Downtown Portland News

[subterranean]

‘A very sobering snapshot’: Profound pessimism about Portland region remains, annual business poll finds
By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh | The Oregonian/OregonLive

The stream of troubling statistics comes even as Portland has seen a significant reduction in crime, a boost in downtown foot traffic and increased efforts to get people off the streets and into shelters, housing and addiction recovery.

…

69% of all voters surveyed believe taxes are too high for the level of services they get in return, compared to 21% who believe current tax levels are just fine. Those figures in 2022 were 60% and 30%, respectively.

Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

Source: https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/...oll-finds.html

[DMH]

Originally Posted by subterranean

Source: https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/...oll-finds.html

Yeah, I saw the results of that survey, commissioned by a business organization that we should not be surprised is opposed to many taxes. It was a small group that participated in the survey, and that group seems unaware of the efforts and the improvements in Portland's quality of life after the collapse brought on by the pandemic and 2020 protests. Big changes are coming as we move to a more responsive city council structure and as the Oregon Legislature debates changes to Measure 110 and more money to combat homelessness. We are in a period of ramped up proactive efforts to revive our city. Respondents to this survey seem to simply be cranky and not paying attention. Community leaders long ago heard these complaints. I am willing to be patient while also keeping their feet to the fire.

[sopdx]

https://www.portlandmaps.com/detail/...A/5010810_did/

[M Kass]

'We are in a period of ramped up proactive efforts to revive our city. Respondents to this survey seem to simply be cranky and not paying attention. Community leaders long ago heard these complaints. I am willing to be patient while also keeping their feet to the fire."

I would argue that these efforts are not proactive, rather reactive.
Preventative measures seem to be something that we as a nation and maybe even a global community lack at this moment in time. I am no fan of totalitarian or iron-fisted policy or leadership, but at least SOME form of leadership would be welcomed. We seem to have lost the plot, societally. We've become a strange mix of individual meets tribe, but can't seem to unite on a municipal, let alone national, level. Portland has always been a bellwether satellite city that is a key indicator of future trends, imo. I look forward to seeing where we are in a year or two. The future has become such an unpredictable and scary prospect, and I hope that we can get our stuff together and project hope. Not just Portland, but on a grander scale. One thing is for sure, as a lifelong Oregonian and 30 year PDXer, I'm tired of being laughed at and have actively quit defending our lack of vision. As far as the grumpy taxpayers, I can see their perspective. There are a lot of people that resonate wirh the nostalgic '00's and early teens Portland. That city had hope and vibe and vision. The property taxes and utilities have skyrocketed since then, for both individuals and for businesses, so maybe there's something to the grumpiness? I certainly see legitimacy for it. I still love this damn town!

[eric cantona]

Originally Posted by DMH

Yeah, I saw the results of that survey, commissioned by a business organization that we should not be surprised is opposed to many taxes. It was a small group that participated in the survey, and that group seems unaware of the efforts and the improvements in Portland's quality of life after the collapse brought on by the pandemic and 2020 protests. Big changes are coming as we move to a more responsive city council structure and as the Oregon Legislature debates changes to Measure 110 and more money to combat homelessness. We are in a period of ramped up proactive efforts to revive our city. Respondents to this survey seem to simply be cranky and not paying attention. Community leaders long ago heard these complaints. I am willing to be patient while also keeping their feet to the fire.

I appreciated how the Portland Mercury set this up:

A poll commissioned by the Portland Metro Chamber (FKA Portland Business Alliance) surveyed 500 voters from Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties (250 of which said they voted in Portland) and determined that the representative sample of people think the city is "on the wrong track." The Oregonian notes: "Sentiments, however, have significantly improved from 2021 when 88% said their quality of life was getting worse and 62% felt the Portland region was on the wrong track."

[eric cantona]

Originally Posted by M Kass

I would argue that these efforts are not proactive, rather reactive. Preventative measures seem to be something that we as a nation and maybe even a global community lack at this moment in time. I am no fan of totalitarian or iron-fisted policy or leadership, but at least SOME form of leadership would be welcomed. We seem to have lost the plot, societally. We've become a strange mix of individual meets tribe, but can't seem to unite on a municipal, let alone national, level. Portland has always been a bellwether satellite city that is a key indicator of future trends, imo. I look forward to seeing where we are in a year or two. The future has become such an unpredictable and scary prospect, and I hope that we can get our stuff together and project hope. Not just Portland, but on a grander scale. One thing is for sure, as a lifelong Oregonian and 30 year PDXer, I'm tired of being laughed at and have actively quit defending our lack of vision. As far as the grumpy taxpayers, I can see their perspective. There are a lot of people that resonate wirh the nostalgic '00's and early teens Portland. That city had hope and vibe and vision. The property taxes and utilities have skyrocketed since then, for both individuals and for businesses, so maybe there's something to the grumpiness? I certainly see legitimacy for it. I still love this damn town!

