As autumn rainwater grabs fallen leaves and carries them down streams formed at the road’s edge, local catch basins clog, allowing puddles to form, which are treacherous for pedestrians and drivers alike. For several years, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has asked willing residents to help keep the stormwater flowing off the streets by clearing the tops of the inlet grates and the surrounding area through its Adopt a Storm Drain program. Safely removing surface blockages from catch basins helps maintenance crews focus on locations with significant clogs that require professional deep cleaning. Participants do not need to register to help. They only need to follow some basic safety guidelines and help when they can.
Adopt a Storm Drain banner courtesy PBOT
PBOT crews must keep over 58,000 catch basins in the City’s stormwater management system clear, occasionally visiting locations several times a season. The bureau staff appreciates public assistance in keeping leaves and trash away from the grates, but asks people to follow basic safety advice before pitching in. As with cleaning in any public place, people should avoid using their hands because sharp objects often hide in obscure places. Using a shovel, rake, or broom is the safest option. People should also wear gloves, but they cannot depend on them to protect their hands from dangerous items that may be hiding within a leaf pile or under sludge. Cleaned-up organic material can go in a resident’s compost container, but rubbish-contaminated material must go into a trash bin. Cleared material should not be left in the street or on the curb outside a disposal container.
A catch basin is hiding under these leaves but trash and sharp objects could also sit below. PBOT recommends using tools to clear the grate
Volunteers need to wear reflective clothing and only clear catch basins from the sidewalk, avoiding working in the street where a vehicle could strike them. The program uses the term “adopt” because clearing is most effective when done regularly before rain, until the leaves have all fallen for the year. Participants should clean a ten-foot area along the curb on both sides of the drain to reduce the likelihood of clogging. People can also help after a snow or ice event by clearing a foot-wide path along the curb so melting water can flow into the catch basins.
If the catch basin will not drain after a surface cleaning, or there are emergency hazards, PBOT asks people to call its Maintenance Dispatch at 503-823-1700 to report the location of the problem. Residents should not lift storm drain grates; instead, leave them for PBOT crews, who have the proper equipment and will likely appreciate the surface cleaning done before their arrival.
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.
Crews working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will continue construction along SE Washington Street from 80th to 92nd Avenues this week with expected lane closures. Starting October 15th, contractors will apply street paint in a new configuration on SE Washington Street from SE 82nd to SE 92nd Avenues, keeping one eastbound lane open through the process. The post-repaving restripe work, scheduled to last until Friday, October 17th, will include a new bike lane and a combined bus/right turn lane. Cement masons and road crews will also continue work creating missing sidewalk sections on the south side of SE Washington Street from 80th to 82nd Avenues with new, extended accessible curb ramps for east/west traveling pedestrians.
New extended curb ramp and sidewalk on the southwest corner of SE Washingtons Street and SE 81st Ave
PBOT advises drivers to navigate carefully through the work site and watch for new traffic patterns as the street configuration updates create a safer space for people walking, biking, and using transit. Earlier work on this project reduced travel lanes on SE Washington Street from SE 76th to SE 82nd Avenues from two lanes to one on this one-way street, adding a new protected bike lane and reconfiguring some street parking. Similar reconfiguration work on the bidirectional SE Thorburn Street created space for a painted bike lane on the northwest traveling side of the road and a raised concrete traffic separator-protected bike lane on the southeast traveling side, with space for an on-pavement pedestrian track where missing sidewalks have previously challenged pedestrian access.
Graphic courtesy PBOT
Further portions of this work —part of the Jade and Montavilla Multimodal Improvements Project— will add updated signage, red paint for parts of the bus lane, and green markings for parts of the bike lane in the coming weeks. Crews will return to the project site to install concrete traffic separators on all sections of the newly created protected bike lanes, helping to position drives in proper alignment for street parking used as part of the parking protected bike lanes positioned against the curb. The concrete traffic separators will also provide cyclists with some safety assurances while riding exposed along the fast-paced SE Washington Street.
SE Washington St at SE 86th Ave post repairing Aug 21
PBOT’s street design will widen in the new configuration to allow two or three lanes at 82nd and 92nd Avenues, and other major intersections. PBOT expects to complete traffic signal improvements in early 2026, which should include updates at SE 82nd Avenue and Washington Street to allow left turns eastbound.
