Southwest Portland Sunday Parkways - September 10, 2023

 Last updated 9/7/2023

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Stay in the loop by texting "Southwest" to 888-520-0526 to receive event updates and exciting information about entertainment and activities throughout the day. Please note the standard text message rates may apply. You can unsubscribe at any point by texting STOP.  

Volunteer at the Southwest Portland event

Volunteering is a great way to participate in the event and support Sunday Parkways. Each shift only lasts 3.5 hours so you'll have plenty of time to enjoy the celebration, and you'll receive a free commemorative t-shirt! 

Sign-up here!

Southwest Portland route

The Southwest Multnomah route will include a 2-mile multi-modal route along with a 1.5-mile walking route. You can hop on at any point and head in any direction you choose. Take in Gabriel Park’s inclusive playground as you stroll along the flat walking route or enjoy the wind in your hair as you ride the neighborhood hills and new infrastructure along SW Capitol Highway, including sidewalks and bike lanes. 

Mobile route map 

Take the event map with you by clicking on the link below to open a Google Map version of the route on your phone. You can turn on and off different layers of information by clicking on the legend.  

 Southwest Multnomah Route Map

Event program & features

The Sunday Parkways route takes you to parks and community centers where you'll be treated by some of the best local entertainment in the city, an eclectic array of food from all over the world and bucket-loads of information and hands-on demonstrations from our community partners and sponsors. 

We will have four featured areas along the route:

• Gabriel Park 
• Multnomah Village (SW Capitol Hwy between SW 36th Ave & SW 33rd Ave) 
• Multnomah Arts Center
• Spring Garden Park 

At each featured area there will be:

• Information booths with first aid, lost & found, neighborhood maps and other resources 
• Free entertainment and programming
• Free basic bike tune-up 
• Water
• Bathrooms 

Gabriel Park 

• Live music stage presented by SoundsTruck NWfrom 11:30 a.m. – 3:45 p.m.
  • 11:30 a.m.  Gus Jeffers
  • 12:25 p.m. Portland Opera a la Cart
  • 1:40 p.m. Ronnie Robins
  • 2:55 p.m. The Linda Lee Michelet Jazz Quartet
• MOVE your body in this easy exercise circuit with Kaiser Permanente  
• Circus Cascadia will guide participants through interactive family-friendly circus activities 
• Art activity hosted by Children’s Healing Arts Program (CHAP) 
• Explore Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Maintenance Operations on-site equipment and learn about the assets that they manage in the right of ways throughout the City 
• Portland Free Play’s Adventure Play Pop-Up features inclusive self-directed free play with natural and recycled parts 
• Learn about white cane safety and engage with guide dog users from the community at the White Cane Safety booth

• Inclusive exercise circuits hosted by Every Body Athletics

Multnomah Village (SW Capitol Hwy between SW 36th Ave & SW 33rd Ave) 

• DJ Doc Rock performing from 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m
• CONNECT with your inner artist and help create a community mural with Kaiser Permanente 
• NOURISH body and mind by eating the colors of the rainbow with Kaiser Permanente 
• Shop and support small businesses and Native artists hosted by the Native American Youth and Family Center 

Multnomah Arts Center 

• Live Music Stage from 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.  
  • 11:30 a.m. Red Yarn 
  • 12:30 p.m. DJ Prashant 
  • 2:30 p.m. Jujuba 
• Water bottle fill-up station by the Portland Water Bureau 
• Adaptive BIKETOWN will be displaying a sample of bicycles specifically engineered to cater to anyone who is not comfortable with traditional two-wheeled bicycles

Spring Garden Park

• Zumba with Portland Parks & Rec from 11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. 
• Swing by the Nike tent to check out some of the newest updates in Nike Running. Try on the shoes and run on the nearby trail to test them out 
• PLAY games with Kaiser Permanente 
• Come play soccer and learn about the Portland Timbers and Thorns year-round soccer camps

Along the Route

• DJ PopCartPDX will be playing tunes and cruising the route to keep you motivated on those SW hills! 
• Stop by for a break at a support point hosted by Bridlemile, Hayhurst, Maplewood, and Rieke Elementary’s PTA’s.  

Food Vendors

With a wide variety of food vendors serving up scrumptious bites, it's the perfect opportunity to satisfy your cravings and discover new favorites! 

Gabriel Park: Alchemy Sandwich Co., Little Bear

Multnomah Village: Dairy Hill Ice Cream, Dano's Dogs, Fifty Licks, Mildred's Sweet Treats, Pomo Snow Cones & Cotton Candy

Spring Garden Park: Kona Ice of North Clackamas & Rose City, Pidgin Hole, Twisted Gyros

Visit Kaiser Permanente Booths at each park

• Stop by any Kaiser Permanente booth at one of the four parks to pick up a special event map 

• Move from park to park doing the activity at each Kaiser Permanente booth and receive a sticker for your map  

• Bring your completed map to any Kaiser Permanente booth to receive a reward 

Learn more information by visiting Kaiser Permanente's website. 

Event Brochure

For quick and easy reference, check out this event brochure with the map route and free activities:

Prepare for street closures

During Sunday Parkways events, streets along the route will be closed to motorized traffic for the day with limited access only for people living on the route. There will be designated crossing points for motorized traffic, but it is best to avoid driving in the area during the event as you will experience long delays. Intersections will have temporary barricades with volunteers monitoring them to help people get where they need to go. 

