Category: Infrastructure

Community, Construction, Government, Infrastructure

Montavilla Picnic Shelter Added to Budget

On May 20th, at the end of a marathon budget session, the Portland City Council approved an $8.5 billion city budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 with a $755,000 line item for a replacement Montavilla Park picnic shelter. Portland City Council Member Tiffany Koyama Lane’s amendment to the budget came back to consideration at the tail-end of the proceeding after a quick revision to specify Parks Local Option Levy money as the intended funding source. This budget addition passed seven to five at the end of an evening Council session that saw many failing amendments with 6-6 ties as city leaders addressed a $160 million revenue shortfall.

A construction site showing the partial demolition of a building, with scattered debris and a bulldozer in the foreground.
Montavilla Park picnic shelter demolition October 2021, photos by Weston Ruter

Political interest in funding a replacement picnic shelter ramped up recently; however, the community’s desire for its replacement began years before. In October 2021, demolition crews removed the aging picnic shelter at Montavilla Park and installed new grass turf rather than preparing the site for an already-designed replacement structure. Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) postponed the planned modern 2,000-square-foot open-walled replacement shelter due to a department-wide budgetary shortfall. Before its removal, the area was fenced off for safety concerns. Earlier this month, a community group began circulating a petition to build that Montavilla Park structure.

Architectural drawings of a picnic shelter, including a floor plan and elevation views from the east/west and north/south. The design features a metal roof, wood rafters, and a concrete foundation.
Proposed Montavilla Park Picnic Shelter from 2021

The petition effort, led by members of the Hope & Bread Street Church who gather in the park for Sunday service, gained community interest, with ABC Television affiliate KATU and MV News covering the campaign. On May 17th, Councilor Koyama Lane from Montavilla’s District 3 included shelter funding as part of her seven proposed budget amendments, later receiving expressed support from other elected officials, including Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards and Oregon Representative Thuy Tran.

Votes for the Montavilla Park picnic shelter did not fall strictly on Portland City Council District lines with District 3 and District 1 residents having local access to the park. District 3 Councilor Steve Novick voted against the funding due to reservations regarding project priorities, given the City staff reductions and program cuts necessary to balance this year’s budget. He expressed support for the project but worried about the potential to overlook other needed projects without an evaluation process to rank community needs. “I would love to be able to vote for this. This is important, but I think that we should make all of these decisions in the context of considering trade-offs, and parks as a huge maintenance backlog,” said Novick, preceding the vote. “I just can’t make this decision out of context. Maybe if we took a long look at all the things that communities have been promised in the maintenance backlog, this would rise to the top. But I can’t say that I’ve done that work, so I can’t support this today.”

Black and white photograph of NE 82nd Street at NE Glisan Street, featuring a mix of storefronts and residential homes, with a wet road and power lines visible.
1933 Portland Archive image. 82nd Ave roadwork looking north from NE Glisan St. A previous Montavilla park shelter is visible at the right but is not the one removed in 2021

Some petitioners supporting replacing Montavilla Park’s picnic shelter had been watching the proceedings since early afternoon and had to wait until nearly 9:30 p.m. for the session’s final budget amendment vote. The Tax Supervising and Conservation Commission will conduct a legal review of the amended budget. The council can make further adjustments to the approved budget, provided that no individual fund is adjusted by more than 10%. In June, the Portland City Council must formally adopt the budget ahead of July 1st, when the new fiscal year begins. At that point, Parks planners can begin project planning for the return of a Montavilla Park picnic shelter, restoring a nearly 100-year run of having a covered outdoor gathering space at this location.

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Jacob Loeb

Portland City Council District 3 members and Representative Thuy Tran are up for reelection in November 2026. Julia Brim-Edwards is seeking the Multnomah County Chair position. Montavilla News does not endorse individual candidates or ballot measures.

Update: Portland Archive image description expanded to note that the shelter shown in 1933 photo is not the one demolished in 2021. It was removed at an unknown date.

Infrastructure

82nd Ave Repaving South of Division Begins May 18

Crews and subcontractors with Raimore Construction will begin repaving SE 82nd Avenue south of SE Division Street starting May 18th. This continues repaving work from summer 2025 as part of the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) 82nd Avenue Major Maintenance Project. Work will focus on SE Clinton to Brooklyn streets and then continue south to SE Powell Boulevard later in the month. Road users should anticipate delays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, due to active in-street construction.

A warning sign indicating that the right lane is closed ahead, with a bright orange background and black text, placed next to a tree on a road.