New curb-tight sidewalk on the south side of SE Washingtons Street looking west from SE 81st Ave
The striping work on SE Washington Street is weather-dependent, and the schedule could change with some rain anticipated this week. All street users of this portion of SE Washington Street should expect some delays during project work hours. PBOT asks people to travel cautiously, observe all closures and directions by flaggers, and use alternate routes if possible. Crews will maintain access to residences and businesses during the project. Riders of the 15 bus line should check TriMet’s website for stop closures or other delays when traveling eastbound.
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.
Starting on Monday, October 6th, drivers using SE 82nd Avenue should anticipate two weeks of traffic disruption between SE Clinton and Brooklyn streets as crews from Raimore Construction continue an August repaving project. The contractor, working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), will close lanes of the busy roadway for repaving from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. One overnight shift will begin at 10 p.m. on Friday, October 17th, and last until 7 a.m. Saturday morning. During the project, barriers will consolidate 82nd Avenue traffic to one lane in each direction.
Side view of 82nd Ave with outer lane removed, showing concrete base layer under asphalt
PBOT encourages all street users to find alternate routes, take transit, or otherwise avoid driving through the worksite during this repaving project. This past summer, Raimore Construction completed similar road-surface repairs on the 82nd Avenue pavement and replaced failing sections of the roadway north of SE Clinton Street. At peak times, merging delays through that repaving worksite significantly impacted travel times. This roadwork supports ongoing safety and maintenance upgrades on 82nd Avenue required to address deferred maintenance issues identified after the jurisdictional transfer of the former state Highway from the Oregon Department of Transportation to PBOT on June 1st, 2022.
Paving stages graphic courtesy PBOT
Unlike many repaving projects that only 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. In its early stages, 82nd Avenue initially 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, 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. Crews working on this project will need to remove the outer lanes to their base layer and reengineer it to support the weight of vehicles in motion above it before repaving the whole surface. The results will provide a smoother road that should last longer before requiring future repairs.
Fubonn Shopping Center Alternate Access on SE 85th Ave courtesy PBOT
Ongoing roadwork on 82nd Avenue near Fubonn Shopping Center, located at 2850 SE 82nd Avenue, has impacted customer access to shops in the complex. Newly created alternate access to Fubonn on SE 85th Avenue is available from SE Brooklyn Street. PBOT and shopping center management encourage visitors to use the eastern entrance during construction, instead of deferring trips. The collection of small businesses there depends on consistent income from regular customers. Paving project planners anticipate crews will complete this phase of work by Saturday, October 18th. This roadwork is weather-dependent, so the scheduled repaving dates may shift, or crews could extend the project’s duration. TriMet’s website does not currently list any stop closures for the 72 bus line, but transit riders using this route should check for service impacts and stop closures before heading out between October 6th and 18th.
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.
In late July, Oregon Metro purchased a 1.46-acre property at the intersection of SE 90th Place and SE 89th Avenue. Crews recently installed a chainlink fence around the sloped lot and cut back the overgrown greenery that dominated this parcel. Over the next two years, Metro’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) team will collaborate with partner developers to introduce new affordable housing at the site, which will incorporate open neighborhood greenspace. In the coming months, deconstruction specialists will raze the dilapidated 1928-era home at 2815 SE 90th Place and demolish the metal-clad barn on the property. The next phase of pre-construction work will build on previous community engagement to guide the development team in meeting area residents’ needs.
Portland Maps graphic with 2815 SE 90th Place outlined in blue
The nearly 100-year-old 720-square-foot building faces the curb-less SE 90th Place on the high point of the property. The small single-story home sits atop a daylight basement that opens up to the south of the property. Vehicles access the barn from a gravel road segment of SE 89th Avenue that currently extends along the property’s entire western frontage and 100 feet south. The City of Portland has not accepted this unimproved road into its maintenance network. However, work on The Jade apartments across the street will include paving on its half of the street and sidewalk installation along the new workforce-priced housing’s frontage. Andrea Pastor, Metro’s Senior Development Project Manager of Housing and TOD, explained that Metro is coordinating with Gorman & Company to extend the street paving work across the whole road width when they do their road construction for The Jade apartments. The asphalt surface will terminate at a new curb on the eastern edge of SE 87th Avenue near where the new fence line marks the property’s edge. This enhanced infrastructure will provide a more stable roadway constructed to city standards for people rolling or walking through this area. When completed, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) can then take over street maintenance, filling a long-disruptive gap in the street network previously made rough by potholes and wheel ruts.