Getting to the event

By bike

For those of you riding in, take a look at the Citywide Bike Map created by Portland by Cycle.  It will direct you to the route via neighborhood greenways and the least-congested arteries. 

By transit

Prepare for re-route: TriMet buses #44 and #45 will observe a re-route during the event, starting at 8:30 am until 5:00pm. You can review these re-routes on the above map graphic located in the Southwest Portland Route section. 

• Go to the TriMet Trip planner for schedule information.
• Make sure you're looking at Sunday routes as they will be different from the weekday schedule.
• Busses are equipped with bike racks, but odds are those racks will be pulling heavy duty on the day of the event. Here's a quick video on how to mount your bike on a TriMet bus

By scooter

Portland has several shared scooter programs that you can access from your phone and pay by the minute to use. 

• Bird
• Bolt
• Lime
• Spin

Features along the route 

Portland Parks and Recreation believes that sustaining a healthy park and recreation system makes Portland a great place to live, work and play. Sunday Parkways is an excellent way to get to know our Portland city parks. Whether you are coming in from another corner of town, or simply enjoying the care-free and car-free atmosphere of Sunday Parkways in your neighborhood, you're sure to find something new.

The Southwest Multnomah route will pass through the following Portland Parks and Recreation properties. Click on the below links for all the necessary information about accessibility, amenities and more. Be advised that most of the parking lots will be used for Sunday Parkways events and will not be available for parking. 

• Gabriel Park
• Spring Garden Park
• Multnomah Arts Center

New and improved roadways and sidewalks

As you're riding along the Southwest Multnomah route, keep your eyes out for recently completed projects from The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to make streets safer and more welcoming to bikes, pedestrians and all non-motorized traffic. 

SW Capitol Highway: Multnomah Village to West Portland Project - This project included sidewalks, bike lanes, stormwater management, and water system upgrades along SW Capitol Highway between SW Multnomah Boulevard and SW Taylors Ferry Road and some nearby streets. 

SW Capitol Highway: Multnomah – Texas - This project included repaving, updating existing curb ramps, and sewer repair on SW Capitol Highway between SW Multnomah and SW Texas streets. 

SW Vermont St: Paving & bike lanes - This project repaved all of SW Vermont St and between SW 30th Ave and the Portland city limit near SW 65th Ave. Any ramps that were not up to current ADA standards were upgraded. This project also added an improved bike/pedestrian connection to an existing neighborhood greenway facility which extends northward from SW Vermont St at SW 50th Ave and southward from SW Vermont St at SW 52nd Ave.  

Accessibility

What to expect at Southwest Sunday Parkways

While Portland Sunday Parkways are community events that are designed to be accessible, the route and featured locations include a variety or surfaces and conditions. The following information is intended to help you prepare for the day and what to expect.

Elevation

Due to the hilly nature of Southwest Portland, the Southwest Sunday Parkways route has significant elevation gains and drops that other Sunday Parkways routes do not have.People using mobility devices will find this route extremely challenging.  Here are particular areas to be aware of:

• Gabriel Park to SW 33rd Avenue has an elevation gain of more than 200 ft in less than one mile. That is a pretty steep slope.
• 33rd Avenue to Gabriel Park is quite quick drop with a fast left turn onto Vermont. 
• Southwest Capitol Highway through Multnomah Village is relatively flat, but access to the marketplace via any of the adjacent streets can be steep. 
• The difference in elevation between the north and south boundaries of Spring Garden Park is quite steep. 
• The walking route through both Gabriel and Spring Garden parks have significant elevation gains and drops meaning it is hilly. 

Surfaces

The route includes a variety of surfaces including newly paved sidewalk, gravel streets, and urban trails.A reminder that the streets are closed to cars (unless someone lives on the street) so you have plenty of room to walk or roll.  Here is what to expect:

• Gabriel Park - Urban trail, uneven ground 
• SW Capitol Hwy between 33rd and Dolph Ct. - Paved sidewalks and street 
• SW 35th between Multnomah Blvd & SW Spring Garden – Rough pavement, no sidewalk, gravel shoulder 

On the route

• While on the route through neighborhoods, participants should experience low level of noiseexcept the occasional cheering from bystanders who are happy to see you.
• Volunteers in orange shirts are at intersections. They are there to help you and direct traffic.
• Orange cones marking turns will be present throughout the route.

Entering the marketplaces

There are three marketplaces along the route. Marketplaces contain a series of booths, often on both sides of the street. Upon entering the marketplace in Multnomah Village, both the noise level and amount of people congregating around booths, eating food, listening to music will increase. But this will not result in a  “concert” level noise. Music volume will only be slightly above a conversational level.

• Bicyclists may walk their bikes or park them at provided bike racks.
• Although some participants will be stopping at booths and activities, others should find it quite easy to continue - although bicyclists may have to dismount at some points.
• Sidewalks will remain clear.

Featured Stops

This route includes four featured stops; Spring Garden and Gabriel parks, a commercial corridor through Multnomah Village, and a parking lot at the Multnomah Arts Center. At each stop, you can expect:

• ADA ramps, either permanent or temporary (ramp locations marked on the map).
• Information booths with PBOT staff and volunteers who are ready and excited to help.