On August 16th, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) reopened SE Yamhill Street after sinkhole damage closed the roadway for three months. The TriMet number 15 bus line has resumed its regular route along Yamhill and will service previously closed stops. On May 12th, city engineers prohibited vehicle travel from SE 76th Avenue to SE 74th Avenue due to the discovery of a large cavity growing below the road’s surface.
PBOT crews responded quickly to the mid-May SE Yamhill Street sinkhole. Upon inspection, workers discovered that the medium-sized opening in the asphalt led to a substantial cavity below the surface that they estimated at 50 feet wide by 10 feet deep. Crews stabilized the site and placed steel covers over the hole but needed to wait on additional supplies to finalize repairs. The hole had formed around a century-old sewer pipe. Crews needed to reinforce the 1914-era clay sewer with a new 16-inch plastic liner, extending its life by two decades.
TriMet bus back on its regular route along SE Yamhill
In early August, crews installed the protective liner and repaired a damaged maintenance access hole. They then filled the cavity around the pipe in stages, ensuring long-term stability. On August 16th, road crews patched the asphalt surface, reopening SE Yamhill Street to all vehicle traffic. Some construction equipment remains on the street, but all vehicles are allowed on SE Yamhill after months of detours.
Article and photos by
Jacob Loeb
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Recently, the auto-wrecking salvage yard at 9245 E Burnside Street closed permanently with a handwritten note on the door reading “Closed going out of business.” The property owners sold the expansive land to a developer last week, and that buyer will construct 16 single-family homes on the nearly one-acre parcel. Cleanup crews are working to remove the remnants of the site’s industrial past ahead of redevelopment.
Image from Portland Maps with MV News illustrations
Each two-story home will have an attached garage and offer residents just under 1,500 square feet of living space. The 400-foot-long property has vehicle access along its eastern edge via an unpaved alleyway that extends from E Burnside to NE Glisan Street. Developing the homes fronted on the alley would allow for 25-foot wide lots with 15-foot wide structures, similar to traditional split-lot skinny infill housing.
Burnside Used Truck Parts was the primary business at this location. Several other entities used this address for automotive repair services and vehicle acquisition. According to the business’s now offline website, the wrecking company began operation in 1949. The decades of vehicle salvage at the site have left substantial vehicular debris on the property. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality cited the business for improper tire storage earlier this year. However, that infraction is minor, considering the type of work practiced at the site over the years. An excavator is on site clearing the back lots and reworking the base soil. The developer will demolish the office building after the city approves those permits.
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On August 27th, TriMet will expand and improve bus service on several lines as the public transportation service works to rebalance the system for those who depend on it. As some routes improve access and frequency, service in higher-income areas with low ridership will decrease. These updates are part of a continuing effort by TriMet to better serve people with lower incomes that disproportionately rely on public transit for daily travel.
TriMet plans updates for 26 bus lines. However, only a few will impact Montavilla Riders. NE Glisan’s number 19 line will see buses arriving every 30 minutes for an extended portion of the day, every day of the week. Bus drivers will use the Tilikum Crossing instead of the Ross Island Bridge to improve transit-time reliability. TriMet will discontinue service on SE Rex Street and SE 32nd Avenue to shorten the overall trip for bus 19 riders.
Service operators will adjust weekend schedules for the FX2 rapid bus service along SE Division Street by up to 4 minutes. These changes are minimal and will help keep buses on time. However, after August 26th, riders should review the updated schedule to avoid missing their intended connection. Route planners will expand the existing Frequent Service on the 15-Belmont/NW 23rd line. After the update, weekend buses along NW 23rd Avenue will arrive every 15 minutes starting at 9:00 a.m. The Hollywood Transit Center will close its bus loading area to facilitate the construction of the HollywoodHUB affordable housing development. That closure will shift lines 75 and 77 to temporary stops on NE 42nd, Broadway, and Halsey.
The August 27th updates are part of TriMet’s Forward Together initiative. That service concept focuses on rider equity while increasing the system’s functionality. Changes to bus stops and routes will undoubtedly disrupt some people’s commutes. However, rebalancing the transportation system is a key advantage of bus networks compared to rail systems, and it is a sound method of increasing ridership by routing buses near the places people want to travel to. Frequent transit users should review all changes at the TriMet site and check the trip planner to ensure they will arrive at their destination on time.
By
Jacob Loeb
Illustrations courtesy TriMet
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On August 20th, SoundsTruck NW will roll its new mobile stage to the summit of Mount Tabor for a free concert titled Mount Immigration. Performances will feature Illegal Son with Matthew Holmes and Joe Kye with Cory Limuaco starting at 1 p.m. The Sunday event is part of a site-inspired, cross-cultural summer concert series.