SE 89th Avenue’s gravel road with potholes
A 2018 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funded study titled “Greening The Jade” identified the unimproved segment of SE 89th Avenue north of SE Brooklyn Street as a prime redevelopment opportunity for sustainable housing and a public park. Pastor said that this put the 2815 SE 90th Place property on Metro’s watch list for a future acquisition. “We saw it come up on the market and we were able to approach the seller pretty quickly, and they were open to it,” recalled Pastor. She explained that Metro fenced its property to keep people safe as they clean up the field from its former uses and to prevent individuals from entering the unsafe structures on the site. Redevelopment will take a few years as the TOD team plans for housing at the site and seeks development partners.
Pastor explained that Metro’s regional housing bond, approved by voters in 2018, successfully spent its $652.8 million budget delivering affordable housing in three counties. However, the region lacks a replacement for that program, and the Local Innovation and Fast Track (LIFT) program funds are allocated through the middle of 2027, possibly delaying the construction for two years without some creativity. “We are left wondering about other resources. If you think about it in established funding routes, looking at a rental project that has to have tax credits and LIFT, we would be looking at maybe mid-2027 for groundbreaking,” said Pastor, noting that speedy housing development is critical to Metro’s goals. “We are definitely exploring options for moving faster than that because we know we’re in a housing emergency, and we need as much housing as quickly as possible. We’re interested in thinking about what are some alternative models we can pursue in terms of financing. Can we move quickly, prioritizing quality of course, but cost efficiency and speed?”
2815 SE 90th Place
Pastor explained that Metro purchased the land along SE 89th Avenue using an allocation provided by the Oregon State legislature for a revolving acquisition fund around 82nd Avenue. “With all of the improvements happening on 82nd, including the planning of the new transit, we wanted to prioritize the area. So we made a specific legislative ask back in 2023 for some funds to buy land near 82nd,” said Pastor. “We have been basically looking and making offers on properties in the area for the last couple of years.” She notes that Metro has often owned land around transit with the intention of developing it. “We are trying to think of ourselves as a regional land bank specifically aimed at building affordable housing near transit. Our program focus has shifted in the last few years, but we’re really not doing anything that different from what Metro has been doing in this space for decades.”
As Metro adjusts its programs, the staff will look at ways to extend the useful life span of public investment. “In the past, we’ve typically just written down the value of the land and conveyed it to the developer if they’re doing affordable [housing]. The program has basically been trying to spur development, but now we are trying to make this idea sustainable. It’s simply not that sustainable for us to continue to give land away for free,” said Pastor. She explained that they are consulting development partners to explore how programs can deliver housing while potentially repaying public investment. Repayment could become part of the project lending structure, or developers could pay back Metro’s investment over a period of time. “It could be 15 years. It could be a ground lease. We’re open to structuring those deals in a number of different ways, but in a way that we can make this a revolving fund of money that is able to continually buy new properties along this corridor. The $5 million that we received is nowhere near enough to really meet the need for how much housing we really need,” Pastor said.
Metro expects to work with a single developer on this new project in the Jade District. Still, it could offer a mix of multifamily or single-family units with affordable home ownership options. The sloped lot and land dedication to PBOT for the modern streets and sidewalks reduces the buildable land to around an acre. So the vast open lot will not support a large housing complex. They also anticipate providing some on-site parking to minimize the impact on neighbors from the increase in housing density. However, incorporating green space into the development is a key consideration. They are communicating with Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services, which owns the lot to the south of this property. It serves as a natural stormwater detention area where plants and soil help absorb the area’s rainwater. It also contains a sewer pump facility that requires 24-hour security for community safety and asset protection. Depending on the City’s flexibility, designers could incorporate green space on Metro’s land to extend into the City-owned land without compromising security.
Property with new fence
Portlanders in the area can anticipate future Metro conversations about 2815 SE 90th Place as they determine the appropriate development path. They will also consider leasing the land to an organization with suitable insurance and liability coverage to use the site until construction begins. In the short term, neighbors will see the unsafe structures removed and eventually a new paved road on SE 89th Avenue. The construction phase relies on a yet-to-be-determined development partner’s ability to secure funding and deliver a proposal that meets Metro’s goals for affordable transit-oriented housing at this site.