This work is funded as part of the Building a Better 82nd initiative, created to address deferred maintenance issues identified after the jurisdictional transfer of 82nd Avenue from the Oregon Department of Transportation to PBOT on June 1st, 2022. PBOT classifies 82nd Avenue’s existing pavement as severely deteriorated in the section its contractor will repave this summer, including work from SE Clinton to Bush streets, NE Thomson to Hancock, and SE Schiller Street to SE Foster Road. The road surface in these areas exhibits cracking that allows water infiltration below the surface, leading to repeated potholes and shortening the road’s lifespan. Additionally, 82nd Avenue’s past expansions decades ago created weak points that need more significant repairs.

Map showing the 2026 paving schedule for the 82nd Avenue Major Maintenance Project, including segments with start dates and completed areas.
82nd Avenue’s 2026 Paving Schedule, courtesy PBOT

In its early stages, 82nd Avenue supported only three lanes of traffic, with one lane for vehicles traveling in each direction and a center turn lane. Transportation officials reserved the outer edges of the street for parking in many places, and engineers did not build parking pavement to the same standard as the street’s center. When transportation officials removed parking to add another travel lane in each direction, they did not update the road’s supporting base, leading to premature wear. Consequently, unlike many repaving projects that grind off the top layer of asphalt and replace it with a fresh mixture of aggregate and bitumen, this project requires more significant work in the outer lanes of the former State Highway. Crews working on this project will need to remove the outer lanes to their base layer and reengineer them to support the weight of moving vehicles before repaving the entire surface. The project calls for 13 inches of new asphalt pavement on top of the new road base, which can support freight and buses.

Infographic depicting the paving process for the 82nd Avenue major maintenance project, outlining six steps: excavate and pave, grind and pave, and construct median center islands, along with planting trees.
Northbound view of 82nd Ave, a five-lane street with two lanes in each direction and a center turn lane. Graphic courtesy PBOT.

The results will provide a smoother road surface that should last longer before requiring future repairs. It will also endure the new usage requirements proposed by the TriMet 82nd Avenue Transit Project that seeks to transform the 72 bus line into a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system under TriMet’s FX (Frequent Express) moniker. This enhanced transit service will use 60-foot articulated hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses that will serve 82nd Avenue. On February 13th, project designers were allowed to moved forward in developing 7 miles of Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes along most of Portland’s portion of 82nd Avenue. With high-capacity vehicles, modern stations, traffic signal priority, and, now, transit priority on the outer lanes of 82nd Avenue, this updated project scope will shorten travel times for BRT riders and increase capacity, but place higher demands on the outer lanes of the roadway.

Construction crew working on a road, using a milling machine to remove asphalt, with several trucks lined up for material transport.
Crews grinding down the top layer of asphalt on previous project

PBOT anticipates work continuing through July, with contractors working on the western lanes first before transitioning to the eastern lanes. Crews will start on the outside lane, then move to the inside lanes on each side. One lane in each direction will remain open during the majority of the work. The final phases of repaving will create concrete median islands with space for street trees in select areas. Landscapers will plant those trees later this fall, when rainwater can help establish healthy root growth. Financial support from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) is helping the transportation agency plant more than 175 trees along 82nd Avenue as part of the 82nd Avenue Major Maintenance Project. Planners expect the shade from these trees will mitigate the impact of extreme heat events, which particularly raise temperatures in paved spaces.

View of a street under construction with traffic barriers and cones in place. Cars are lined up along the side of the road, and there are construction fences visible on the sidewalk.
2025 82nd Ave repaving

Drivers should expect delays in this area and always follow the crew’s instructions, as people entering and exiting adjacent businesses will require assistance to navigate the construction zone. This roadwork is just one of many PBOT projects underway, all aimed at creating a safer and more stable street. Current projects will extend throughout 2026. Funding for some of the ongoing work comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, which has a deadline of December 31st, 2026, to complete the funded work.

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Jacob Loeb

Disclosure: The author of this article served on the Building a Better 82nd Community Advisory Group and the 82nd Avenue Transit Project Community Advisory Committee (CAC).

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Infrastructure

Scaled Back NE Halsey Safety Project

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) recently scaled back plans for the NE Halsey Street Safety and Access to Transit Project, postponing a planned intersection improvement at NE 69th Avenue and removing a 150-foot section of new sidewalk and street trees from the project’s scope. PBOT says the $380,000 in cost savings is necessary to meet reduced funding for this project while still maintaining core improvement goals of filling gaps in walking and biking connections on NE Halsey Street from NE 80th to NE 92nd Avenues.