As a life-long Portland I am with you on this. I've managed to remain slightly hopeful over the last couple of years that we are going to pull ourselves out of this morass. I'm actually starting to see signs that this is finally starting to happen.

On a national level Reagan's vision of the rugged individual has fucked us over for decades. The acrimony (putting it mildly) between left and right has its roots in the collective versus the individual. The reality is that democracy relies on a collective vision, which requires compromise. Don't see that changing anytime soon.

My feeling is that Portland will pull together a comprehensive renaissance, of sorts, when we have leaders who aren't so feckless. The next mayoral election will be critical to where we go as a community. Fingers crossed.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by eric cantona

As a life-long Portland I am with you on this. I've managed to remain slightly hopeful over the last couple of years that we are going to pull ourselves out of this morass. I'm actually starting to see signs that this is finally starting to happen.

On a national level Reagan's vision of the rugged individual has fucked us over for decades. The acrimony (putting it mildly) between left and right has its roots in the collective versus the individual. The reality is that democracy relies on a collective vision, which requires compromise. Don't see that changing anytime soon.

I agree with every word of what you said, but I'd say that it's humanity, not just "democracy," that relies on a collective vision. Human beings are social creatures. We're all in this together.

Originally Posted by eric cantona

My feeling is that Portland will pull together a comprehensive renaissance, of sorts, when we have leaders who aren't so feckless. The next mayoral election will be critical to where we go as a community. Fingers crossed.

Agreed. Our city hasn't had strong leadership in a long time. I knew before we even voted in 2020 that the next four years would be a lost era for our city. Ted seems like a nice guy, but he's useless as a leader, and city council has been a mess. A weak person serving as mayor in a weak mayor system is a recipe for disaster, and that's what we got. EDIT: That's not to suggest the other option in the last election wouldn't have been even worse. Ted was the least bad of two very bad candidates.

I don't feel that same sense of hopelessness about the 2024 election though. Maybe things had to get really bad before enough people could realize how bad things had gotten? Maybe. But it seems like people finally see it now, and that's a start.

Our city has so much going for it and our problems are fixable, so I'm very optimistic.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by M Kass

'We are in a period of ramped up proactive efforts to revive our city. Respondents to this survey seem to simply be cranky and not paying attention. Community leaders long ago heard these complaints. I am willing to be patient while also keeping their feet to the fire."

I would argue that these efforts are not proactive, rather reactive.
Preventative measures seem to be something that we as a nation and maybe even a global community lack at this moment in time. I am no fan of totalitarian or iron-fisted policy or leadership, but at least SOME form of leadership would be welcomed. We seem to have lost the plot, societally. We've become a strange mix of individual meets tribe, but can't seem to unite on a municipal, let alone national, level. Portland has always been a bellwether satellite city that is a key indicator of future trends, imo. I look forward to seeing where we are in a year or two. The future has become such an unpredictable and scary prospect, and I hope that we can get our stuff together and project hope. Not just Portland, but on a grander scale. One thing is for sure, as a lifelong Oregonian and 30 year PDXer, I'm tired of being laughed at and have actively quit defending our lack of vision. As far as the grumpy taxpayers, I can see their perspective. There are a lot of people that resonate wirh the nostalgic '00's and early teens Portland. That city had hope and vibe and vision. The property taxes and utilities have skyrocketed since then, for both individuals and for businesses, so maybe there's something to the grumpiness? I certainly see legitimacy for it. I still love this damn town!