Promotion: Check out East Portland News as it continues to advocate for and report on outer East Portland. You will find frequently updated articles and an archive of more than 5,000 stories written over the past 20+ years alongside a robust Community Calendar of events.
This infrastructure work is the final phase of a multi-step project that includes sidewalk construction along the south side of SE Washington Street, updates to three sidewalk corners featuring Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps, and creation of a curb extension for the northeast corner of SE Washington Street at SE 80th Avenue. The pedestrian zone extension at SE 80th will push the intersection corner into the adjacent parking lane to better align with the recently rebuilt northwest corner and shorten the crosswalk distance for people crossing SE Washington Street.
In 2024, crews completed previous phases of project work, installing a sump maintenance hole at the intersection of SE 81st Avenue and SE Washington Street. Around that time, contractors working on the 70s Greenway project installed an enhanced crossing point for SE Washington Street at SE 80th Avenue featuring rectangular rapid-flashing beacons (RRFB) that cyclists and pedestrians can activate to alert motorists of their intent to enter the roadway.
Sanborn Map overview from 1909
The lack of sidewalks along these two blocks stems from the early platting of Montavilla. In pre-twentieth-century uses, these adjacent parcels existed in a superblock bordered by Base Line Road(now SE Stark Street), 82nd Avenue, Taylor Street, and 80th Avenue. It later became part of the Goodhue Park land division. Now they host Milwaukie Lumber’s lumberyard storage and an Atlas Motors used car lot. Both businesses have frequent curb-cuts for driveway access that cement masons will recreate when pouring concrete for new sidewalks.
Buses and cyclists will lose access to the south side curb-adjacent lane in the project area while crews work in the area. Drivers already gained a through and right-turn combined lane during the recent reconfiguration of SE Washington Street at 82nd Avenue, which should remain open during construction. This sidewalk infill work will enhance pedestrian and transit access to the area while making safer crossing points. Work is weather-dependent, and delays could prolong the bus stop closure. Riders should continue to check TriMet’s website or trip planner until the stop reopens.
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.
On Sunday, September 14th, SE 79th Avenue will close to traffic from SE Stark Street to SE Pine Street for a family-friendly event series called Play Streets. The national nonprofit Playworks is partnering with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to present a free three-part gathering in the Montavilla neighborhood, running from 10 a.m. to noon. Organizers will create a car-free play zone for kids, families, and neighbors during those two hours, then return on Sunday, September 28th and October 19th to do it all over again.
Play Streets began appearing in Portland when PBOT’s Streets team launched the program in 2018, joining a nationwide movement to create a safe space for kids to play in the street. The pandemic paused the program until its return in 2023. Past events included bounce houses, chalk art, basketball games, giant Jenga, snacks, and music. American Rescue Plan Act funding in 2024 supported a City program for nonprofits to host the Play Street series.
This upcoming series is open to all ages, and organizers encourage adults to play alongside the kids. The play area will extend the already well-used Montavilla Plaza near Threshold Brewing & Blending. Alcohol consumption is not allowed inside the play area, and organizers ask that it remain smoke-free. Attendees will find games for kids of all ages alongside snacks, water, and music.
SE 79th Ave looking south from SE Pine St towards the Montavilla Plaza at SE Stark St
Organizers invite people with children and community members to stop by and see what the Play Street has to offer. The program aims to support communities with limited access to green areas, demonstrating how a car-free street can meet children’s play needs. More details are on the PBOT program’s webpage, and Montavilla News will update this article with information from the first Sunday event.
Promotion: Montavilla News is supported by contributions from businesses like Greg Beddor – SEO Specialist, an Oregon based digital marketing consultancy. The company markets customer’s websites and provide SEO services to grow their business. We thank them for their support.
On Monday, September 8th, representatives and planners from the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) presented information on a repaving and lane reconfiguration project to the Montavilla Neighborhood Association. At the evening meeting, attendees learned about the planned NE Glisan Pave and Paint Project that will primarily take place in Summer 2026. That work will include repaving NE Glisan Street from NE 82nd to 92nd avenues, sidewalk corner reconstruction for accessibility, stormwater management improvements, and lane reconfiguration to support painted buffered-bike lanes.
PBOT planners anticipate that much of the in-road 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. Presenters explained that this planned maintenance presents an opportunity to save funds by reconfiguring the street from NE 80th to 92nd avenues during the required post-asphalt-work painting process. This stretch of NE Glisan will likely receive 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. 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.