In April, PBOT updated the “NE Halsey Street (68th to 92nd Avenues) – Safety and Access to Transit Project” website to redirect to the newly renamed “NE Halsey Street (80th to 92nd Avenues) – Safety and Access to Transit Project.” The removed western portion of the project cut a protected high-visibility crosswalk on NE Halsey Street at NE 69th Avenue and removed traffic flow improvements where Interstate 84 off-ramp traffic merges with NE 68th and NE 69th Avenues before joining a slip lane leading onto eastbound NE Halsey Street. This change pushes the start of bike lane infrastructure west of NE 70th Avenue and retains an intersection that some local residents have complained about for years. In 2020 outreach, it was identified as a conflict-heavy junction. In August 2025, PBOT representatives said the design would change, noting the 2020 rendering was outdated and no longer reflected current designs. Work on this portion of the project never broke ground.

An illustrated layout of a road intersection featuring cars, bicycles, and pedestrians, along with bike lanes and green space.
Outdated PBOT rendering of the NE Halsey Street at NE 69th Avenue improvments

PBOT spokesperson Dylan Rivera explained that the NE 69th Avenue segment is separated from the other project elements by several blocks, and a staff review determined that it was the only major element that planners could cut without compromising the overall safety designs of the other elements. He notes that street designers still consider this intersection a priority for future implementation. “The intersection design is fully complete. It’s a shovel-ready project,” remarked Rivera. “We believe it’s an important improvement, and we are actively pursuing funding to build it as originally planned. While the work will be delayed, it should not be considered canceled.”

A roundabout with orange traffic cones, marked with a sign indicating the location of a removed sidewalk from the project. Surrounding greenery and utility poles are visible.

The other project reduction is south of the new NE 81st and Halsey roundabout. This pedestrian connector would have created about 150 feet of sidewalk and street trees on the north side of NE 81st Avenue, where it curves towards NE Halsey Street. Pedestrians can still walk on the existing sidewalk across the street. The PBOT representative explained that the unbuilt section of the sidewalk would not have completely filled the sidewalk gap, leaving a 200-foot section where people would have to use the roadway or cross the street. However, the sidewalk segment would have connected to a shortcut path that leads to the 82nd Avenue Bus and MAX station. That path is currently closed due to safety concerns following the adjacent property owner’s fencing of their parking lot. It could reopen to the public at some point, and a sidewalk connection on NE 81st Avenue would be helpful, according to some transit users in the area.

Map illustration showing a roundabout at the intersection of NE Halsey Street, NE 80th Street, and NE 81st Street, near the I-84 eastbound off-ramp, with labeled roadways.
Rendering of NE Halsey roundabout pre 2026 update to remove sidewalk section, courtesy PBOT
Map showing the layout of a roundabout at NE Halsey Street and NE 80th Street, with an off-ramp from I-84 East and the surrounding roadways.
Rendering of NE Halsey roundabout post 2026 update to remove sidewalk section, courtesy PBOT

PBOT says the cost savings implemented also shorten the project timeline by one month. Crews are nearing completion of the mini roundabout, which has taken months to construct. In December 2025, contractors began work on NE Halsey Street at NE 80th and NE 81st Avenues. At first, NE Halsey remained open to east-west through traffic as crews installed underground stormwater management pipes connecting to relocated catch basins as part of this street reconfiguration. The project then progressed to sidewalks and curbs on the south side of the intersection, with half the roundabout completed in early February. Starting February 16th, westbound motorists on NE Halsey Street began using a detour to NE 82nd Avenue during construction on the northern half of the new mini-roundabout. Crews completed paving in May, with the roadway still closed to vehicles at the time of publication.

A newly constructed roundabout with traffic cones and construction barriers, surrounded by a blue sky with a few clouds.

The contractor working with PBOT on this project, Interlaken, and their subcontractors work the length of the NE Halsey job site. Rivera noted that observed inactivity at the roundabout was expected, as they manage resources across the whole project, and that Interlaken remains on track to finish work this summer. Pacific Power still needs to energize new power poles, and contractor Prairie Electric will install streetlights. Cement masons with Nu Wave Concrete have additional pavement work to complete around the intersection. PBOT expects the westbound Halsey closure to remain in place through the end of May to maintain crew safety working on the north side of the intersection.

A street view showing an intersection with a stop sign, power lines overhead, a Public Storage sign in the background, and a Powerball lottery billboard indicating a jackpot amount.
I-84 off-ramp slip lane onto NE Halsey St at 68th Ave

PBOT has completed a new design for the postponed intersection improvements, which they anticipate will make it safer for people biking and walking to travel through the area where Interstate 84 eastbound travelers exit the highway and enter NE Halsey Street. Information about that work will likely become available when additional funding is secured by the transportation bureau.

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Jacob Loeb

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Community, Government, Infrastructure

Group Circulates Montavilla Park Picnic Shelter Petition

In October 2021, demolition crews removed the aging picnic shelter at Montavilla Park and planted new grass turf. Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) has postponed the planned modern 2,000-square-foot open-walled replacement shelter due to a department-wide budgetary shortfall. Now, half a decade later, without a functional covered park space, a community group is circulating a petition to build that Montavilla Park structure.

