Before and after on NW Naito near the Steel Bridge. (Photos: City of Portland)
The Portland Bureau of Transportation is finally making good on its promise to upgrade and harden bike lanes throughout the city. About 3.1 lane miles of bike lanes at nine different locations that currently use plastic posts to separate bicycle riders from other road users will be replaced with concrete curbs.
Earlier this month, crews replaced plastic posts on a section of the two-way bike lane on Northwest Naito Parkway between NW Davis and Hoyt (between the Steel and Burnside bridges). Later this month they’ll finish the work on Naito with new concrete curbs between Ankeny and Couch. The work on Naito cost the agency $232,000.
The move comes in response to a March 2024 memo from the City Traffic Engineer related to the agency’s use of temporary materials, which have been found to have increased maintenance costs and fall short of the city’s goals for bike network attractiveness.
The first batch of locations (see below) are a subset of a longer list I shared back in August 2024. According to PBOT, they will upgrade nine locations using funds from their General Transportation Revenue account. (GTR is made up of the city’s share of the State Highway Fund (gas taxes and vehicle registration and title fees) and parking revenues.)
NW Dairy Creek Road near where a woman was struck sometime Saturday.
Washington County Sheriff’s issued a statement this morning about two crashes involving bicycle riders. Both happened on roads that are popular cycling routes: NW Dairy Creek and NW Old Cornelius Pass Road.
Sheriff’s say the first crash happened Saturday night, but the rider was not discovered until Sunday morning around 7:15 am. According to their statement, deputies responded to a hit-and-run crash at the 22400 block of NW Dairy Creek Road where a woman on a bicycle was “struck overnight by a vehicle.” The road in this location is a typical, two-lane rural road. There is little to no shoulder space and there doesn’t appear to have been any cross-traffic.
The bicyclist, who has not yet been identified, suffered serious leg, facial and other injuries and authorities believe she spent the night alone, outside and in a ditch until being discovered alive Sunday morning by a passerby. She was transported to a local hospital. The driver fled the scene and remains on the loose.
Anyone with information on this crash is encouraged to call non-emergency dispatch at 503-629-0111 and reference case number 50-25-9657.
Aerial and street view of NW Old Cornelius Pass and NW Cornelius Pass intersection.
A few hours later, just before 11:00 am on Sunday, deputies responded to a bicycle crash at NW Old Cornelius Pass Road and NW Cornelius Pass Road. This location is about five miles southeast of where the woman was discovered on NW Dairy Creek Road. This intersection is part of a very popular route that connects NW Germantown to NW Philips Road.
The Sheriff’s office says an adult male on a bicycle was traveling north on NW Old Cornelius Pass Road. For some reason, deputies say the bicycle rider “suddenly crossed directly in the path of a vehicle traveling south on NW Cornelius Pass Road.”
The man is a 55-year-old from Northwest Portland. The Sheriff’s office says his family has requested privacy. He suffered serious injuries and is still in critical condition. The driver remained at the scene and is not suspected of any crimes.
Anyone with information is asked to call non-emergency dispatch at 503-629-0111 and reference case number 50-25-9663.
The main witness to this second collision has contacted BikePortland to share what they saw. The witness (who’s asked to remain anonymous), said he was on his bike at the same intersection (crossing in the opposite direction) and was watching the signal for his chance to go when he saw another rider coming in the opposite direction. When the victim began to pedal into the intersection northbound, the witness said he was hit by a westbound Tesla sedan. The witness recalled being surprised to see the other rider enter the intersection, since he clearly recalled the cross traffic on NW Cornelius Pass Road having a green light.
The witness who contacted BikePortland speculated that the bike rider might have gotten confused by the signals or perhaps another car at the light might have blocked his view of traffic.
Both of these collisions are incredibly unsettling. I’ve biked on these same roads many times over the years and I’m sure some of you have as well. My thoughts are with each of the riders and I hope they make full recoveries. If you have any information to share, please get in touch.
