Crews working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will update sidewalk corners along NE Glisan Street as part of the planned NE Glisan Pave and Paint Project, which will use pavement maintenance to restripe and reconfigure the roadway from NE 82nd to 92nd avenues. Ahead of the planned summer work, contractors will begin rebuilding crossing points to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant standards for curb ramps and updating stormwater catch basin placement to match the new ramps and better handle rainwater runoff.
Recently added pavement markings at the “T” intersection of NE Glisan Street and 83rd Avenue indicate the placement of new curb ramps at the south corners and two mid-block ramps on the north alignment for the unmarked crosswalk. Montavilla Park and the Multnomah University campus create a long, uninterrupted block on the northern edge of NE Glisan. Up to now, anyone crossing the busy east-west roadway had limited curb ramp options. PBOT will need to enhance most crossing points along the work site that are not already updated to modern standards before major roadwork takes place, as the repaving project repairs the cuts made by the sidewalk corner and stormwater system installation at the street’s edge. People can expect that work to take place this Spring.
PBOT planners anticipate that much of the in-traffic lane work will take place in the Summer of 2026, when crews use heavy equipment to grind down old asphalt and spread a new layer of aggregate bound with bitumen to create a smoother driving surface. Contractors will repaint the lane markings in a new configuration to support painted buffered-bike lanes along the curb for much of the project length. This section of NE Glisan Street implemented alternating outer lanes used for parking or an auxiliary travel lane, depending on the time of day. Collisions occurred on this street where cars were parked, but drivers may have assumed the outer lane was clear. PBOT engineers anticipate that removing that conflict point will yield significant safety improvements with minimal impact on vehicle throughput. This work will also increase safer bike and pedestrian infrastructure in the area this year, while later project work can build on the new configuration with hardened street elements for greater safety.
This stretch of NE Glisan received an Oregon Metro Regional Flexible Funds Allocation grant to add physically protected bike infrastructure sometime in 2030. The work included in the Northeast Glisan St: 82nd Avenue Multimodal Safety and Access project would require lane reconfiguration and repainting. PBOT Planners feel that this 2026 road surface maintenance presents an opportunity to save public funds by reconfiguring the street during the post-asphalt-work painting process ahead of the larger safety improvement project. By doing road marking work now in the new configuration, post-repaving, PBOT can save taxpayer funds by lessening the reconfiguration costs four years later.
Travelers should anticipate seeing more pavement markings on the sidewalk along NE Glisan Street from NE 82nd to 92nd avenues as planners ready the area for the rebuilt pedestrian and stormwater infrastructure. People walking in the area should anticipate detours when demolition and construction work start in the spring. Drivers in the area should expect temporary outer lane closures on NE Glisan during construction, followed by permanent outer lane closures after crews paint new lane markings. Details are available on the project website.
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