Roseway Plaza brings carfree street to NE 72nd

Do yourself a favor and roll or walk over to Northeast 72nd and Mason. What you’ll see is a carfree plaza bordered by a grassy parkway, a vibrant mural on the pavement, a basketball hoop, and places to sit and watch the community unfold around you. Talk of carfree streets often assume they’re only possible in the Central City; but thanks to visionary politicians, neighborhood advocates and supportive city policy, we are finally seeing plazas extend way beyond downtown.

I rode east on NE Mason the other day and forgot that the City of Portland’s Roseway Plaza opened last month. It was such a beautiful day out and I was just awestruck at how cool the space was. What was once just a blank expanse of pavement (see below) is now a legit gathering place in the middle of the neighborhood protected against the intrusion of cars by permanent concrete medians that protect both entrances.

The dream of Roseway Plaza emerged from the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Mason/Skidmore Neighborhood Greenway project (funded through the Fixing Our Streets program) which runs east-west on those two streets between NE 37th and NE 77th. According to the Roseway Neighborhood Association (RNA), they worked with PBOT for years to make the plaza a reality. “The plaza is a welcoming open space for the community to gather, have fun, and make connections.” the neighborhood’s website reads. “We want to make sure that the space is accessible to those with limited mobility, and inviting to all community members. By activating the intersection and surrounding parkway, we also hope to calm traffic on 72nd Ave.”

That last part about calming traffic on NE 72nd Avenue appears to be a work-in-progress. Neighbors have asked PBOT to install stop signs on NE 72nd at Mason (where the plaza is), but as of right now the stop signs aren’t there. As I approached the intersection I found myself staring at the plaza and didn’t realize cross-traffic might not stop. I realize “every corner is a crosswalk” and drivers should stop; but a lot of folks walk, run and bike in the street so that law doesn’t apply. I’ve asked RNA and PBOT for an update on this and will update this post when I hear back.

There are two other reasons I find this plaza notable: It’s very similar to what PBOT has the opportunity to do in another location very soon, and it’s an example of something a former PBOT commissioner pushed for.

The Roseway Plaza is in the middle of what’s known as Roseway Parkway, a wide park down the middle of 72nd Ave between NE Sandy and Prescott. The layout is nearly identical to what’s known as the Omaha Treeway between N Rosa Parks and Killingsworth in the Arbor Lodge Neighborhood. PBOT is currently in the design stage of a neighborhood greenway project for N Ainsworth that proposes a similar carfree plaza at N Omaha Ave. If you’re interested in that project, there’s a community walk scheduled for this Wednesday (10/8) that will end at the treeway. Meet at Arborlook Carts (5916 N Greeley) around 6:00 pm to join.

I also want to shout-out former City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, because this Roseway Plaza made me recall something she used to talk about. As commissioner-in-charge of PBOT, Hardesty spoke often about wanting more carfree spaces citywide. In an interview with me in February 2021, she said, “We’re looking at places all over the city to make carfree, so that community members have gathering spots where they can bike, they can scooter, they can do whatever it is they want to do.”

Our conversations about carfree streets often revolve around the central city, but having a place like this on NE 72nd is a very positive sign that PBOT is moving the needle toward their vision of a lower-car Portland.

— Learn more about Roseway Plaza and PBOT’s many other plazas throughout the city on their website.