With the general election looming, all registered Oregonians should have already received a ballot. Ballots can be mailed without postage through November 8, but if you prefer to drop your ballot off there are several official Multnomah County drop boxes easily accessible by streetcar.
Multnomah County Duniway-Lovejoy Elections Building
1040 SE Morrison Street
Walk east up Belmont from the B Loop stop at SE Grand & Belmont.
Northwest Library -- Book Drop
2300 NW Thurman Street
Walk north on NW 23rd from the NS Line stop at 23rd & Marshall.
Central Library -- Book Drop
SW 11th Avenue at Taylor
Across the street from the stop at SW 11th & Taylor.
Pioneer Courthouse Square
700 block of SW Broadway
Walk east down Yamhill Street from the Central Library stop at SW 10th & Yamhill.
Rose Quarter
South side of the Rose Quarter near Rip City sign
Walk south through the Rose Quarter from the stop at N Broadway & Ross.
Ballots are due to drop boxes by 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8. Ballots postmarked by November 8 will also be counted.
Portland Streetcar was awarded an Alice Award by The Street Trust Saturday evening for its innovative Rider Ambassador program. Shared with community partners at OPAL, the award recognizes the program’s community outreach approach to riders experiencing homelessness or living with mental illness or addiction.
“We’re encouraged that our team is being recognized for taking a different approach,” said Dan Bower, Executive Director of Portland Streetcar, Inc. “Instead of having security guards throwing people off a streetcar, we’ve worked hard to find a way that helps all riders maintain a safe, pleasant experience while serving some of our community’s most vulnerable people.”
Started in early 2022, the Rider Ambassador program provides a non-security presence onboard the streetcar working with more vulnerable riders to provide helpful items and connect them with social services. Rider Ambassadors carry backpacks containing bottled water, snack bars, dry socks, hygiene products, first aid kits, naloxone and other useful gear depending on weather and conditions.
Rider Ambassadors are trained in first aid, mental health first aid and other applicable disciplines as gaps are identified. The program comprises a team of six who work in pairs to ride the streetcar. Funded by a Federal Transit Administration demonstration and research grant for one year, the program is currently being evaluated for ongoing funding and potential expansion.
“We are a completely new approach to community safety on public transit, and approach that focuses on and prioritizes the needs of people first,” Rider Ambassador Josh Laurente told the crowd as he accepted the award. “When we go to work, we’re not armed with anything else than a backpack full of water, snacks, supplies and knowledge of the supportive services and resources available to people in our city, a helping hand and a desire to just be there for other people.”
Portland Streetcar began service in 2001 through Portland’s central city and runs on 100% renewable electricity. The system serves thousands of riders per day with accessible, frequent transit.
The Street Trust is a nonprofit organization that advocates for multimodal transportation options that prioritize safety, accessibility, equity, and climate justice in the Portland Metro Region.
Celebrate the grand opening of TriMet's Frequent Express bus line, connecting Southeast Portland and Gresham along Division Street. Join TriMet in celebrating FX's debut at three festival locations, complete with food, activities, entertainment, and free FX rides!
Portland Streetcar will be free all day Saturday, September 17, to celebrate the new link in our regional transit network. A and B Loop streetcars will connect to the FX at OMSI/SE Water Avenue, where one of the three festivals will take place.
Removal of a large construction crane will shut down the southbound Portland Streetcar trackway on S River Parkway for three days beginning Tuesday, September 6. Service between downtown and the South Waterfront neighborhood will be maintained by TriMet shuttle buses throughout the closure.
Additional signage will be provided at affected stops to help riders find their way to their destinations. The closure will affect only NS Line and B Loop travel; A Loop streetcars will run a regular weekday schedule.
Shuttle buses will carry southbound riders beginning at SW 10th and Clay to the southern NS Line terminus at S Lowell and Bond. Northbound riders can catch a shuttle bus at any northbound South Waterfront stops to get to downtown.
As a record-breaking heat wave scorched Portland in late July, Portland Streetcar's rider ambassadors took to the system to help riders stay cool. Over the prolonged period of extreme heat, teams handed out more than 600 bottles of cold water along with spray bottles, cooling towels and other items.
Rider ambassadors carried lists of cooling shelters and helped riders in need find resources to beat the heat, especially if they would otherwise be sleeping outside or without air conditioning.
The rider ambassador program began in January 2022 as a way to provide a non-security response to riders experiencing homelessness or struggling with mental health or addiction issues that might be using transit as a method of getting inside or off the sidewalk. By taking a community outreach approach, teams work to connect riders to applicable resources, offer supplies that might be useful and otherwise provide a friendly presence on the streetcar.
Portland's recent heat wave was yet another example of an extreme event in which having such personnel proved to be a lifeline for many of the community's most vulnerable and transit-dependent people.
