 (March 4, 2020) Exciting updates are coming to Portland’s central city thanks to Central City in Motion (CCIM). Central City in Motion is the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) effort to plan, prioritize, and implement transportation improvements in the city’s core. Seven projects will start construction this year and in early 2021. These projects will bring a host of improvements to the streets you use every day. They are being designed to improve the speed and reliability of transit, provide dedicated space for people who bike, and to make streets safer regardless of how you travel.
SE Hawthorne / Madison Multimodal Improvements
 Serving as the chief connections to the Hawthorne Bridge, SE Hawthorne Boulevard and SE Madison Street are critical east/west routes for the Central Eastside. This project will upgrade transit stops, bike lanes, and pedestrian crossings on SE Hawthorne Boulevard and Madison Street. A Business Access and Transit (BAT) lane is also under consideration on Hawthorne Boulevard.
This project will improve the commute for the 17,461 people who ride Lines 2, 10 and 14 in and out of the central city, as well as people who walk and bike along the corridor.
To learn more about this project click here.
NW Broadway Bus/Bike Lane Improvements
NW Broadway is a key route for those entering and exiting the central city from North and Northeast Portland. This project will improve transit and bicycling along this important north-south corridor. Improvements are twofold. First, through the construction of a protected southbound bike lane and a new northbound bike lane between the Broadway Bridge and SW Oak Street, this project makes this critical biking route safer and more accessible for Portlanders.
The second improvement comes to TriMet’s Line 17. During the evening commute, this line and the 3,335 people who ride it out of the Central City are often stuck in traffic. This project will make traffic signal upgrades and reroute Line 17 through the transit mall.
Click here to learn more about this project.
E Burnside Bus/Bike Lane Improvements
 Burnside was established as Portland’s east-west axis in 1912. Serving as a major corridor ever since, PBOT is working to make Burnside more efficient, allowing it to accommodate more people as the city grows. To this end, this project will install a This will extend the lane added to the Burnside Bridge in 2019 to 12th Avenue on the eastside of the Willamette. Further, signal upgrades will improve safety and accessibility on East Burnside and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard for people crossing the street or bicycling across the river. These improvements have three key benefits:
- Transit priority BAT lanes will allow the buses to access and get through the Central Eastside, relieving a major pinch point in the transit system.
- Better bike connections will make it safer and more intuitive to bike from downtown to the Central Eastside, making it easier to connect with SE Ankeny, a low-traffic bikeway that runs parallel to E Burnside.
- These changes in street design will increase the number of people that the street can accommodate by +145%.
Click here to learn more about this project.
Better Naito Forever
 Naito Parkway serves as a critical transportation spine along the west side of the Willamette. This project will update the temporary Better Naito configuration into a permanent two-way protected bike lane and sidewalk along the west side of Waterfront Park, with signal upgrades and advanced vehicle detection that will ease auto access to I-5 via the Morrison Bridge.
This project benefits all modes of transportation. Those traveling northbound in cars will experience little impact to travel times thanks to new traffic signals that dynamically adjust to vehicle queues and back-ups. People walking along Naito Parkway or visiting Waterfront Park will have access to dedicated pedestrian routes, ensuring it is safe and easy for Portlanders to take an afternoon stroll. Finally, the creation of a permanent two-way cycle route will ensure Portlanders who bike or scoot along Naito Parkway have a smooth and comfortable ride.
In a separate but related project, through funding provided by Fixing our Streets, the SW Naito Parkway (I-405 to Jefferson) project will extend the improvements of Better Naito Forever from I-405 to Jefferson Street. The project will repave SW Naito Parkway between I-405 and SW Lincoln, as well as do a full road reconstruction on SW Naito between SW Harrison and SW Jefferson streets. It will also include signal and pedestrian upgrades and the continuation of the two-way bike path.
Click here to learn more about Better Naito Forever this project. Click here to learn more about SW Naito Parkway (I-405 to Jefferson)
MLK/Grand Bus Lane Improvements
Growing at an astounding rate, the Central Eastside is expected to increase by 8,000 jobs and 7,000 households by 2035. Updating the transportation system to meet this demand, and enable Portlanders to easily get to, and move throughout the Central Eastside is crucial.
The MLK/Grand Transit Improvements Project will support the increased travel needs by adding Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes to MLK Boulevard and Grand Avenue between SE Mill Street and NE Broadway streets. Relieving a major pinch point in the transit system, these lanes will benefit over 5,200 people who ride the Streetcar Loop A and B, and over 6,300 people who ride TriMet Line 6 every day. Furthermore, a transit, commercial truck, and turn lane pilot from Mill to Burnside streets will boost transit and freight reliability.
These changes will increase the number of people that the street can accommodate by over 300%.
Click here to learn more about this project.
SW 4th Ave: Lincoln to Burnside
 The pavement on SW 4th Avenue, from Lincoln Street to Burnside is cracked and falling apart. Further, the design of this corridor is unfriendly and unsafe for Portlanders who walk and bike.
Thanks to Fixing Our Streets, this project will reconstruct and repave SW 4th Avenue from SW Lincoln to SW Ankeny streets. Benefitting Portlanders who walk and bike, a left-running protected bikeway will be constructed, new signalized pedestrian crossings will be installed, and ADA corner ramps will also be upgraded.
Click here to learn more about this project.
About Central City in Motion
Central City in Motion is the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s effort to plan, prioritize, and implement transportation improvements in the city’s core. Following two years of public engagement, 18 projects were prioritized through this planning effort and approved by Portland City Council in November 2018.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Can’t make it to the open house? For information on Central City in Motion, visit: http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/ccim
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