ODOT crews working on bridge repairs in Medford. (Photo: ODOT)
Sources tell BikePortland that Oregon Governor Tina Kotek will announce details of a special legislative session sometime this week as fallout from the legislature’s failure to pass transportation funding continues to pile up. That tip comes as no surprise, given the acuity of the crisis and the pressure the governor is under to do something about the mass layoffs that have already begun at the Oregon Department of Transportation.
“They are hearing legislators don’t believe the layoffs are real.”
– Email from ODOT worker union
One major pressure point for Kotek is labor unions, who launched a lobbying campaign over the weekend that encourages members to email their state representatives and attach a photo of their layoff notice, “so legislators can hear directly how all of our lives are being negatively impacted by their lack of action.”
Over the weekend, an ODOT employee forwarded an email to BikePortland from the Association of Engineering Employees of Oregon (AEE), a union that represents over 1,000 workers across several state agencies. AEE has teamed up with the local SEIU 503 union for several meetings with the State of Oregon over the past two weeks.
Union flyer
In an email from AEE to their members on Saturday (July 12), they said SEIU, “are hearing legislators don’t believe the layoffs are real at ODOT.” SEIU has a tool on their website where laid off employees can record a video that will be sent directly to their representative.
AEE and SEIU report some success at negotiating better terms for impacted workers, but the layoffs have not been stopped.
According to data reported by Willamette Week on Sunday, hundreds of workers have already received layoff notices. 88 ODOT employees from Region 1 are part of the job cuts, with a majority of them from Multnomah County.
Preserving jobs will be the top priority for Kotek when she brings lawmakers back to Salem. While she might get all Democrats on board with scaled-down legislation that raises revenue from a mix of fuel taxes and other fees, it still looks unlikely that Republicans will do anything to help.
House Republican Leader Christine Drazan (a former gubernatorial candidate who lost to Kotek in 2022) told KOIN News last week that blame for the layoffs falls squarely on Kotek and Democrats. Drazan said a Republican-backed bill should have been passed instead, but that bill was a political non-starter from the get-go and never had enough support to pass.
Kotek will need line up not just enough political support for any new package in a special session, she’ll need to line up a procedural path that thwarts all the obstruction Republicans are likely to throw at it.
Here are the most notable stories that came across my desk in the past seven days…
Fear of cycling: The Trump regime’s latest fear-mongering and opposition suppression tactic is to have the Department of Homeland Security deem cycling and other everyday activities at protests as a precursor for violent tactics. (Wired)
Free transit follies: The debate over free transit raged this week when a progressive transportation journalist and advocate questioned NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s support of the idea. Is free good if it leads to service cuts? (Slate)
Wrong way deaths: What is wrong with some drivers in the state of Nevada? An effort to pass new legislation has picked up steam after a young girl became the latest of a whopping 150 people to die in freeway collisions resulting from someone driving the wrong way. (NBC Nevada)
A-pillars a problem: With the ever-increasing weight and girth of SUVs and other vehicles, automakers have increased the girth of the front “A” pillars. The aim is to protect occupants in rollover crashes, but they inhibit visibility of those outside cars and the industry is not encouraged to make them any smaller. (Bloomberg)
Bike Happy Hour prescription: Smart doctors are prescribing socializing and cycling as a way to treat a host of health issues, which makes me think that cycling to Bike Happy Hour once a week could be considered a miracle cure. (NPR)
It’s the model, stupid: Portland regional planning is based largely on traffic models, so it’s worth making sure those models are modeling the right things. Many of the models used by planners are outdated and exacerbate the problems we’re trying to solve. (Fast Company)
Service for whom: Another article on the idea that using “level of service” for drivers as a metric for planning road infrastructure is a dangerously outdated and inherently flawed way of decision making. Also, this topic is somewhat outdated too, but if you need a refresher on this concept, start here. (Fast Company)
PBOT concept drawing of N Broadway just east of Wheeler Rd. That’s the Leftbank Building in the background.