Abandoned covered structure surrounded by a metal fence in a grassy area, with overgrown vegetation and 'Do Not Enter' signs posted.
The aging picnic shelter at Montavilla Park fenced in 2020 and demolished in 2021

Before demolition work began, PP&R updated the Montavilla Park Picnic Shelter project webpage, announcing the pending deconstruction of the structure and noting the lack of funds for its replacement. That web page is no longer accessible to the public. Park staff planted grass seed on the worksite, and signs of the shelter’s past presence are near undetectable. In 2021, PP&R representative Mark Ross confirmed the project’s indefinite delay while emphasizing that staff would continue to seek opportunities to revive it in future budgets.

With Montavilla’s decaying shelter demolished and no longer a danger to parkgoers, the replacement shelter project eventually disappeared from the PP&R project page. However, the picnic shelter is still listed as a Montavilla Park amenity on the location’s official web page and park maps. Tired of waiting for the project to become a priority on its own, Hope & Bread Street Church decided it was time to launch a petition requesting that the project be returned to priority status with PP&R. The faith group uses the park 52 Sundays a year, in all weather. The lack of covered shelter is a significant burden for that group, and they understand it is impacting other park users as well. The petition will collect the digital signatures from all interested parties who want a new picnic shelter in Montavilla Park.

Architectural drawings of a picnic shelter, including a floor plan and elevation views from the east/west and north/south. The design features a metal roof, wood rafters, and a concrete foundation.
Proposed Montavilla Park Picnic Shelter from 2021

Hope & Bread Street Church’s volunteers pride themselves on adapting to conditions and set up portable canopies during the winter months. However, they note that wind and rain limit their ability to keep people dry year-round, and they want to serve attendees with dignity while remaining accessible to those who are not comfortable attending within a traditional indoor gathering space. Although the host petitioner’s need is specific, their request is generic: for all community members and all Montavilla Park users to have access to a covered area within the neighborhood’s public recreation space.

Hope & Bread Street Church’s representative says the petition has 70 signatures from its participants and hopes the community will join their efforts. This request comes at a time when the city faces a budget gap of over $160 million, and many city services will likely face significant cuts. However, even during budget shortfalls, PP&R has tapped System Development Charge (SDC) funds paid by eligible developers. That money is used for capital projects that expand the park system’s capacity, including the expansion of existing parks or facilities. People have until May 17th to sign the petition before it is delivered to the Portland City Council.

Update May 19, 2026: Portland Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane is proposing seven budget amendments for FY2026–2027, which includes funds to rebuild the Montavilla Park picnic shelter. Portland City Council will consider these and other budget amendments as the city leaders work to finalize a balanced budget.

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Infrastructure

NE Glisan Storm Drain Work at 91st and 92nd

Crews working with Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) will install modern stormwater management sump drains under NE Glisan Street at the intersections of NE 91st and 92nd Avenues. This work is happening at the same time crews working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) are updating sidewalk corners and curb ramps in the area to meet modern Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. These improvement projects are taking place ahead of a planned street repaving and painting project on NE Glisan Street from NE 82nd to 92nd Avenues. Additional work on SE 94th Avenue will add a new sediment structure and sumps near SE Stark Street.

Map showing NE Glisan and SE 94th Storm Drainage Improvements, detailing locations of new storm structures and sumps.
Project map courtesy BES
Diagram illustrating a stormwater management system, showing a car on a street with rain, a storm drain connected to a sedimentation manhole, and a sump/UIC.
Sump Graphic courtesy BES

This work requires in-street excavation to make room for the sump maintenance hole created by a large concrete cylinder installed under the street. This structure temporarily stores stormwater, allowing the ground to slowly absorb the rain runoff. During rainfall, water flows into curbside storm drains along the road, which connect to underground separation tanks called sedimentation maintenance holes. This filters out garbage and pollutants from the rainwater before it flows into the sump. At the surface, people only see the round metal maintenance hole covers and the storm drain grates, but the subsurface structures play a critical role in handling runoff from the impervious roadway.

Freshly poured concrete sidewalk with wooden frames, surrounded by a construction barrier and a tree in the background.
NE Glisan St northwest sidewalk corner reconstructed at 91st Ave

Crews working with BES completed similar work on NE Glisan Street and 91st Avenue in March 2025. Cement masons reconstructed the northeast corner of the intersection during that project.

Freshly poured concrete sidewalk with safety barriers around it, featuring a grassy area and a tree in the middle, near a residential green house.
NE Glisan St mid-block curb ramp at NE 92nd Ave with stormwater inlet

Drivers should anticipate further lane closures starting early May, and pedestrians should be prepared to use detours to cross the street or avoid active job sites. People traveling in the area should follow all crew instructions during working hours and maintain a safe distance from heavy equipment operating in the public right-of-way. Motorists can anticipate further delays on NE Glisan Street during peak travel times.

