(Photos: Patrick Croasdaile)
‘Cartlandia,’ the bike-centric food cart pod on the Springwater Corridor Trail we told you about back in January, is about to open.
I caught up with the man behind the development (who also did the Mississippi Marketplace in North Portland), Roger Goldingay, to get an update and learn more about this exciting project.
Cartlandia is set to open on May 1st, and will have the capacity for around 35 food carts — all accessible directly from the Springwater Corridor Trail through dedicated, paved entrances along the path.
Being on the Springwater Corridor — which connects all the way to downtown Portland — the carts will be easily accessible to an entire region of bicycling customers. People can even take the Green Line MAX train to the Flavel St. Station (just to the east), hop on the Springwater, and be at Cartlandia in just a few pedal strokes.
The location along a biking and walking path was one of Goldingay’s key considerations in purchasing the lot.
The success of his Mississippi Marketplace food cart pod convinced him that bicycle accessibility would play a major role in any future pods he developed. A regular bike rider himself, Roger thinks, “bikes and carts [are] a perfect combination.”
“I want people to be able to go [with their bikes] to the area where they’re going to order and eat. We’re going to have parking for bikes everywhere.”
While bike and MAX access were key considerations for Goldingay, he admits that, “The carts will not survive if it’s just bike and foot traffic.” Cartlandia will have 40 car parking spaces to capture some of the 3,000 or so cars that pass by on SE 82nd every hour.
Regardless of how people get to Cartlandia, Goldingay also sees the project having spillover benefits for the surrounding neighborhoods. The nearby Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood is working-class and diverse (the Thien Quang Buddhist Temple is just across the street) — a much different type of neighborhood than inner Portland.
Goldingay says, “The response from the neighborhood has been amazing.” Answering my question about how nearby businesses were responding to his development, he said he hadn’t had any complaints. He referred to the success of Mississippi Marketplace, where businesses nearby noticed an upswing in customers after his carts became operational. Roger is hoping for a similar outcome with Cartlandia.
Goldingay hopes to attract more than food carts to the development. He is currently looking for bike-centric businesses and has talked with a potential investor about running a small bike shop or repair station. With about 1,000 bikes passing by every day, it seems like an ideal spot for some sort of bike business with a knack for service.
In you’re interested, drop Goldingay a line at Cartlandia.com.
For everyone else, it’s time to start planning some rides. A good chance to visit Cartlandia is the East Portland Sunday Parkways on May 22nd — the route comes within easily pedaling distance.