The repainting and reconfiguration work extends west past the repaving project to connect with existing bike and pedestrian crossing infrastructure recently installed at NE 80th Avenue. This extension allows cyclists to better connect with this new pathway and creates better lane consistency on NE Glisan Street for motorists. The street west of NE 81st is a three-lane roadway with one travel lane in each direction and a center turn lane. This reconfiguration work in 2026 will extend that traffic pattern east to 92nd Avenue. PBOT planners said that NE Glisan’s usage currently dictates the updated pattern. The section of the street supports off-peak-hour curbside parking, which some vehicle owners do not use due to concerns about damage from motorist collisions. BPOT plans to remove the outer flex lane that is sometimes used for travel or parking and replace it with bike infrastructure. Initially, a double white line will create additional space between bikes traveling along the curb, as drivers pass them. Later, in 2030, hardscape concrete dividers and flex posts will add to cyclist protection.
This project will also add enhanced bike crossing protections at NE 87th Avenue, where a Neighborhood Greenway intersects NE Glisan Street. Crews will construct a raised center median, and cyclists should receive street-adjacent buttons to activate the existing Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) at this crossing. After cement masons complete that work, northbound drivers on NE 87th Avenue will need to turn right at the intersection, and the infrastructure will limit left turns from westbound NE Glisan Street. Presenters at the meeting also indicated that the project would likely include new marked crosswalks at NE 84th and 90th avenues.
Although the repaving work will take place next summer, PBOT will begin work on enhanced stormwater management and updated sidewalk corners to include Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps before that asphalt work takes place. Area residents will see other repaving work on NE 87th Avenue as part of another project underway, and this will connect with NE 82nd Avenue improvements planned at NE Davis and Glisan streets. Construction will begin later in 2025 and continue through summer 2026. People can subscribe to email updates or find contact information for project leaders at the PBOT project website.
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.
Road Crews working on SE 85th Avenue for the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will close lanes of travel for motorists in different locations north of SE Powell Boulevard as they install new sidewalks where inconsistent pedestrian infrastructure hampered walking and rolling on the Neighborhood Greenway. Cement masons will also reconstruct many sidewalk corners in the area along the project’s path to include Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)compliant curb ramps.
Crews prepare to construct new cement sidewalks between the exiting curb and resident’s front yards
This phase of work is part of the Jade and Montavilla Multimodal Improvements Project, which will have crews create sidewalks from SE Division Street to SE Powell Boulevard along SE 85th Avenue, with roadway repaving between SE Clinton and Brooklyn Streets. This project also added new sidewalks on SE Clinton Street from SE 84th to 87th Avenues, with crews converting the existing gravel road to a modern street surface from SE 84th Place to 87th Avenue. West of 82nd Avenue, SE Tibbetts Street will receive sidewalk infill where some blocks lack consistent pedestrian pavement down to SE 78th Avenue. Most sidewalks in the project area will receive updated ADA curb ramps. Road crews will also repave SE Tibbetts Street from SE 78th to 80th Avenues.
Reconstructed sidewalk corner with ADA compliment curb ramp on SE 85th Ave and SE Kelly St
Area residents may find some curbside parking on SE 85th Avenue prohibited during the project, and crews could close one or all lanes of travel as heavy equipment moves through the project site. Drivers should use caution and heed all signs noting detours or restrictions. Pedestrians may need to share the road with motorists and cyclists as workers construct the new sidewalks. The project will progress north from SE Powell Boulevard towards SE Division Street over the coming weeks.
Promotion: Montavilla News is supported by contributions from businesses like Greg Beddor – SEO Specialist, an Oregon based digital marketing consultancy. The company markets customer’s websites and provide SEO services to grow their business. We thank them for their support.
Crews with the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) recently completed concrete work on sidewalk corner ramps along the west side of NE 87th Avenue from NE Hassalo Street to NE Glisan Street. These Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps create a mostly accessible path through a section of Montavilla with inconsistent pedestrian infrastructure. The northeast section of the neighborhood’s connectivity is further burdened by two freeways bordering it to the east and north. The heavy traffic of NE 82nd Avenue and NE Glisan Street surrounds the other edges of these blocks, creating challenges for people traveling in this area outside of a car.
