News

Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and Portland Bureau of Transportation staff went before the Planning Commission today for an update on the land use and zoning work done to support the Montgomery Park streetcar extension.

"[Streetcar] has a proven track record of spurring dense, walkable development and affordable housing development," PBOT Planner Shawn Canny told planning commissioners. "It can help us achieve our equity goals and our climate goals, as well as our mode shift goals."

The planning work, which was funded by a transit-oriented development planning grant from the Federal Transit Administration, kicked off in 2019 and included jobs and housing analysis, public engagement, equity analysis and pre-development work on major opportunity sites.

Bureau of Planning and Sustainability staff intend to return to the Planning Commission in the next few months for a public hearing on proposed land use changes.

The Montgomery Park Redevelopment and Transit Project is a planned extension of the Portland Streetcar NS Line along NW 23rd and NW Roosevelt/Wilson with a terminus at Montgomery Park, including the potential for 3,000+ new housing units in a new district north of NW Vaughn Street.

An online open house is now live for the Montgomery Park Transit Project, extending the Portland Streetcar NS Line to Montgomery Park in Northwest Portland. This project will provide completely off-wire service to Montgomery Park and the former ESCO steel site.

Development planned in coordination with the transit project will create more than 3,000 new housing units, including more than 300 affordable units. A new park, pedestrian access to Forest Park and reconstruction of NW 23rd Avenue are also included in the project.

Use this link to learn more about the project and provide your thoughts. Sign up here to receive email updates about the project.

Portland Streetcar's Art on Board program has installed another piece, this time by local artist Bobby Fouther entitled "United Stories." The piece was originally done in acrylic on canvas and is a combination of two works joined together "to connect a feeling of the inner and outer self," says Fouther.

Fouther continues:

I am a visual and performing artist. Through multiple mediums I love to tell stories on the canvas and the stage, sometimes with paint and sometimes with movement. I have created photos, videos, music, costuming to tell all types of life’s moments from birth to death. My mentors are many both local and international and I say thank you for the blessings … ASHE … Miss Dunham, Mr. Pomare, Ray Eaglin, Charles Tatum, and many others for giving me with wisdom to pass it on.

Dedicated to Ellen Elizabeth Preston for giving me sight and insight and teaching me to use my gifts to the best of my ability on a daily basis.

The Art on Board program began in 2020 and supports local artists through hiring them to create new or repurpose existing works to be displayed on the Portland Streetcar as it provides transit service to Portland's central city.

Portlanders who live or travel in the South Waterfront neighborhood can expect traffic delays on South Moody Avenue between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. April 23 through April 27. Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) personnel will be testing propulsion and braking on a new streetcar vehicle built by Brookville Equipment Corporation that will be put into service this summer. The testing will be conducted along South Moody Avenue between the Tilikum Crossing and South Lowell Street.

Beginning at 12 a.m. each night, the streetcar will perform eight test runs along South Moody Avenue that will each last around three minutes. Traffic control and flagging will hold all traffic on the street to accommodate the streetcar proceeding through intersections at speed and exceeding the posted speed limits for testing purposes. Sidewalks and bicycle facilities adjacent to the roadway will be unaffected.

The new streetcar vehicle is one of three purchased by PBOT to expand the Portland Streetcar fleet. The other two vehicles will arrive this summer and will allow for increased streetcar frequency on the east side A and B Loop routes, as well as more reliable service by having additional spare vehicles available.

Testing for the new vehicles requires loading the streetcar with weight to simulate riders and ensure safe and efficient acceleration and braking to certify it for entry into service.

Thank you for your patience while we complete this important testing to improve transit service in Portland’s central city.

Live music is returning to Portland Streetcar! Local musicians will perform live on NS Line streetcars between Portland State University and NW 23rd Avenue the afternoon of Wednesday, April 19, beginning at 4:00 p.m.

Artists performing:

Gainsayer

Anna Hoone

Jonah Sissoyev

Patrick Connell and the Portland Radio Ponies

Keith B. (of AirShow)

Streetcars will run regularly-scheduled service as musicians perform on NS Line routes. Valid fare is required, dancing is encouraged.