, PacificCorp, the State of Oregon, and the Bonneville Power Administration. Other major destinations within a quarter mile of NE Holladay are: the Lloyd Center Mall, which draws 15 million people a year; the Rose Garden Arena, home of the Trail Blazers; Benson High School; and the Oregon Convention Center.
Project backers at the Lloyd TMA say the plan is well-aligned with official transportation goals of the City and the region and that the costs would be relatively low “due to the ability to use existing infrastructure.”
So far, the idea is in its preliminary stages, but public outreach and planning is moving forward. McCarey shared information about the project at the recent Bike to Work Day breakfast and she plans to present the idea to the City of Portland’s Bicycle Advisory Committee later this summer.
Stay tuned for opportunities to learn more and get involved with this exciting project.
— Download a PDF of the graphic at the top of this story (2.4MB)