The City of Portland says a project that would have transformed North Broadway into a family-friendly, civic main street is now on pause due to funding uncertainties.
You might have already heard that a provision in President Donald Trump’s budget bill passed by Congress last week included a complete rollback of a Biden-era transportation grant program. As BikePortland reported in March 2024, Portland received $488 million through the US Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant program. $450 million of that was for the I-5 Rose Quarter project and $38.4 million was for the the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Broadway Main Street & Supporting Neighborhood Connections project.
The lion’s share of the I-5 Rose Quarter’s $450 million has now gone back to the feds, and now I’ve confirmed PBOT’s funding for Broadway is also likely gone.
Reached today via email, PBOT Communications Director Hannah Schafer told BikePortland that the money might no longer be available.
“We are disappointed to share that the $38 million in federal funding for our Lower Albina Streetscape Project (aka Broadway Main Street & Supporting Neighborhood Connections project) appears to have been rescinded last week as part of the federal reconciliation bill,” Schafer said via email this morning.
(Screenshot of Trump budget bill.)
The project would have allowed PBOT to extend a separate project, the Broadway Pave and Paint (which is locally funded and moving along nicely) west from NE 7th Avenue all the way to the Broadway Bridge. At a meeting in 2023, a PBOT staffer told an advisory committee that the goal of the project was to create a streetscape that would allow someone to, “take a pleasant walk with their young child from NE 7th to Waterfront Park.”
Project elements were set to include: a new, raised bikeway protected from auto users by a planted median; multiple improved pedestrian crossings; a redesign of the Broadway Bridgehead at N Larrabee; improved access to Rose Quarter Transit Center, and more.
Way too equitable for the Trump administration. (Source: PBOT)
Now it’s unclear if the project will ever move forward. And it’s all because of the Trump Administration’s embrace of culture wars and irrational and infantile fear of “equity.” To the current administration, livable streets where you can safely walk with your grandchildren are nothing more than a nefarious plot by liberal Portlanders hellbent on forcing everyone to enjoy their lives outside of cars.
Like much of what comes from the White House these days, the language in the budget bill that slashed this and many other major infrastructure projects across the country was vague and has so far lacked detailed follow-through. This means grant recipients are left in limbo and must plan for the worst-case scenario regardless of what happens next.
PBOT’s Schafer said, “Though we have yet to receive formal notice from USDOT, the bureau is working to determine next steps and will provide more information when it is available.”
The rescission is part of 126 active federal grants totaling $387 million that the City of Portland is having to re-evaluate to make sure they don’t run afoul of new Trump Administration policies around equity and social justice. According to a statement from the City Administrator Michael Jordan, “Portland is facing challenging decisions about how to respond to the Trump Administration’s demands that cities eliminate some policies and programs designed to help Portlanders who are people of color, women, and other oppressed groups overcome hundreds of years of systemic discrimination.” Of the $387 million federal grants currently in play at the City of Portland, a new federal policy impact analysis reveals that 58 of them totaling $197 million fund transportation bureau projects and programs.
I haven’t learned how much work had already been done on the Broadway project, but Schafer added that, “PBOT remains committed to finding ways to improve the safety and function of this important corridor.”
A Metro committee voted this morning to recommend $141.6 million to a variety of transportation programs, plans, and projects. The funding comes from two federal grant programs and are known as Regional Flexible Funds.
Among the $49.3 million in capital projects recommended for funding was $8.7 million for the Historic Trolley Trail Bridge between Gladstone and Oregon City. This $10.4 million project will erect a new, carfree bridge over the Clackamas River and provide the missing link of the Trolley Trail. The bridge alignment will connect an on-street portion of the Trolley Trail route on Portland Avenue in Gladstone directly to the Clackamas River Trail and Trolley Trail path in Oregon City.