Whenever I read of nostalgia for the '00's or teens in Portland, I chuckle because I must be an old timer on this site. My reference years go back to when I landed in Portland right out of architecture school in the mid-1970's, when our memorable mayor with vision was Neil Goldschmidt. Lots of exciting changes were under way in Portland, but there was also pushback. Narrow-minded conservatives could still get elected to city council. Who can forget Mayor Frank Ivancie, who tried to kill plans for Pioneer Courthouse Square? There have always been ups and downs. The pandemic and 2020 protests struck a big blow. But the many decades of work to make our downtown beautiful were not wasted. Cities throughout the US are all grappling with what our downtowns will be as we go forward. This Downtown thread has had a healthy exchange of ideas on that subject.

[LivinAWestLife]

Not news (don't know if this is the right place to put this) but I wanted to share a graphic I made showing the new buildings on the skyline between 2012 and now. People on reddit seem to like it. The main thing I learnt is that Portland has had a lot more development than I expected! This doesn't even include the Pearl or the South Waterfront stuff.

Here's the reddit post:
https://old.reddit.com/r/Portland/co..._labelled_all/

[jb111120]

This is great! Would be cool to see something similar showing a different angle that includes the Pearl.

Have you created similar images for other cities, too?

[downtownpdx]

Originally Posted by DMH

Whenever I read of nostalgia for the '00's or teens in Portland, I chuckle because I must be an old timer on this site. My reference years go back to when I landed in Portland right out of architecture school in the mid-1970's, when our memorable mayor with vision was Neil Goldschmidt. Lots of exciting changes were under way in Portland, but there was also pushback. Narrow-minded conservatives could still get elected to city council. Who can forget Mayor Frank Ivancie, who tried to kill plans for Pioneer Courthouse Square? There have always been ups and downs. The pandemic and 2020 protests struck a big blow. But the many decades of work to make our downtown beautiful were not wasted. Cities throughout the US are all grappling with what our downtowns will be as we go forward. This Downtown thread has had a healthy exchange of ideas on that subject.

Thank you for that, it helps to get a long view perspective on what’s going on. And thank you to Mac for the piece on vacant office buildings throughout the country, just look at what happened recently to the LA high rises.

None of that means we should be okay with the current state of things. But everyone seems to realize, at least on this thread, that a LOT of work is happening to revitalize the city. Just today I saw a headline (paywall) in the business journal about several hundred local citizens gathering to brainstorm ideas for a Portland comeback. This kind of stuff, along with the governor downtown task force, pretty rapid expansion of homeless shelters, a new city council structure, etc etc will all bear fruit this decade I believe.

On a random side note, I visited the Mid Town Beer Garden recently and it is a great addition to downtown in an area that really needs it. The walk there from Hawthorne bridge was a lil too quiet, clean enough, I saw just 1 tent… but just the overall sensory experience wasn’t so great because of the prevailing urine smell. But things felt maintained much more than recent years. A ways to go before this area feels like somewhere you “wanna” be.

I have mixed feelings about the enclosed layout — I always like food carts facing the sidewalk for a more lively street presence — but I understand the need for a more secure environment. It is a really nice place with tons of (heated) seating, about 20 carts plus beer, music playing, and a stage for live performances. I just felt reassured having lunch there, that our city is on its way back. I’m looking forward to the Flock Food Hall opening soon also, the pedestrian-only street layout and lighting looks great.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

Thank you for that, it helps to get a long view perspective on what’s going on. And thank you to Mac for the piece on vacant office buildings throughout the country, just look at what happened recently to the LA high rises.

None of that means we should be okay with the current state of things. But everyone seems to realize, at least on this thread, that a LOT of work is happening to revitalize the city. Just today I saw a headline (paywall) in the business journal about several hundred local citizens gathering to brainstorm ideas for a Portland comeback. This kind of stuff, along with the governor downtown task force, pretty rapid expansion of homeless shelters, a new city council structure, etc etc will all bear fruit this decade I believe.

On a random side note, I visited the Mid Town Beer Garden recently and it is a great addition to downtown in an area that really needs it. The walk there from Hawthorne bridge was a lil too quiet, clean enough, I saw just 1 tent… but just the overall sensory experience wasn’t so great because of the prevailing urine smell. But things felt maintained much more than recent years. A ways to go before this area feels like somewhere you “wanna” be.

I have mixed feelings about the enclosed layout — I always like food carts facing the sidewalk for a more lively street presence — but I understand the need for a more secure environment. It is a really nice place with tons of (heated) seating, about 20 carts plus beer, music playing, and a stage for live performances. I just felt reassured having lunch there, that our city is on its way back. I’m looking forward to the Flock Food Hall opening soon also, the pedestrian-only street layout and lighting looks great.