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Construction, Infrastructure

Repaving NE 87th from I-84 to NE Glisan

On April 22nd, crews with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) begin grinding down the old asphalt pavement along NE 87th Avenue from the dead-end section near Interstate 84’s sound wall north of NE Hassalo Street and progressing south towards NE Glisan Street. This follows work started last summer to update sidewalk corner curb ramps to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. That sidewalk infrastructure upgrade and this repaving work underway will create a mostly accessible path through a section of Montavilla with inconsistent pedestrian infrastructure. The northeast section of the neighborhood’s connectivity is constrained by two freeways bordering it to the east and north, along with heavy traffic on NE 82nd Avenue and NE Glisan Street along the other edges of these blocks, inhibiting travel. NE 87th Avenue is part of the city’s low-traffic Neighborhood Greenway for walkers and people rolling to their destination.

Map showing pavement moratorium and planned paving projects in the Montavilla neighborhood of Portland, highlighting Multnomah University and surrounding streets.
Image from Portland Maps showing paving of NE 87th Ave in purple

In August 2025, cement masons reconstructed eight sidewalk corners along NE 87th Avenue and added a mid-block curb ramp on the south side of NE Glisan Street across from the northeast corner of 87th Avenue at the NE Glisan intersection. This project creates an opportunity for a near-continuously paved north-south pedestrian path between NE Hassalo Street and NE Glisan Street. However, missing paved sidewalks on the northern edges of 8631 and 8636 NE Holladay Street will require pedestrians to walk across the lawns of these homes to reach the new ADA curb ramps and the existing paved sidewalks. Future redevelopment of those properties could require installing new sidewalks to complete the pedestrian connection.

A large Wirtgen W 210 Fi milling machine parked on a roadside, featuring an extended conveyor and a modern design, surrounded by grass and trees.
PBOT pavement grinding equipment parked along 8631 NE Holladay Street’s frontage without a sidewalk

PBOT will continue grinding down the road surface and then transition to repaving NE 87th Avenue from NE Glisan Street to just north of NE Hassalo Street. The maintenance paving crews will work on one travel lane at a time from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. Drivers should expect delays and obey all crew instructions. The sidewalks will remain open. PBOT intends to complete work by Thursday, April 30th. Funding for this project comes from the voter-approved Fixing Our Streets tax, paid by heavy vehicle users and a 10-cent-per-gallon gas tax.

A residential street ending at a dead end, with construction materials and signs indicating road work. A blue delivery vehicle is parked nearby, and there are several trash bins along the curb.
Dead-end section NE 87th Avenue north of NE Hassalo St

This work, along with the curb ramp improvements and repaving happening on NE Glisan from NE 82nd to 92nd avenues, will strengthen pedestrian and bike infrastructure for the Neighborhood Greenway network. The NE Glisan Street repaving and repainting project will provide space for bike lanes, and its intersection with NE 87th Avenue has a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) to help people cross the busy NE Glisan roadway. People traveling outside a car should soon feel more comfortable navigating the neighborhood on NE 87th Avenue, thanks to these transportation bureau investments. Drivers should also enjoy a smoother street with brighter painted markings.

A residential street with bicycle lanes marked on the pavement, a warning sign for bumps ahead, and parked cars along the side. Trees and houses line the street.
NE 87th Avenue looking north from NE Glisan St

Update May 1, 2026: Crews completed principle repaving work on April 30th. Replacement speed bumps and on street markings should return within the follow weeks as weather and scheduling allows.

Post-repaving on NE 87th Ave looking south past NE Hassalo St
Post-repaving on NE 87th Ave looking north from NE Hassalo St towards the I-84 soundwall
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Construction, Infrastructure

Months of Roadwork Begins on NE Glisan

In early March, crews with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) started preparing underground infrastructure ahead of updating sidewalk corners along NE Glisan Street as part of the planned NE Glisan Pave and Paint Project. The updates will use the pavement maintenance budget 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.

The first wave of work closed the outer travel lane on eastbound NE Glisan Street from the 82nd Avenue Burgerville parking lot’s entrance up to 85th Avenue. In street excavation barricades and heavy equipment block NE 84th Avenue at NE Glisan, requiring vehicles and pedestrians to take a detour in the area. A new maintenance hole cone sits on the side street, awaiting installation just below the road’s surface.