(Source: Clackamas County)(Source: Metro)
The Gladstone Trolley Trail Bridge originally opened in 1908 (see above) and served passenger and freight electric railway cars until 2014 when damage forced its closure. Back then, Metro and other regional trail advocates hoped the old bridge could be rebuilt and used for a rail-trail. But it was too heavily damaged and was removed from the river that same year.
The new crossing will give rollers and walkers a much more direct and safer route along the Trolley Trail. An existing carfree bridge just a half-mile to the east (at 82nd Dr) adds a mile to the route, and riding on McLoughlin Blvd (99E) is very stressful. Once the new bridge is in place it’s estimated to see 489,000 annual users and reduce 12 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year. Combined with the existing 82nd Drive bridge, it will provide a carfree riverfront loop.
Metro’s Transportation Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC) voted to devote $8.7 million grant to the project, thus competing funding. Metro says final design and construction are likely to begin this year.
(Source: Metro)
In the same vote, $92.3 million was awarded to a mix of region-wide transportation program investments like Safe Routes to School, Transit Oriented Development, and corridor planning. Of that, $51.7 million was awarded to bonding commitments for a suite of projects that includes: TriMet’s 82nd Avenue Transit Project, TriMet’s Tualatin Valley Highway Transit Project, Portland Streetcar Montgomery Park Extension, ODOT’s Sunrise-Gateway Corridor Project, and the County’s Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge Project.
Other projects recommended for funding this morning include:
NE 223rd Ave: NE Glisan to NE Marine Dr Safety Corridor Planning Multnomah County – $897,300
NE Glisan St: 82nd Avenue Multimodal Safety and Access Portland – $7,577,698
OR99E (McLoughlin Boulevard) 10th Street to tumwata village: Streetscapes Enhancements Project Development Oregon City – $2,232,341
From TPAC, the recommended projects will move to Metro’s Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) and then to Metro Council where they’ll be officially adopted later this year.
Bike Play is back! This year’s subject is a bike camping adventure. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Hello wonderful people. As you might have seen at Bike Happy Hour, I’m still going through rehab with my knee and I’m not fully out-and-about just yet. That means I’m still laying low and mostly staying close to home and resting. But don’t let my lack of mobility prevent you from having the Best Summer Ever.
There are so many things to do, I’ve tried to whittle it down to a few gems:
Friday, July 11th
“Mayor Mike” O’Callaghan Ghost Bike Installation and Memorial Gathering – 6:00 pm at SE Division & 8th (SE) This event will pay tribute to Mike O’Callaghan, a former mayoral candidate and activist who was tragically killed in a collision with a MAX train last month. Organized by Bike Loud PDX and Families for Safe Streets. More info here.
Bumpy Ride – 6:00 pm at Eastbank Esplanade (SE) From the organizers, Bikes X Beats: “We’d love for you to join us for a special night of riding bikes, dancing under the stars, and listening to house music with good people.” More info here.
Saturday, July 12th
Good Dirt – 9:00 am in Cascade Locks (The Gorge) Group mountain bike ride on beautiful trails hosted by NW Trail Alliance and River City Bicycles. More info here.
We Love Transit Workers Ride – 9:45 am at Brooklyn School Park (SE) Join this ride (which will have a family and faster version) if you love transit, work in transit, and/or want to meet and hang out with transit people. More info here.
East Portland Neighborhood Bike Fair – 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at Menlo Park Elementary (NE) PBOT will host this free event full of fun activities for the whole family. They’ll offer free riding lessons, free minor bike repairs, a very short group ride (to test your skils), and more! More info here.
Salmonberry Trail Ground Breaking – 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm in Waterfront Park (Wheeler, OR) An exciting section of the Salmonberry Trail along the Oregon Coast will break ground and local officials and advocates invite you to a fun-filled event to celebrate it. More info here.