Northeast corner NE Glisan St and 87th AveNorthwest corner NE Glisan St and 87th Ave
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, intersecting with NE Pacific and Holladay Streets. However, missing paved sidewalks on the northern edges of 8631 and 8636 NE Holladay Street will require pedestrians to walk through the grassy lawns of these homes to connect from the new ADA curb ramps to the existing paved sidewalks. Future redevelopment of those properties could require the installation of new sidewalks, completing the pedestrian connection.
Image from Portland Maps showing planned paving of NE 87th Ave in purple
This corner work is taking place ahead of other planned street improvements. Portland Maps indicates PBOT intends to repave NE 87th Avenue from NE Flanders Street to NE Hassalo Street. That future work, along with the curb ramp improvements, will strengthen NE 87th Avenue in its role as a Neighborhood Greenway. It is one of the few crossings on NE Glisan Street in the neighborhood with a traffic signal light or Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) to help people cross the busy roadway. People traveling outside a car should now feel more comfortable using NE 87th Avenue to navigate the neighborhood, thanks to these transportation bureau investments.
NE 87th Ave at Pacific StNE 87th Ave at Holladay StNE 87th Ave at Hassalo St
Correction: An earlier version of this article had NE 87th Avenue noted as NE 78th Avenue in one location. That typo has been corrected.
Promotion: Check out East Portland News as it continues to advocate for and report on outer East Portland. You will find frequently updated articles and an archive of more than 5,000 stories written over the past 20+ years alongside a robust Community Calendar of events.
On August 25th, crews with Specialized Pavement Marking (SPM) removed lane markings on SE Thorburn, Stark, and Washington Streets as part of the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) reconfiguration of the roads for safer bike and pedestrian use. When road stripers repaint the streets, drivers on SE Thorburn and Washington Streets lose a lane of travel in each direction, and cyclists will gain bike lanes with protection in most places from SE Gilham Avenue to SE 92nd Avenue. PBOT will retain much of the existing street parking on both sides of SE Washington Street for a critical two-block segment. The road striping plan will replace removed curbside parking on SE Washington with bike-lane-adjacent parking from SE 76th to 80th Avenues to create a protected buffer for the five-foot-wide curbside cyclist route. Driving lane reductions on SE Thorburn Street and parts of SE Gilham Avenue will create space for a painted bike lane on the northwest traveling side of the road and a raised concrete traffic separator-protected bike lane on the southeast traveling side, with space for an on-pavement pedestrian track where missing sidewalks have previously challenged pedestrian access.
SE Washington Street with MV News created illustrations showing approximate lane configuration (not to scale)
This work is part of the Jade and Montavilla Multimodal Improvements Project. The SPM crews will add over 20 marked parking spaces on SE Washington Street, replacing the southernmost travel lane. The recrated parking capacity offers slightly fewer stalls than the removed spaces. Still, it is a significant benefit for area businesses and residents living in housing on that street who do not have on-site parking options. Its design also offers cyclists a physical buffer between fast-moving downhill traffic. The project will likewise reconfigure SE Stark Street west of SE 76th Avenue. The existing bike lane will extend west, replacing curbside parking with some adjacent spaces created between the travel lane and the bike path. A new traffic signal planned for a later phase in this project will aid cyclists turning south at SE 76th and Stark, and the southernmost lane of SE Stark Street will transition into a left-turn-only lane at the signal.
SE Washington Street Bike lanes east of SE 80th Avenue will use a mix of concrete traffic separator-protected bike lane cycling infrastructure and shared bus-bike lanes up to SE 92nd Avenue. Striping plans show TriMet bus drivers will have a consistent bus lane from SE 80th Avenue past SE 90th Avenue, with motorists having right-turn-only access to that bus lane at intersections. PBOT recently enhanced the crossings of SE Washington and Stark Streets at SE 84th Avenue for north-south traveling pedestrians. On SE Washington Street, new corners offer Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps, curb extensions on the north side have shortened the crossing distance, and new pavement markings underway will add high-visibility crosswalks.
Drivers can anticipate disruptions to travel on SE Thorburn, Stark, and Washington Streets during the project work times of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. this week. People should anticipate seeing changes to traffic patterns and look for new signage indicating where parking is permitted. Motorists and pedestrians need to observe worker instructions and follow temporary routes when necessary as crews work in the street.
Neighborhood news site focused on buildings and changing businesses