Construction site with a 'Sidewalk Closed' sign and an excavator, surrounded by traffic cones and barricades on a residential street.
Excavation barricades, new maintenance hole cone, and heavy equipment block NE 84th Avenue at NE Glisan

Pavement markings added to NE Glisan Street along the project path in January indicate the placement of new curb ramps and stormwater inlets. Nearly every corner that hasn’t already been updated needs improvements to assist people trying to cross this stretch of roadway, which has few marked crossings. Up to now, anyone crossing the busy east-west street has had limited curb ramp options. PBOT will need to complete sidewalk and in-road updates before major roadwork takes place, as the repaving project will repair the asphalt cuts made by crews, creating new sidewalk corners and stormwater management at the street’s edge. People can expect that work to take place this Spring.

A sidewalk closed sign with arrows indicating where to cross, placed next to a grassy area and a street with traffic cones.

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.

Proposed cross-section diagram for 80th Ave to I-205 segment, showing lane widths for vehicles and bike lanes.
Illustration of the existing four travel and one turn lane over proposed configuration from PBOT’s NE Glisan St – 82nd Avenue Multimodal Safety and Access 2028-2030 RFFA Project Factsheet. Courtesy Oregon Metro

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, years before the larger safety improvement project. By doing road marking work now in the new configuration, PBOT can save taxpayer funds by lessening the reconfiguration costs four years later.

Digital traffic sign displaying 'LONG DELAY' with orange traffic cones in the foreground.

Travelers should anticipate construction on sidewalks and in the roadway along NE Glisan Street from NE 82nd to 92nd avenues as crews rebuild pedestrian and stormwater infrastructure. People walking in the area should anticipate detours when demolition and construction work ramp up. 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. Crews will work to maintain access to business and residential driveways. Details are available on the project website.

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Jacob Loeb

Correction: NE 84th Avenue was incorrectly identified as SE 84th Avenue.

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Government, Infrastructure, Transportation

District 3 Transportation Funding Open House

On Wednesday night, February 25th, community members and City representatives gathered in the cafeteria at Atkinson Elementary School for District 3’s local transportation funding open house. This is one in a series of four in-person events led by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to help inform the Portland City Council, which will consider new ways to fund the maintenance and operation of Portland’s streets. Mayor Keith Wilson spoke at the event, summarizing some of the alternative funding options under consideration. People interested in learning more and contributing their perspective can visit the online open house and take a post-open house survey.

Informational poster outlining structural funding challenges, highlighting restricted resources totaling $444 million and various revenue sources for transportation services.

The two-hour event at 5800 SE Division Street saw visitors drop in between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. as they moved through a self-guided arrangement of poster boards, with City staff available to ask questions and take notes. Portland transportation leaders have spent years warning the community and elected officials that its funding is overburdened by project-based restrictions, preventing 70% of PBOT’s budget from reducing a $6 billion maintenance backlog that impacts road conditions, sidewalks, bridges, signs, lights, and other infrastructure. Much of the funding sourced from Federal and Oregon State sources is for specific projects, such as new crossings or other safety infrastructure, and cannot directly fill potholes or repave roads. Even if a one-time grant were sourced to repair all of Portland’s transportation infrastructure to a “fair” condition, without an updated maintenance revenue source, PBOT assets would decline over the following decades, and a new generation of Portlanders would face the same systemic problem with infrastructure upkeep. In Wilson’s remarks, he painted a troubling picture of Portland’s $85 billion in street assets. “65% of our roads are in a state of not good repair. Most of the nation is above 50%, we are at 35% [for fair condition roads]. So we’re in trouble.”

A man in a blazer is engaging in conversation with a woman in a floral blouse at a social gathering. People can be seen in the background, and the setting appears casual.
Mayor Keith Wilson speaking to attendee at the February 25th transportation funding open house

The primary reason for the funding shortfall is inflation, with the presentation material noting that the costs of transportation, construction labor, and materials have increased rapidly while general funding sources have not kept pace. The mayor also pointed to the inequity and ineffective nature of a fixed gas tax that federal legislators have not increased since 1993. “I think we all know that fossil fuels and liquid fuels are going out of style. I drive an electric vehicle myself, and I don’t pay gas taxes. So when we think about paying our fair share, we have to think about the new generation, the new century, and not look to the last century for a failed taxing policy,” said Wilson. He explained the City is looking at “dozens of different options from around the country and the State” to evaluate for Portland transportation funding.

A workshop setting featuring informational posters about the Street Damage Restoration Fee, with details on damage recovery scenarios and comparisons with other cities. A person sitting at a table with a backpack is partially visible.

In the open house materials, PBOT has surfaced several proposals that may lay the groundwork for future street funding. Visitors read information about a possible “Street Damage Restoration Fee” that would be charged to utility companies, contractors, or other entities that excavate or trench in the public right-of-way, damaging streets and sidewalks. These crews, including other Portland bureaus, must repair the damage. However, that work often fails to adequately restore the full integrity of a street or sidewalk, and those assets can fail prematurely, a decade or decades earlier than expected.

