(July 19, 2019) Thousands of bus and bike trips through the central city will soon be safer, easier, and more reliable thanks to transportation improvements coming this summer and fall.

Next Tuesday, July 23, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will host an open house in Old Town to share information about these efforts. Members of the public are invited to stop by the White Stag building at 70 NW Couch St. anytime between 5-7 p.m. to meet with PBOT and TriMet staff, learn about projects nearing construction, and weigh in on projects going into design.

PBOT will be sharing data from the recently completed bus and bike lanes on SW Madison Street as well as discussing a new Business Access and Transit (BAT) lane on NW Everett Street scheduled for installation next month and a new dedicated bus lane on the Burnside Bridge coming this fall. The bureau will also share plans for improvements on NW Flanders Street, Naito Parkway, and SW Fourth Avenue. Open house attendees will also learn about PBOT’s current study focused on making transit better across the city.

Now is a great time to try leaving your car at home for your next downtown trip. Taking transit, biking, using a scooter, or walking and rolling as a pedestrian are all great ways to save money, help decrease congestion, and reduce our individual impact on climate change. PBOT, TriMet, and Portland’s bike-share program BIKETOWN will all be giving out discounts and gear to help get you started.

Many of the projects featured at the open house were identified through the Central City in Motion plan. Central City in Motion is PBOT’s guide for investing in our streets to create a smart, future-focused transportation system in the central city. These investments aim to make the entire system work better and provide more predictable travel times for businesses and residents.

In August 2019, a new business access and transit (BAT) lane will replace one of the existing travel lanes on NW Everett Street and run from NW Broadway to the Steel Bridge ramp. The ramp from southbound NW Naito Parkway to the Steel Bridge will close. This will improve transit reliability and access to the Rose Quarter, benefitting Portlanders who ride TriMet lines 4, 8, 16, 35, 44, and 77.

The July 23 open house will focus on projects slated for construction from 2019 to 2021, including:

• NW Everett Street bus lane project - construction beginning early August 2019
• SW Madison Street bus and bike lane project - completed May 2019, one block extension planned this winter (weather permitting)
• Burnside Street bus and bike lane project - Phase I coming fall 2019 (weather permitting)
• NW Flanders Street bikeway project - coming 2020
• Better Naito Forever - construction 2020-2021
• SW Fourth Avenue (Lincoln to Burnside) project - construction 2020-2021

Click here to RSVP on Facebook

Refreshments and activities for kids will be provided. For questions about the event, email Gabe Graff at gabriel.graff@portlandoregon.gov or call 503-823-5291.