Regarding Flock Food Hall, the block of SW 9th Avenue that it fronts is NOT pedestrian-only!

It should be pedestrian-only!! Throughout the design review process it was obvious that it should only be for pedestrians but instead there is a single, slightly meandering lane for car traffic.

Why is it so difficult for US cities to embrace pedestrian streets?

I am presently staying all of February in the center of gorgeous San Luis Potosí, Mexico, which has a UNESCO World Heritage downtown. It has a vast network of pedestrian streets that radiates out from a 9-square-block all pedestrian zone centered on the Cathedral and the main plaza. Two of the City's 6 public market buildings are nearly equidistant north & south of the Cathedral, a 10-minute walk each way. The pedestrian streets are alive with commercial activity, and one hears street musicians and laughter rather than loud cars & trucks. It is an urban planner's dream.

We Americans need to get out and see some good examples of city planning. Maybe we would learn something and act on those examples.

[downtownpdx]

^^ That sounds wonderful. I can’t believe cars will be allowed on 9th, it’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to meander through the planters etc.I just assumed they’d be banned from the looks of it.If any street in town could and should be ped only it’s this one. I remember commissioner Hardesty proposing this for 5th and 6th like 2 years ago, or maybe it was just to forbid cars and leave it transit only? I wasn’t excited for that idea, those streets aren’t lacking vitality because there’s too many cars. Although if there was some nice design changes like replicating La Rambla in Barcelona with a wide center pedestrian median with vendors etc..? (Oh wait there’s the meandering max tracks haha). But you’d have to just pick one street, for a few blocks, I think. Just removing cars with no other features wouldn’t suddenly bring throngs of people out to this part of downtown.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

^^ That sounds wonderful. I can’t believe cars will be allowed on 9th, it’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to meander through the planters etc.I just assumed they’d be banned from the looks of it.If any street in town could and should be ped only it’s this one. I remember commissioner Hardesty proposing this for 5th and 6th like 2 years ago, or maybe it was just to forbid cars and leave it transit only? I wasn’t excited for that idea, those streets aren’t lacking vitality because there’s too many cars. Although if there was some nice design changes like replicating La Rambla in Barcelona with a wide center pedestrian median with vendors etc..? (Oh wait there’s the meandering max tracks haha). But you’d have to just pick one street, for a few blocks, I think. Just removing cars with no other features wouldn’t suddenly bring throngs of people out to this part of downtown.

We have examples around the city where, due to the pandemic and needing to save restaurants, we had spot-pedestrianization. Localized street closures that did not create traffic chaos continue to exist, and I think those neighborhoods and participating businesses do not want to go back to having car traffic. A couple of examples: NW 13th Avenue in the Pearl, SE Ankeny near SE 28th. Years ago when Sam Adams was mayor, I advocated for pedestrianization of SW Harvey Milk from SW 10th to 13th, as well as SW Ankeny from SW 1st to 3rd, and finally SW Ankeny from Broadway west around the small park where some food carts were moved. Years later, parts of those three areas have been semi-permanently pedestrianized on the cheap. There has been no urban design to eliminate curbs and unify & upgrade the streetscape to serve a pedestrian purpose. A while back, there was news of limited funding to fix up pedestrianized SW Harvey Milk from 12th to 13th, but I have not read anymore about that. I continue to hope for Infrastructure funds to pay for smart pedestrianization projects, starting first with all of the locations that I have mentioned in this post.

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by DMH

Regarding Flock Food Hall, the block of SW 9th Avenue that it fronts is NOT pedestrian-only!

It should be pedestrian-only!! Throughout the design review process it was obvious that it should only be for pedestrians but instead there is a single, slightly meandering lane for car traffic.

Why is it so difficult for US cities to embrace pedestrian streets?

I am presently staying all of February in the center of gorgeous San Luis Potosí, Mexico, which has a UNESCO World Heritage downtown. It has a vast network of pedestrian streets that radiates out from a 9-square-block all pedestrian zone centered on the Cathedral and the main plaza. Two of the City's 6 public market buildings are nearly equidistant north & south of the Cathedral, a 10-minute walk each way. The pedestrian streets are alive with commercial activity, and one hears street musicians and laughter rather than loud cars & trucks. It is an urban planner's dream.