Presentations also asked attendees to consider a “Transportation Utility Fee” as a funding source, as 31 other Oregon cities have implemented. It could be a monthly fee added to existing public utility bills, which residents and businesses pay. That money collected would support basic road maintenance, such as fixing potholes, and requested safety improvements. A “Retail Delivery Fee” concept would require major retailers to pay a fee for packages delivered to customers through the city’s transportation network. This would come from companies like Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, Target, and eBay. Colorado and Minnesota have programs like this, but Portland could be the first city to enact this if the City Council adopts this idea. This approach could cover prepared-food transportation in addition to, or in place of, packages with a “Third-Party Food Delivery Fee” similarly proposed.

Asset graphic courtesy PBOT

The open house materials also stressed accountability through audits and transparency. Mayor Wilson’s remarks also centered on shifting taxes rather than simply layering new revenue sources on residents. “The one that we’re gonna be talking about is the transportation utility fee that is going to be a replacement for a gas tax… It’s a real fair way that all houses and/or businesses will pay a portion. My promise to you is if council passes this, I will work to phase out your gas tax for fixing our streets because it’s just not fair, and we have to start rethinking how we’re gonna move our city forward.

Informational posters detailing the City of Portland's transportation funding crisis and challenges, including budget timelines and structural funding issues, set up in a community space.

PBOT encourages people to visit portland.gov/pbotfunding for more information and share feedback by noon on Wednesday, March 4th, 2026. After that date, extending into May, Portland City Council members will deliberate on the presented materials and community feedback.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Correction: Updated a percentage in Mayor Wilson’s quote clarifying a statement that most cities in the nation have more than 50% of streets in “fair” or “good” condition and Portland is at 35%.

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Construction, Infrastructure

Two-month Westbound NE Halsey Detour at I-84

Starting Monday, February 16th, westbound motorists on NE Halsey Street need to take a detour to NE 82nd Avenue during the next two months of construction on a new mini-roundabout. Eastbound travelers should not experience any significant disruption, but northbound users of NE 80th and NE 81st Avenues will continue to experience local-access restrictions from NE Clackamas Street to NE Halsey Street.

Crews recently completed half of a new mini-roundabout along NE Halsey Street as contractors working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation install street-level bike and pedestrian safety infrastructure, along with upgraded underground stormwater management pipes that connect with relocated catch basins. This street reconfiguration includes reconstructed sidewalks and curbs on sections of NE Halsey at notoriously challenging intersections with multimodal conflict points.

A map illustrating traffic directions for westbound NE Halsey St, highlighting required use of the I-84 onramp after NE 84th Ave. Features green arrows for bidirectional traffic and orange arrows indicating temporary one-way traffic.
Portland Maps image with MV News illustrations

This work is part of the NE Halsey Street (68th to 92nd Avenues) – Safety and Access to Transit Project. It builds on substantial street safety improvements undertaken in 2024, when roadwork reconfigured NE Halsey Street between 68th and 81st Avenues, removing a lane in each direction while adding painted buffered bike lanes and a center turn lane. In this section of the project, the new mini-roundabout at NE 80th Avenue and Halsey Street will address a confusing intersection, located just before one of the three NE Halsey Street freeway overpasses. Renderings posted show that people will have access to high-visibility pedestrian and bike crossings. Rebuilt and extended corners will also shorten the crossing distance, and new sidewalk segments will guide users to pathways that lead to transit connections. When contractors complete work at NE 81st Avenue, cyclists will have access to a bi-directional buffered bike track on the south side of NE Halsey Street, extending up to NE 92nd Avenue.

Map of a roundabout intersection featuring NE Halsey Street, NE 80th Street, and NE 81st Street, alongside the I-84 Eastbound off-ramp.
PBOT provided illustration showing the NE Halsey, NE 80th, and 81st junction with mini roundabout

PBOT chose this intersection design to reduce crashes while keeping traffic flowing. The roundabout will slow drivers and reduce conflict points, without requiring drivers to come to a complete stop unless a cyclist, pedestrian, or other vehicle has the right of way. The infrastructure should have a lower lifecycle cost because it does not rely on electric traffic signal equipment. Buses and fire trucks can easily drive through the center of the roundabout to make tight turns when needed, improving safety without impacting critical travel routes.

The next phase of work will focus on the northern half of the mini-roundabout, following the recent completion of the southern portion. Crews will continue to work at the site from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. All driveways on these blocks will remain open for people traveling to or from the worksite. However, street users should anticipate additional detours and follow all instructions from crews working in the area.