The free Mt. Tabor Park performance features trombonist and composer Illegal Son (Denzel Mendoza), followed by the award-winning musician, storyteller, and 2023 Oregon Arts Commission Fellow Joe Kye. The ensemble of accomplished musicians will draw on the movements of Mt. Tabor’s landscape to examine the nature of migration and immigration. Composed using personal experiences, the music and sounds capture an emotional interpretation of life labeled as an immigrant.
“Musician and storyteller Joe Kye draws inspiration from the natural movements of Mt. Tabor’s lush, urban, mountain landscape. Joined by percussionist Cory Limuaco, he’ll perform original songs while weaving in improvisational moments, interacting with the audience and the park setting to create new sonic environments. Focusing on creativity, community, and identity, Kye’s work taps into an inner core, inspiring audiences to compassion and empathy. Drawing upon his immigrant upbringing, Kye weaves together electronic and acoustic textures, catchy melodies, and vocals to uplift and empower listeners. Trombonist and composer Denzel Mendoza is Illegal Son, and opens for Joe with bassist Matthew Holmes. A Filipino National born in Singapore, raised in Las Vegas, NV; studied in NYC, NY, and based in Portland, OR; Mendoza has lived in the United States for the majority of his life but yet, he continues to chase the American Dream. Since 2004, Mendoza has been an Undocumented Immigrant. Illegal Son is quite simply his emotional and vulnerable interpretation of life as Undocumented through sound and music.” – SoundsTruck NW –
On September 28th, the African Youth & Community Organization (AYCO) will host the Unleashing Roots fundraising gala in their new Dream Center building at 2110 SE 82nd Avenue. The immigrant and refugee support nonprofit is seeking sponsors for the event and selling individual tickets to people interested in supporting this organization. The Thursday afternoon event begins at 3 p.m. and features Oregon Senator Kayse Jama as the keynote speaker.
AYCO purchased its new building in January 2023. However, the wedge-shaped structure sat mostly vacant since its construction, never finding a primary tenant. Consequentially, it lacks sufficient demising walls and doesn’t meet the organization’s needs. Funds from this gala will support the tenant improvements planned for the space and further the group’s goals of creating a cultural hub in the Montavilla Community. However, the event is more than just a platform to support AYCO’s array of services for immigrant communities across the metro area. The gala is an opportunity to examine the past years of accomplishments and look at the group’s path forward. “Unleashing Roots is an occasion to reflect on our journey and celebrate the remarkable achievements we have made together. We transformed setbacks into stepping stones, turning a long-empty shell of a building into a beacon of hope for our community,” wrote the Executive Director of AYCO Jamal Dar.
Individuals wishing to attend the Unleashing Roots gala can purchase a ticket for $65.00 at https://aycoworld.nationbuilder.com/unleashing_roots, and businesses wanting to provide support can contribute at several levels that offer benefits that can include tickets or whole tables at the event. AYCO also accepts donations year-round at the organization’s website. With a successful fundraising campaign, the building could soon transform into the youth activity center and cultural services hub envisioned for this site.
In early August, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) applied for funding to reconstruct the intersection at NE Glisan Street and 80th Avenue. The proposal seeks to replace four existing sidewalk corners with curb extensions and add two median refuge islands to minimize the crossing distance of NE Glisan. Work will include marked crosswalks and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps. In addition to creating a safe crossing for families traveling to Vestal School, this work could extend the 70s Greenway Project along NE 80th, realigning the multimodal route to its original design.
PBOT initially intended to reconstruct the NE Glisan Street and 80th Avenue intersection as part of the currently underway greenway work. However, the final project’s design reused an existing safe crossing at NE 78th Avenue instead. Although this cost-saving measure did not substantially impact the bike-friendly pathway, it left a gap in the pedestrian crossing infrastructure near a school. Vestal families and the school’s Parent Teacher Association have recently advocated for better NE Glisan crossing options at 80th. Working with the transportation agency, community members expressed a clear need for marked crosswalks, better signage, and accessible ramps at this location. On August 2nd, PBOT staff applied for an Oregon Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School rapid response grant to cover 80% of the $609,000 estimated project costs. PBOT will need to contribute $122,000 towards this reconstruction work.
This project will not change NE Glisan travel lanes. However, the installations of median refuge islands to the east and west of the intersection will eliminate protected left turns onto NE 80th Avenue. Extended curbs push out several feet beyond the sidewalk’s edge into the parking lane. Their design shortens the distance for pedestrians crossing a street and makes people waiting to cross more visible to drivers that may not see past a parked car. During the design phase of this project and after community engagement, PBOT traffic engineers will evaluate the need for additional safety design elements. However, the transportation bureau doesn’t anticipate an installation of signals. “With those improvements shortening crossing distance, we won’t need a much more expensive signal or beacon to meet our crossing safety guidelines,” explained PBOT spokesperson Dylan Rivera.
