News media contact:
John Brady
503-577-8236
john.brady@portlandoregon.gov
@PBOTinfo
TRAFFIC ADVISORY:
Hawthorne Bridge onramp from northbound SW Naito
Parkway closed to motor vehicle traffic July 1-4 for Waterfront Blues Festival
(June 30, 2016) – The Portland
Bureau of Transportation advises the traveling public that, as part
of creating safe access for people to travel to and around the Oregon Blues
Festival, the Hawthorne Bridge onramp from northbound SW Naito Parkway will be
closed to motor vehicle traffic July 1-4 all hours, all days.
The Hawthorne Bridge will remain open to all users. Motor
vehicle traffic heading northbound on SW Naito Parkway to the Hawthorne Bridge
will be detoured to the Hawthorne Bridge onramp on SW Madison Street. The detour
will take northbound motor vehicle traffic west on SW Clay to northbound on SW
2nd Avenue to eastbound on SW Madison Street, leading to the
Hawthorne Bridge.
The Waterfront Blues Festival is expected to draw 100,000 people
between July 1 and 4; roughly 25,000 people per day. The lane conversion and
onramp closure is intended to create a safe way for people to get to and around
Waterfront Park and will connect with the existing Better Naito configuration
that people have become accustomed to.
Better Naito is nearly a mile of street, 15 feet wide, open
for two-way bicycling, walking and general public use from SW Main Street to NW
Davis Street. From July 1 to 4, the conversion will extend an additional
quarter-mile south beginning at SW Clay Street and stretching to NW Davis
Street for the Waterfront Blues Festival.
In 2015, Better Naito, a partnership between Portland Bureau of Transportation
and Better Block PDX, began efforts to create a safe way for people to travel
during Portland's peak festival season. Prior to Better Naito, people were
often forced to squeeze into narrow dirt paths, walk in a bike lane, or bike in
a travel lane with high-speed traffic. As a result of the program's success in
2015, an extended pilot was planned for the 2016 summer season.
The 29th annual Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival is presented by First Tech
Federal Credit Union. Ticket and artist information for the festival can be found
at www.waterfrontbluesfest.com.
A limited number of passes for Oregon Trail Card holders will be available each
day at the Hawthorne Gate.
For additional information about Better Naito, please visit the project website
at www.betternaito.com.
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The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is the steward of the City’s transportation system, and a community partner in shaping a livable city. We plan, build, manage and maintain an effective and safe transportation system that provides access and mobility. www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation
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