We Americans need to get out and see some good examples of city planning. Maybe we would learn something and act on those examples.

A lot of cities tried pedestrian only streets back in 80's and 90's, prior to the downtown residential boom across the country, and many failed miserably and stores went out of biz and things went poorly. This was likely before the urban renewal period that started in the late 90's when people WANTED to be in dense downtowns for work/life. So it's not like cities haven't tried it, but when the US was still in suburban mall mode, making it so much harder to get to a store/restaurant had natural consequences to the vitality of those streets.

[downtownpdx]

Originally Posted by DMH

We have examples around the city where, due to the pandemic and needing to save restaurants, we had spot-pedestrianization. Localized street closures that did not create traffic chaos continue to exist, and I think those neighborhoods and participating businesses do not want to go back to having car traffic. A couple of examples: NW 13th Avenue in the Pearl, SE Ankeny near SE 28th. Years ago when Sam Adams was mayor, I advocated for pedestrianization of SW Harvey Milk from SW 10th to 13th, as well as SW Ankeny from SW 1st to 3rd, and finally SW Ankeny from Broadway west around the small park where some food carts were moved. Years later, parts of those three areas have been semi-permanently pedestrianized on the cheap. There has been no urban design to eliminate curbs and unify & upgrade the streetscape to serve a pedestrian purpose. A while back, there was news of limited funding to fix up pedestrianized SW Harvey Milk from 12th to 13th, but I have not read anymore about that. I continue to hope for Infrastructure funds to pay for smart pedestrianization projects, starting first with all of the locations that I have mentioned in this post.

Good point, these are good examples where little was done to the infrastructure and they have turned out to be inviting areas. Thank you for your part in creating these btw! I also love the little former left turn only street at burnside and sw 10th next to Shake Shack that a psu student spearheaded last year.

[downtownpdx]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

A lot of cities tried pedestrian only streets back in 80's and 90's, prior to the downtown residential boom across the country, and many failed miserably and stores went out of biz and things went poorly. This was likely before the urban renewal period that started in the late 90's when people WANTED to be in dense downtowns for work/life. So it's not like cities haven't tried it, but when the US was still in suburban mall mode, making it so much harder to get to a store/restaurant had natural consequences to the vitality of those streets.

Very true, and it seems these projects just need to be selected carefully. The examples DMH mentioned are perfect, narrow streets with some charm and a decent amount of activity nearby, and in small segments. Cities like NY or Barcelona can pull off like a full mile or so with their crazy population density, and I’m sure there are smaller cities (I think Boulder CO has a nice ped only zone?) … Not sure there is a one size fits all method but just the right mix that makes people want to be there, hang out, people watch etc.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

Good point, these are good examples where little was done to the infrastructure and they have turned out to be inviting areas. Thank you for your part in creating these btw! I also love the little former left turn only street at burnside and sw 10th next to Shake Shack that a psu student spearheaded last year.

Back when I was working solo to promote more Downtown pedestrian areas, I became loosely involved with a group called Better Block PDX which I think was linked with PSU. The group was advocating for most of the same urban changes that I favored. I recall one get together at an Inner Eastside brewpub, but we mostly acted online, sharing our ideas and initiatives. I wonder if the group is still active. Does anyone on this site know?

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

Very true, and it seems these projects just need to be selected carefully. The examples DMH mentioned are perfect, narrow streets with some charm and a decent amount of activity nearby, and in small segments. Cities like NY or Barcelona can pull off like a full mile or so with their crazy population density, and I’m sure there are smaller cities (I think Boulder CO has a nice ped only zone?) … Not sure there is a one size fits all method but just the right mix that makes people want to be there, hang out, people watch etc.

Boulder does, Charlottesville, VA has a very nice one. I'm sure there are others. These are major college towns, so that might help too.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

A lot of cities tried pedestrian only streets back in 80's and 90's, prior to the downtown residential boom across the country, and many failed miserably and stores went out of biz and things went poorly. This was likely before the urban renewal period that started in the late 90's when people WANTED to be in dense downtowns for work/life. So it's not like cities haven't tried it, but when the US was still in suburban mall mode, making it so much harder to get to a store/restaurant had natural consequences to the vitality of those streets.

That failure had to do with the lack of housing in those pedestrian zones. If no one lives along a pedestrian street, then it is like leaving the doors open at a mall after the businesses have all closed.