PBOT map showing proposed greenways as dotted green lines
The grant application only funds improvements to crosswalk infrastructure at NE Glisan Street and 80th Avenue. “Our goal with this project is primarily to provide a pedestrian crossing to support safe routes to school and access to the bus stops. It will also support the proposed neighborhood greenway, but that would be a separate project, and we have not yet identified funding for the greenway project,” said Rivera. However, PBOT staff presented design ideas for a greenway route along NE 80th at a recent Building a Better 82nd Avenue Workshop. It shows a continuation of the greenway from NE Everett Street to NE Halsey Street, with east-west connectors added at NE Oregon Street and NE Holladay Street. This update could make the 70s Greenway straighter while connecting to sections of the neighborhood underserved by bikable connectors.
If PBOT receives the Safe Routes to School rapid response grant, they will begin extensive community outreach, including people from Vestal School and the surrounding neighborhood. An optimistic timeline for improvements at NE Glisan and 80th has public engagement concluding in late October and finalizing design documents in December, placing the construction phase sometime in the summer of 2024. These timelines will likely shift, and funding sources may not immediately succeed. Still, PBOT intends to address community safety concerns at this location and will push for an expedited construction schedule.
Photos and story by
Jacob Loeb
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Starting tonight, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) will close all lanes of westbound Interstate 84 near I-205. This weekend closure begins on Friday, August 11th, with road crews reopening the freeway to traffic by 5 a.m. Monday, August 14th. Drivers using I-84 West should follow the short detour to I-205 South and immediately merge back onto I-84 West. ODOT crews will block two on-ramps leading to the closed roadway during repair work, with one additional on-ramp at NE 102nd Avenue open only during the daytime hours.
This freeway closure was initially scheduled for July but postponed due to material availability issues. Over the weekend, crews will continue a resurfacing project involving the installation of a new concrete surface on the I84 West bridge. Crews worked on the eastbound section of I84 in June. Drivers should anticipate delays as people navigate the detour and work around the on-ramp closures.
On August 9th, Portland Police issued a shelter-in-place order in Montavilla as they attempted to apprehend the person suspected of threatening people with a firearm. Police initially received a call at 12:19 p.m. reporting a suspicious person with a weapon at SE 82nd Avenue and Ash Street. That situation quickly escalated to a substantial police response involving armored vehicles and tactical officers. The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) eventually took a suspect into custody without injury and recovered a gun as evidence.
According to Police, arriving officers located the man suspected of brandishing a weapon. However, he refused to comply with officers, taking off on foot. Around 1 p.m., police officers confronted the person near SE 81st and Washington Street observing what they believed was a gun. Assisting PPB members created a six-block perimeter around the suspect bordered by SE Stark Street, SE 82nd Avenue, SE Morrison Street, and SE 80th Avenue. PPB utilized the public safety alert system to issue a shelter-in-place order for the immediate area as a precaution.
Image from Portland Maps with MV News illustrations showing Police perimeter in red
Because Police believed the suspect had a firearm and was non-compliant, the Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) responded to the incident with assistance from PPB’s Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT). A neighbor near the incident and home at the time heard the event. They described 20 to 30 minutes of police instruction to the suspect that went partially obeyed. Police instructed the individual not to reach for his weapon. The person complied by keeping his hands on his head. However, subsequent requests were not followed, preventing officers from safely approaching the suspect. Eventually, he followed all commands, and Police took the person into custody without physical injury.
This Police response was significant in scope and received substantial attention from people in the area. Some observers remarked that the show of force was unnecessary. However, the PPB has established procedures to address situations where suspects are armed, and policies also prevent support from alternative response divisions like the Portland Street Response when a weapon is involved. Even if police actions seemed larger than necessary to some, the process PPB followed did result in a none violent apprehension of a potentially armed individual.
This Sunday, Montavilla’s Street Plaza will host a Carnival popup from noon to 5 p.m. This all-ages community event is a fundraiser for yet another neighborhood event, Nightmare on Taylor Street, occurring on Halloween. Organizers have an assortment of kid-friendly activities planned for the August 13th Carnival at SE 79th Avenue and Stark Street. For the adults, sponsor Threshold Brewing will serve up beer while future Taylor Street business La Osita will also partake in the festivities, selling burritos to hungry participants.
Carnival activities include variations of traditional carny games, raffles, face painting, clowns, photo ops, and dancing. Each child attending receives three tickets to use on the games. They can choose from a water-gun-based challenge where participants take aim at balls placed inside castle windows. People can test their dexterity at two ring toss stations or by popping balloons with a well-thrown dart. Local businesses donated items, services, and gift certificates to raffle off to lucky winners. Two face painters will apply their craft, and a roaming Tarot card reader will attempt to peek into people’s futures. Clown Michael O’Neill from Nomadic Theater brings physical comedy to the event, while dance team Izohnny provides graceful motion.