Article and photo by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Montavilla News is supported by contributions from businesses like Otter Wax, a neighborhood producer of small-batch specialty goods handcrafted in Portland. Using only natural ingredients, they make modern care products that are steeped in tradition. We thank them for their support.

Infrastructure, Transportation

TriMet Moves Forward with Nearly 7 Miles of Transit-Priority Lanes on 82nd Ave

On Friday, February 13th, TriMet leadership instructed the 82nd Avenue Transit Project designers to work toward creating 7 miles of Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes along most of Portland’s portion of 82nd Avenue. The transformative project would convert the 72 bus line into a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system under TriMet’s FX (Frequent Express) moniker, with high-capacity vehicles, modern stations, traffic signal priority, and, now, transit priority on the outer lanes of 82nd Avenue. This updated project scope will increase the current project’s proposed $350 million budget by at least $8 million, and the project partners are depending on yet-unawarded $150 million in federal funding.

TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. made the directive to advance the incorporation of significant BAT lane allocation in the design at the project’s Policy & Budget Committee meeting. This follows months of public dispute over restricting a lane of automotive travel in each direction on a busy north/south connector road that was formerly a state highway until transferring to Portland’s ownership in 2022. BAT lanes serve two primary functions in a transportation network. They are focused on providing local access for vehicles on congested streets and on providing transit systems with a less encumbered lane to move more reliably between stops. Advocates for the design note that driving to a business’s parking lot entrance on a busy road requires a visitor to wait in rush-hour congestion even if they turn onto the street a block away. In those conditions, it can also take a significant time for a motorist leaving a driveway to exit and merge into traffic. BAT lanes can help address those situations by requiring all outer-lane travelers in private vehicles to turn right within a block. Supporters also tout the BAT lanes used by emergency vehicles, which can speed through congestion when time matters.

A green public transit bus stopped at a modern bus station with a clear shelter and seating area, surrounded by bike lanes and pedestrian pathways.

BAT lanes are strongly supported by surveyed residents who favor a faster, more effective BRT system on 82nd Avenue. People who spoke in support at the 82nd Avenue Transit Project Community Advisory Committee (CAC) meetings also appreciated the anticipated reduced speed of BAT lanes on the curb adjacent portion of the road. 82nd Avenue once had parking along its outer edges that later became travel lanes, leaving pedestrians and fast-moving vehicles inches apart. However, many businesses are concerned about the economic impact of a sudden change in vehicle throughput. Although 82nd Avenue is not at capacity at all times of day, it does often become congested, and transportation models indicate that introducing this level of BAT lanes will divert 20 to 25 percent of traffic to other routes during peak times. Local businesses that started their ventures on a state highway years ago worry that this change will force them to relocate or close as their customers take a different route to avoid heightened congestion. People advocating for 82nd Avenue to transform into a more pedestrian-forward design say that new shoppers will come by foot and by bus, but that mode shift can take years, and many of the small businesses that have made up 82nd Avenue’s culture say they cannot survive the transition timeline, which is far from certain.

Map showing city/county limits with SE Clatsop St and NE Lombard St, intersecting streets including SE Powell Blvd and SE Foster Rd, and I-84 orientation.
Feb 13 Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes graphic courtesy TriMet with MV News directional notation

The TriMet adopted design for BAT lanes closely represents the community-supported design, and the project 82nd Avenue Transit Project CAC endorsed design, referred to as the “More BAT Lanes” option, with one notable exception. The nearly seven miles of transit-priority updates will stop before and resume after SE Powell Boulevard. During the January 28th CAC meeting, presenters explained that because that cross street is still a state highway, the Oregon Department of Transportation would require significant improvements at that intersection and on SE 92nd Avenue to accommodate the agency’s design standards for vehicle throughput. They explained that it would dramatically increase project costs or significantly delay the design process, seeking exemptions.

The project is targeting a 72 FX Line opening in 2029 and still has many milestones to meet before construction can begin. Planners need to find additional funds for the BAT lane portion of the project and secure federal funding in a challenging time for states seeking support from national leaders. TriMet says the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) gave the project a Medium-High rating, a strong indicator that it could receive those funds. Proponents of the BRT investment point to this corridor as an essential focus for efforts. TriMet’s Line 72 bus provides nearly 66,000 rides each week and is the busiest bus line in TriMet’s system. It also represents the highest-ridership bus line in all of Oregon, making it an ideal candidate for upsizing to strengthen the network’s backbone. Many riders use this route along 82nd Avenue to the Clackamas Town Center to connect with other lines. Transit designers say reliable and timely performance is essential to improving the network and reducing future congestion by getting more people out of personal vehicles for daily commutes. People can provide comments and learn more at the project website (trimet.org/82nd/).

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Disclosure: The author of this article previously served on the 82nd Avenue Transit Project Community Advisory Committee (CAC).

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