This story was written by Brian Bill, a student in Portland State University’s Masters of Urban Planning program.
Quiet excitement filled a room inside the Portland State University Urban Center Building on March 11th as Ryan Hashagen of Better Block PDX (the folks who brought us the Naito Parkway bike lanes) and Victoria Via of Strong Towns PDX took the stage to kick off the initial design workshop of the Bridgeless to Better Burnside Project. Using the upcoming closure of the Burnside Bridge closure as an opportunity to reimagine West Burnside is an exciting enough proposition that it brought together more than 50 enthusiastic design professionals and urbanists to the event.
They wanted to be part of what may be Better Block’s most ambitious project yet.
With the Burnside Bridge set to close for reconstruction from 2027 to 2032 as part of Multnomah County’s Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge project, the Better Burnside project aims to transform W Burnside Street from a dangerous barrier into a signature street at the heart of Portland’s west side. The project will collaborate with community groups to propose streetscape improvements that can be implemented while the bridge is closed and W Burnside is no longer a route for through traffic. The future of W Burnside extends beyond the 5-year bridge closure, and proposals will also focus on balancing community desires with the new bridge’s lane configuration, pedestrian paths, and protected bike lanes.
Across two classrooms, participants took to maps and trace paper to sketch out their ideas for a W Burnside designed for people.
Among the proposed designs is a shared bike and bus-only lane in each direction near the Park Blocks that would be buffered by bollards from car traffic and include parklets, food carts, more pedestrian-scale lighting and raised crosswalks (see above). On SW 3rd Ave, students have proposed removing a right turn lane in front of Dante’s and turning it into a public parklet, as well as expanding the median and painting a street mural in the intersection.
A final option, which the students termed “Burnside Sunday Parkways,” would include temporary placemaking installations to enhance Portland Sunday Parkways. In this scenario, local businesses and organizations could partner with the city to provide cultural programming, create educational opportunities, and prepare for increased business activity along with the increase in bike and pedestrian traffic.
Better Burnside began with a proposal by Xavier Stickler of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, Sean Sweat of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association, and Mary-Rain O’Meara of the Old Town Community Association. This trio of urban advocates came together and applied to local nonprofit Better Block to help realize their vision.
Supporting the project with planning and engagement expertise are PSU Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) students Alex Gill, Brian Bill, Eric Gasper, Jackson Morrison, Michael Azierski, and Michel Rojas. Those students have worked on Bridgeless to Better Burnside over the last year in multiple PSU Better Block Project Pathway Courses. With this workshop, the partnership expanded to include Strong Towns PDX, the local chapter of a national urbanism advocacy group who dedicated their monthly meeting to the project.
As the project’s lead supporter, Ryan Hashagen’s interest in the project stems from his roles as the managing director of Better Block PDX and owner of Icicle Tricycles, a small business based in Old Town. Hashagen sees the bridge project as a perfect opportunity. “Now is the time for our community to leverage the ‘bridgeless’ years into making W Burnside the signature street it should be,” Hashagen said. “When urban places make people feel safe and welcome, small business can not only survive, but thrive.”
The design workshop marked an important milestone in bringing Better Burnside to the public’s attention. Attendees identified improvements to enhance connectivity across inner W Burnside from 2nd Ave to 10th Ave. Suggestions included reducing vehicle lanes to reclaim space for other uses, creating distinct separations between vehicles and pedestrians, and adding pedestrian and wayfinding enhancements to make exploring easier, more comfortable, and more rewarding.
This project is about addressing local challenges like pedestrian safety, transit access, and increasing both day and night-time foot traffic; but it’s also tied to the broader effort to chart a brighter future for Portland’s Central City. Given the scale of Better Burnside, this workshop was just the beginning of the community engagement process. The PSU students will remain involved with this project until June. In the coming months they’ll refine ideas with local stakeholders and preferred alternatives while the neighborhood associations and Better Block PDX will carry the torch until Better Burnside is handed over to the city for the next phases of engagement, design, and implementation.
Keep an eye out for future engagement opportunities from Better Block PDX, PSU, Strong Towns PDX, and— in the future, with the public’s support— from the City of Portland. With the changes brought by the Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge, W Burnside is entering a pivotal period that will define its purpose and the future of the Central City. Let your voice be heard. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more, contact the project team at better.burnside.psu@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading.
BikePortland has served this community with independent community journalism since 2005. We rely on subscriptions from readers like you to survive. Your financial support is vital in keeping this valuable resource alive and well.
Please subscribe today to strengthen and expand our work.
I note from the project link that was provided that the bridge construction has already been delayed to 2028 and that less than half of the $895 million needed has so far been raised. How likely is this bridge to be built?
Yeah the funding picture sucks thanks to Trump. But I think we should entertain these ideas regardless! I mean if it’s good for humans when the bridge is closed, it’s good for humans when the bridge is open. Right??
