North Park Blocks extension project taking shape
Plan calls for a cycling and pedestrian ramp to Broadway Bridge that will consume one of the three blocks
Above is a 24-second flyover of the north section of the North Park Blocks extension. At the upper right is the Broadway Bridge to which a new bike ramp might connect. The large undeveloped area in the middle of the flyover was the site of Portland’s Central Post Office, which was torn down in summer of 2023. At the end of the video, at the lower left, you can see the one remaining post office building and the connected but closed-off parking lot. Click the box-shaped icon to view the video full screen. Video by Walden Kirsch
Extending the North Park Blocks three blocks will involve some heavy lifting. A huge spiral ramp rising 18 feet would carry cyclists and pedestrians to the Broadway Bridge and consume an entire block in a concept presented to the Portland Design Commission last week.
PLACE Studio has been working with Portland Parks & Recreation for two years on the project adding three blocks between Northwest Glisan and Johnson streets to the linear park. The $29 million project, set to be completed in the fall of 2027, will go through further iterations before the Design Commission and community engagement presentations. Construction could begin later this year.
“We’re creating a vibrant destination place for visitors, people in the region and in the nation,” Miguel Camacho-Serna of PLACE Studio told the commission. “It’s a way to reconnect this part of town … to create activation and opportunities for small groups and larger gatherings, for farmers markets, cultural events on a day-to-day basis, to function as a place of respite and connection to the community.”
PLACE Studio has offices in seven cities around the world, including one at 735 NW 18th Ave. within walking distance of the Park Blocks project.
Retired architect Ernie Munch, who was prominent in local urban planning in the 1970s and ‘80s, advised the Pearl District Neighborhood Association last August that the massive ramp may be too expensive, and there may be less elaborate ways to reach the bridge. The PDNA did not follow up on his recommendations and reaffirmed its support for the extension project.