Bike Play: Up Shift Creek – 6:30 pm at Gammans Park (N) It’s the 16th annual Bike Play! One of my favorite Bike Summer events, this is a professional theater production with an amazingly fun cast, a bike-inspired theme, and scenes you bike to with several hundred other fans. More info here.
Sunday, June 13th
Pupperpalooza – 1:00 pm at Peninsula Park (N) Time for the sixth annual dog-friendly gathering! Whether your furry friend likes to ride on your bike, in a trailer, in a pack, or even run alongside — come out and hang with others who are just as into it as you are. More info here.
The Alley Ride – 2:00 pm at Peninsula Park (N) Alleys are awesome and you’ll get to spend quality time in them on this popular annual ride. Discover the hidden treasures, public art, and general interestingness of north and northeast Portland’s alleys. More info here.
Portland Brompton Meet-Up – 2:30 pm at Clever Cycles (SE) Folding bike lovers unite! This is the first-ever Brommie meet-up organized by Best Side Cycling (cool Seattle bike content guy). Expect some fun and free prizes and an easy party ride along the waterfront. More info here.
— Did I miss your event? Please let me know by filling out our contact form, or just email me at maus.jonathan@gmail.com.
GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY
The Service Lead is responsible for the smooth operation of service through the shop. They will maintain clear communication with customers and staff to ensure that expectations are met or exceeded. They will be responsible for working with the inventory team to have bulk and special order parts available for service. This role is also responsible for maintaining a clear and organized service menu and service schedule.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Service (50%)
Provide quality, safe and efficient service on customer bikes
Communicate clearly with customers through the entire duration of their service; including but not limited to estimated time of completion, cost of parts and labor, and any delays or concerns, should any arise
Provide friendly, courteous, and welcoming customer service
Maintain a clear and organized service schedule
Maintain an organized and clearly labeled system for the physical storage of customer bikes and parts for service
Keep a clean, organized, and stocked workspace
Inventory Management (20%)
Keep supplies needed for service in stock (ex: lube, grease, gloves, cleaners)
Order parts and accessories as needed for customer bikes in a timely and efficient manner
Keep track of consumables in stock (tubes, cables, housing, etc) for use in the service department
Sales (10%)
Talk consumers through work orders as they are created, explaining what will be done during repair and why it needs to be done
Assist customers with the purchase of used bikes, and new and used parts and accessories when retail staff need support
Ring up customers for purchases and repair payments using the Lightspeed POS system
Strategic Planning and Process Evaluation (10%)
Leverage quality control process to identify growth areas
Collaborate with other senior staff to maintain and improve shop systems and facilities
Work with the Shop Leadership Team to evaluate opportunities, trends and feedback
Assess service prices annually and adjust as needed, taking into account the core principals of the organization
Other Responsibilities (10%)
Help advance the mission of the Community Cycling Center across all departments
Contribute to a standard work environment – answer phones, maintain a safe, clean & organized workspace
Collaborate with other senior staff to train and support less-experienced mechanics, including youth interns and apprentices
Other duties as assigned
REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
5+ years of professional bike mechanic experience
Strong interpersonal communication skills
Strong organizational skills including the ability to manage multiple assignments simultaneously
Ability to meet project deadlines and account for detailed objectives
Experience and success in creating inclusive work environments where people from diverse backgrounds feel safe and welcome
Must be available to work at least 2 night shifts (2pm-8:30pm) per week
Must be available to work weekends
Ability to lift, bend, squat, climb and more—this is a physically demanding job but reasonable accommodations can be made
Valid driver’s license
PREFERRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
Experience with workflow improvement methods
Experience in a high-volume bike shop
Customer service experience
Experience with Lightspeed POS, Excel, Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe
Proficiency in Spanish
2+ years managing a Service Department in a busy bike shop
REPORTS TO: Shop Director
UNION/NON UNION: Union – ILWU Local 5
HOURS: Full Time
COMPENSATION: $23.92 to $28.71 per hour, based on experience
TERM: Permanent
BENEFITS: Health, Dental and Vision, Life & LTD, PTO and Sick time, Holiday Flex time
Since the start of BikePortland 20 years ago, one of my goals has been to empower everyone to be a stronger advocate. A community is at its best when information and power is held by a wide cross-section of people and not hoarded (intentionally or not) by professional advocates, the media, elected officials or agency staff. The mantra I say to myself a lot is, “No one can f*** with people who are informed and inspired,” — that’s my version of the trite but true, “knowledge is power” metaphor.