This weekend’s donations and carnival earnings will support the Montavilla Halloween tradition of Nightmare on Taylor Street. Tim Marino, who goes by Mr. Timmy Tumbles when coordinating community events, has led an effort to unify the neighborhood through an annual scary holiday celebration. On October 31st, Marino and his neighbors close SE Taylor Street from 76th to 80th Avenue, creating a kid-friendly and adult-entertaining day of activities. It is a safe and scary space with elaborate decorations and activities. Marino is happy to contribute hours of his time to make this event possible. Decoration storage costs thousands, and candy can top $700 each year. In most years, the cost was manageable. However, last year’s snowstorm destroyed tents used for the event, and other theming expenses took the project over budget, requiring community support.
Carny GamesMonstavilla Shirt for Order at eventPhoto Op sword board
The annual block party began in 2016, taking inspiration from the existing Halloween celebrations occurring at the Taylor Court Grocery store. “Mel and Earl used to have the kids come in with their Halloween costumes, take photos, and create a community board for everyone to see,” said Marino. “I wanted to keep their tradition alive, providing a safe place for the community to come together.” Mel Hafsos and Errol Carlson owned the historic grocery near SE 80th and Taylor. They closed the store during the pandemic, and both passed away over the last few years. Their former store will soon reopen as La Osita restaurant. Thanks to the efforts of residents on SE Taylor Street, that community tradition continues for all of Montavilla. It has reached crowds of 1100 people and even attracted hundreds during inclement weather like last year’s Halloween rainstorm.
Tim Marino adores Halloween and enjoys how it brings people together regardless of their divisions. For him and the residents around Taylor Street, this is the magical holiday they look forward to each year. “It’s the only time someone can go from being absolutely frightened, then laugh about it in the blink of an eye. [That’s] why the kids look forward to coming back every year,” explained Marino. He hopes everyone will enjoy Sunday’s carnival that pays homage to this year’s Nightmare on Taylor Street theme, Kreepy Karnival. People not interested or able to attend the carnival can donate to the Halloween event through Venmo and PayPal.
After a three-year hiatus, the Jade International Night Market will return on Saturday, August 19th. The free event will take place within the Portland Community College (PCC) Southeast campus at 2305 SE 82nd Avenue from 1 to 9 p.m. Unlike other years, planners concentrated a two-evening event into a single day, creating an opportunity for more family-focused programming and accommodating a diversity of schedules.
The Jade International Night Market began in 2014, spanning four consecutive Saturdays from 6 to 10 p.m. in the Fubonn Shopping Center parking lot. “From what I’ve been told was a huge success. So many people came out that they had to find another partner for space,” explained Jade District Community Development Manager Alisa Kajikawa. At the time, event coordinators estimated nearly 20,000 people attended the four-weekend markets. Jade District‘s Night Market moved to the PCC SE Campus the following year and consolidated the event dates to just two Saturday evenings in August from 5 to 10 p.m. The annual event kept the same cadence and location through 2019. After that, the pandemic halted gatherings, and the program lost its inertia.
The Jade International Night Market will return on a single date in 2023 for its seventh year. “Capacity-wise, we decided one day would be better for PCC and our planning, but also wanting to make it longer so that it could be a full-day event,” said Kajikawa. The format change has not dissuaded participation. Over 100 food vendors, retailers, and organizations have signed up for booths. Groups from all over Portland will participate, renting booths at this outdoor event. Kajikawa explained that the Night Market is a district promotion, so they provided subsidies for Jade District businesses to encourage local participation.
Onsite parking is free but limited. Walking, biking, and public transit are recommended for people visiting the Jade International Night Market. The number 72 bus and the FX 2 lines converge on this location. Outside of securing parking in the PCC parking lot, early attendance will improve an attendee’s chance of picking up several free items. To bolster the family attractions, guests can receive free face painting and balloon art from 1 to 5 p.m. During that same time, Portland Nursery will make supplies available to paint a small pot hosting one of 500 free plants. The Jade District will hand out 5000 paper fans from the information booth to keep people cool in the daytime heat. Kajikawa cautioned that all free activities and items are limited to supplies on hand and will probably run out before 5 p.m.
Event organizers intend to make this year’s Market appealing to a broader range of attendees. The Night Market will be an alcohol and tobacco free event focused on food, crafts, information, and entertainment. The extended hours should allow more people to cycle through the booths without the crowding of previous Markets. Interested people should check the list of confirmed vendors below to plan their visit, noting that they can now eat both lunch and dinner thanks to the extended event.
