close Willamette Blvd to auto traffic.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
Mayor Sam Adams used his State of the City address to announce that he remains committed to five Sunday Parkways events this year. He also announced that, for the first time ever, the popular event will be held in Southwest Portland.
In addition to maps and route details for each of the five events, PBOT also shared today that local bike shop Universal Cycles has stepped up as a major sponsor. Universal does a large online business and back in May they moved to a new retail store adjacent to the SE Ankeny bike boulevard.
The addition of a major new sponsor is welcome news for the Sunday Parkways program. In past years, the City has supported about one-half the cost of the events (which run about $100,000 a piece to put on). This year, Council has directed just $170,000 toward the total budget of nearly $500,000. Universal Cycles joins longtime event sponsors Kaiser Permanente as well as other supporters including Bike Gallery, and Metro.
Another bit of good Sunday Parkways news is that the North edition will feature a complete closure of N. Willamette Blvd. Last year, PBOT kept a lane of Willamette open for cars, which made the walking and riding environment much less pleasant than it should have been.
So, get out your calendars! Scroll down for route maps and dates for all five events (download the PDFs for more detailed maps):
May 13th – Northeast Portland (PDF)
June 24th – North Portland (PDF)
July 22nd – Southwest Portland (PDF)
August 26th – Southeast Portland (PDF)
September 30th – East Portland (PDF)
Stay tuned for more Sunday Parkways coverage and learn more at PortlandSundayParkways.org.