This is a long way of introducing the latest BikePortland resource: the Advocacy Calendar. As the name implies, this calendar is focused squarely on advocacy-related events. I’m talking about advisory committee meetings, project open houses, wonky events hosted by nonprofits, and so on. I track a bunch of these meetings already in order stay in front of the news and better understand the projects, policies, and people behind them. Now I’m sharing my personal calendar with you in hopes that we get more folks engaged and involved in important issues.
Because now more than ever, we must lean into the power that resides in every one of us to do our homework, pay attention, and to hold government and large organizations accountable.
You’d be surprised how many advocacy-related events there are every week!
This calendar will feature events you won’t find on the Shift Calendar, which focuses more on “bike fun” and social rides (please don’t lecture me on how fun rides are also advocacy, that’s literally the foundation of my work and I get it). (The only time I’ll post a fun event ride is when it’s part of a paid promotional campaign. You’ll also see Bike Happy Hour on this calendar, because that’s an event I manage.)
The events you’ll find on this calendar are where ideas are planted, decisions are made, projects are first shared and policy ideas are vetted.
So far in July I’ve posted nearly 20 events (and I’ve got more coming) from city, county, and state agencies. On the individual event pages, I include a description of the agency/group hosting the event and put links to meeting agendas, websites, and so on.
Steve (Bozzone, my trusty web design guy) and I will likely be tweaking things here and there for a while, so if you see something that needs to be fixed or have a change to suggest, please let me know.
I hope you find this calendar useful. And maybe you’ll consider showing up to a meeting or event you wouldn’t otherwise check out and maybe some of you will join one of these committees the next time they recruit. I know they could use folks like you, and the more eyes our community has on these agendas and conversations, the less likely it is that bad things will happen to us. Nothing about us, without us, right?
A Portlander holds a sign at a road safety protest on SE Powell Blvd in 2022. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
If Portland never reaches Vision Zero, it won’t be for a lack of effort or analysis. Now a new, independent report by City Club will add another layer of research onto this vexing challenge of preserving every life on the road.
Since City Council adopted the Vision Zero resolution in 2015, which called on them to marshal the resources to achieve zero road deaths by this year, they’ve consistently monitored and tracked progress via a series of internal updates and reports. In 2024 the City Auditor investigated the program and gave it a mixed review.
Now Portland City Club will devote its considerable research capacity to the issue. City Club is a nonprofit with a mission to, “inform the community in public matters and to arouse in them a realization of the obligations of citizenship.” “The [City Club research] committee will study the effectiveness of current strategies and evidence-based alternatives that could help Portland move closer to its safety goals,” reads a description of the upcoming report. City Club announced the effort in an email on June 27th.
They will assemble and independent team of City Club members to aid their research committee. Those selected must commit to 12 months of service and be free from any conflicts of interest and/or financial contracts related to Vision Zero work.
Here are a few of the questions City Club hopes to answer:
How does the current implementation of the Vision Zero plan affect traffic fatalities? Are these policies effective, sufficient, and enforced?
What policies would improve Portland’s Vision Zero approach, or hasten the results? Are there more aggressive or effective policies that could be adopted?
How should Vision Zero balance other transportation objectives, such as environmental concerns, public safety response times, and freight mobility?
