This week, crews installed the final segments of the fence surrounding the Yard at Montavilla. The food cart pod at 8220 NE Davis Street opened in July but maintained construction fencing around the property until this recent work began. The new barrier opens up two new pedestrian entry points along 82nd Avenue and eventually will accommodate wider paved sidewalks.

The black spear-top metal fence wraps the Yard at Montavilla on NE Davis Street and 82nd Avenue. The new boundary for the food cart pod provides a 15-foot setback from the curb on 82nd Avenue. Next year, the five-foot-wide sidewalk will expand to encompass the area now covered in gravel, creating a vastly larger walkway. “The Sidewalk will continue all the way up to our new fence. So it will be a very wide Pedestrian Zone sidewalk right there,” explained Kevin Dennis, co-owner of the Yard at Montavilla. 

According to Dennis, the 82nd Avenue sidewalk expansion work will start Spring of 2022. Crews will add a new ADA ramp at the corner and paint fresh crosswalk markings as part of the project. Along with other landscaping, the Yard at Montavilla’s owners planted three street trees near the new fence, evenly spaced along the NE 82nd Avenue property line. Together, the expanded walkway and trees create a model sidewalk under the new Civic Corridor guidelines.

In May 2019, the Portland City Council unanimously adopted the 82nd Avenue Plan, creating a Civic Corridor on 82nd Avenue. The document outlines expanded right-of-way dedication and frontage improvements, with sidewalks that range from 12 feet to 15 feet. Pedestrian District’s call for fifteen feet or wider walkways. They must also maintain a clear Pedestrian Through Zone of eight feet. This property is outside the Montavilla Pedestrian District, ending at E Burnside street. Properties on 82nd Avenue outside Pedestrian Districts only need to provide a 12-foot wide sidewalk and a Pedestrian Through Zone of six feet. The additional pavement added to this project beyond the requirements is supportive of the most pedestrian-friendly city designs. It should create a comfortable place for people to gather as they transition into the food cart pod without blocking pedestrians walking through the area.

As the weather warms, look for road crews working on the new larger sidewalk. Until then, the extra space is already accessible, and asphalt paths through the two new gates make it easier to drop in and grab a meal from a Yard at Montavilla cart.