Platinum Designs on a Shoestring Budget: Transportation Planning Purgatory in Portland Oregon
I think it’s time to give the whole platinum thing a rest. It was like giving Obama the Nobel Peace prize. Bad decision, best forgotten.
In what world does Obama peace prize have ANYTHING to do with the Burnside bridge or planning or biking or anything?
You really need to post on Conservative websites where Obama bashing is still popular after 8 years of NOT being in office and your world views are more applicable.
This thread of the conversation is pretty shallow, but let me explain it to you: David made a reference to our platinum bike status, an award many of us feel the city has not lived up to (and has thus become a bit of an embarrassment); I compared it to Obama’s Nobel Peace prize, which many people, including Obama himself, felt was undeserved, and, given Obama’s subsequent actions, itself became a bit of an embarrassment.
It was a small joke that does not merit continued discussion. If you think Obama deserved his Nobel prize, that’s fine; say it if you need to, and I won’t challenge it. It has no bearing on my comment as I was referencing the historical facts of the situation which are not really in dispute.
Now that you understand the reference, and that it was not in any way bashing Obama himself, we should drop it.
I was not defending Obama or the peace prize. I was commenting on how ludicrous and off putting it was on this topic or on this website, frankly.
You are better at defending Trump, at least that is current affairs.
I wasn’t defending Trump, but rather pointing out that what you said about him was factually false.
But whatever. I can’t tell if you have difficulty understanding what people say or if you just don’t care. Either way, I’m done.
Actually, I wasn’t referring to Portland’s “platinum” bike status as much as Portland always issuing incredibly ambitious and expensive transportation plans and “standards” (wide sidewalks everywhere, RQ, CRC, $895 million Burnside bridge, etc) and never having even enough money to maintain what it already has let alone build new shiny things.
Yes, I understand certain things are City versus Multnomah County versus ODOT versus Metro versus the US Congress people, but it’s the same voters electing the same people who appoint the same bureaucrats who create the same projects for the same city, so really it’s all one thing.
One of our few significant stretches of protected bike lane stands on the shoulders of a Better Block project. I could find something about the Naito bike lane to nitpick, for sure, but instead of being relentlessly negative about it tonight I’d much rather say that a small group of people parlayed some straw bales into a big win for Portland bike riders.
I took David’s comment as complimentary towards the design and designers (“Platinum Designs”). In other words, people doing great design on a shoestring budget, with this being just the latest example of that (Better Blocks’ Naito work being an earlier example).
His previous comment was also not negative at all–just asking about the likelihood of the bridge project going ahead.
I am impressed with Better Naito. Those involved including Art Pierce really ought to pat themselves on the back for a job well done.
Wow, that is exciting to think about how the street space can be reclaimed and activated in a positive way. Has anyone on the east side of the river thought about this as well? Three-lane East Burnside is going to be a lot quieter as well. It will be interesting to see where all the traffic goes, as Burnside is quite the car highway. Maybe the added closure traffic and delays will make through traffic stay on the interstates, instead of cutting through downtown.
I sure hope so! I rarely see all 3 lanes full to capacity here near 28th and E Burnside, the East side stretch is in dire need of a road diet between the bridge and 32nd.
PBOT completed a half road diet on most of that segment in 2016. It would have been nice if they made both sides one-lane in each direction.
https://www.portland.gov/transportation/pbot-projects/construction/east-burnside-safety-improvements
If we want to boost downtown viability, and give tourists a “wow” impression, biking access and transit priority on Burnside makes perfect sense!
With the longer time frame for the bridge, maybe we can also realize the Portland Streetcar OG plan that included a Streetcar on Burnside, on both sides of the bridge. That would be awesome.
I like the burnside parkways idea, I bet lots of folks would too. Awesome way to get something rooted. Nice!
The Better Burnside proposal is suggestive of something I read about recent developments in Paris. Activists and politicians alike took each crisis or event as an opportunity to redevelop the city and make it more people friendly. The pandemic and the Paris Olympics are examples. They reduced the amount of land sacrificed to motor vehicles to meet a situation and kept the changes in place after it was past.
Portland has lost ground since the pandemic. Dining shelters on some streets remain but we haven’t made or retained much of a gain in street space for people. Greenways are mediocre at best for promoting travel, but as community spaces with thorough motor vehicle diversion (see: NE 16th/NE Tillamook) they would provide green space as well as quieter, safer streets.
We know the answer for what happens when car travel lanes are reduced: some of the traffic just goes away. It’s negative induced demand. West Burnside at present is a big hole in the city and with all the travel lanes it’s not particularly good at moving the traffic. If we manage traffic better that would reconnect the city and make room for things that are better to do than sit in cars.