City Club’s initiative comes at a time when Portland’s Vision Zero efforts are at an inflection point. The overall narrative and statistical trend suggests a new normal of annual road fatalities that are double the amount the city had in the early 2000s. But the startling rise in deaths between 2018 and 2021 has plateaued. After a downward trend in the last three years, our current tracker shows just 15 people have been killed on Portland roads so far this year —that’s less than half the number on this same date last year and puts us on track for the lowest total since 2012.
Political winds also suggest a new era is afoot in how roads are managed. Safety advocates have a strong champion in Portland City Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane, who has made Vision Zero her top priority. In the recently adopted city budget, Koyama Lane fought for and saved $670,000 in Vision Zero safety project funding that was on the chopping block. A budget note sponsored by Koyama Lane will move a top Vision Zero staffer out of the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) and into the office of the City Administrator for Public Works, “to ensure they have full access to critical cross-bureau collaboration and initiatives.”
PBOT also faces the most severe budget crisis in the history of the agency. This is forcing the agency to consider bold ideas like a new local tax or fee to raise revenue, or even banning car use on some roads to reduce maintenance costs and increase the community value of our shared right-of-way.
Given this context, it’s a good time for City Club to embark on this project. Hopefully their final report will grasp that Portland’s failure to accomplish its Vision Zero goal is just as much of a political problem as it is a technical one.
Like many transportation problems that are characterized as intractable or impossible, the solution to saving lives is simple: we need to dramatically reduce driving trips and decrease human exposure to cars and their drivers. That’s how we fix congestion, clear the air, improve our neighborhoods, strengthen the local economy, build a more resilient, vibrant city — and it’s how we achieve Vision Zero.
If it succeeds, City Club’s research will provide even more ammunition to advocates, agency staff, and elected officials who are working to bend the arc of political possibility.
— For more on this initiative view City Club’s full recruitment message and/or apply to be on the research committee here.
N Columbia Blvd with Portland Parks concept drawing of future bridge inset.
(Source: Metro)
A project that will build a carfree bridge over Columbia Boulevard in north Portland is officially back on track. The project is a vital link in the North Portland Greenway Trail and the 40-Mile Loop and it will connect St. Johns neighborhoods with existing paths in and around Kelley Point Park.
Portland Parks and Recreation says they’ve restarted the design and public outreach process after previous setbacks resulted in a pause on the project. The initial process to design the bridge kicked off in 2019, but a budget snafu emerged in 2023 which forced Parks to put the project on the shelf. That delay led to widespread disappointment and frustration.
Last year I reported that Parks remained committed to the project. Now we know they’ve kept their promise.
Parks, working with Metro and the Oregon Department of Transportation, has lined up additional funding to see the project through. Estimated to cost $11-$15 million, Parks is using a $2.7 million grant from Metro to continue designing the project and will host an open house on July 16th. According to a spokesperson, Parks is also in the final stages of accepting an additional, $6 million grant from ODOT’s Oregon Community Paths program.
The bridge will go up and over Columbia Blvd (an ODOT-owned freight corridor) between Chimney Park and what used to be the St. Johns Landfill. Thanks to Metro, the landfill has been restored into prairie land. Northeast of Chimney Park, the path will run along the Columbia Slough toward Kelley Point Park. (A related project to complete the final, 1.3-mile gap between Chimney Park and Kelley Point is already in the works. The North Slough Bridge project (see below) is estimated to cost $14 million and would build another bridge over the Columbia Slough and renovate an existing path alignment that’s been effectively closed for years due to flood damage.)
ScreenshotConcept drawing of North Slough Bridge.North Slough Bride map and concept drawing. (Source: Metro)
According to Parks, the Bridge Over Columbia project is in 60% design phase and a public survey seeking feedback on the design will be released on July 17th.
Final design is scheduled for completion in late 2026, with an anticipated two-season construction schedule (due to steel procurement) pushing the completion date to 2028.
