The James Beard Public Market, set to open next year on SW 6th and Alder (one block from Pioneer Square), is one of the most important steps yet in the revitalization of downtown Portland. With about 40 vendor spaces under one roof in the busy central city, planners must be mindful of how they’ll be restocked. After all, it would be embarrassing for Portland if a bunch of large trucks spewing toxic emissions were parked out front.
Good thing there’s another way: What if the market worked with the City and innovative local businesses to create a zero emission microhub that could serve the new market with electric cargo trikes and small electric trucks? That’s an idea currently being tossed around by a Dream Team of experts who hope their plan gains traction in time for opening day.
Franklin Jones, the CEO and founder of B-line Urban Delivery, tells BikePortland he’s shopping around a proposal to create a, “zero emissions logistics model” for the market. Jones is among a group that includes Portland Bureau of Transportation Urban Freight Coordinator Russ Brooks, James Beard Public Market Executive Director Jessica Elkan (who’s leading this proposal), and Honda Brand Strategist June Jashinski (I explain the Honda part below). These four have come together on a proposal they hope to present at a panel at the upcoming SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas in March.
Their presentation is titled, “Rethink Public Markets: Zero Emissions Delivery and Microhubs.” It’s currently one of dozens of panels being proposed for SXSW, which are chosen in part by a vote of the public. Here’s the presentation blurb:
“Picture a market bustling with people as they browse local products, and fresh Oregon produce. Public markets unite people from diverse backgrounds, but truck traffic often follows. This session explores a first-of-its-kind vision by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, B-line, James Beard Public Market, and Fastport to transform the way goods move from farm to vendor. By centralizing deliveries, and using eQuads for the last-mile, this model reimagines public markets, transportation, and urban spaces for communities, creating a model for a more human-first, zero-emissions future.”
Jones and PBOT are not newcomers to these concepts. B-line has operated in Portland since 2009 and Jones currently oversees a fleet of electric trikes that serve dozens of customers at his consolidation and distribution center in the central eastside. And the City of Portland has a long record of interest in electric, bike-powered delivery hubs. Since as early as 2021, the City has sought ways to dramatically reduce the number of large trucks downtown. Cargo bikes and micro-deliver hubs played a relatively prominent role in PBOT’s 2040 Freight Plan (adopted in 2023). And just earlier this year, PBOT wrapped up a demonstration project for a Zero Emission Delivery Zone downtown and issued a request for information (RFI) for a micro-delivery hub pilot that would be operated out of a city-owned parking garage.
Why is Honda involved in this? Turns out they’ve just debuted a new “Fastport” eQuad prototype that’s tailor-made for last-mile business deliveries. Fastport isn’t just a vehicle, Honda says it’s a “fleet-as-a-service” micromobility venture that comes with a turnkey system of software, swappable batteries, service, and more.
Jones and the folks behind the James Beard Public Market see their proposal as a chance to show the world that urban, zero emission delivery can be a reality. As of today, no contracts have been signed and no funding has been identified; but given the experiences and connections this all-star team has, hopefully they can get something together.
If you think this is a cool idea worthy of exploration, go over to the SXSW panel picker and vote for the presentation. You have until August 24th to show your support.
Thanks for reading.
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Is there a section for the AI food delivery robots, like what Georgia Tech and NCSU A&T already use? They are the cutest things, really! And quite efficient. They look like plastic boxes on wheels, quite mobile, they even learn to cross busy streets.
OSU has the Starship delivery robots and they are indeed the cutest things. My kids love seeing them, and honestly so do I.
I would rather humans have jobs
YES !!
VOTED !!
LOVE IT !!
LET’S DO IT !!
GO PORTLAND GO !!
PORTLAND IS WHAT WE MAKE IT !!
If Portland could pull off an 80-90% car-free downtown, it would be an engineering marvel, a top ten international destination, the “Paris or the Venice of the Western Hemisphere.” There would be global competition for professionals, designers and businesses to be a part of it.
This should be Portland’s 20 year plan, not 5% less traffic deaths.
I’ve seen numerous car-free downtowns, so bombed out that people avoid them. Akron Ohio, Camden NJ, Wilson NC…
The downtowns I’ve seen in the Netherlands and other parts of Europe don’t ban cars, but they do heavily regulate them and make sure they can’t go over 20 mph even when the drivers are drunk, or high, or on medications, or even having a medical emergency. The areas that are fully pedestrianized with hydraulic bollards are really small, no more than a few blocks of Ankeny in comparison, but packed with pedestrians; the larger downtown areas with apartments and offices do allow traffic, but they tend to be outside the touristy parts of the cities.
Nice example details. So, not 80-90% car-free? But significantly more thought and priority given to making it inviting for people outside of vehicles?
Most of the fully pedestrianized spaces I’ve seen are where the merchants and land owners voluntarily agree to do it, not at places where government imposes it on private land owners. Shopping malls, revitalized run-down downtowns in college communities (Charlottesville VA is still the classic example, but also Boulder and for a time Eugene), state capitol complexes, and of course college campuses everywhere. To do it in downtown Portland, y’all basically have to get an OK from all the major adjacent land owners, plus PBOT, the police, the fire bureau, and the usual busybody community groups. Just look at the fiasco of the NW diverters, think of how much more difficult it will be to get downtown land owners to agree on anything that restricts car driver’s free access over an area as large as say the Park Blocks.
I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I wouldn’t rely on your city government to carry it out either, it’s really up to the land owners to see the (economic) value in a fully pedestrianized space that’s larger than an alleyway or narrow street segment.
https://trec.pdx.edu/news/psu-transportation-students-envision-living-streets-car-free-corridors-downtown-portland?
SW Harvey Milk & SW Oak (Burnside Wedge) could be car free pretty soon….
so may other streets to look at for car free spaces!!
James Beard Market will be at 610 SW Alder, 1 block from Pioneer Square
1 block from Morrison, Yamhill, 5th, 6th, Transit Mall