About the Boise & Eliot Parking Management Plan

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The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has been asked by the Boise Neighborhood Association to help develop strategies to manage parking in the Boise neighborhood.

Study Area

The Boise Neighborhood Association asked the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to do a comprehensive parking management plan for the area. In 2022, a stakeholder advisory committee formed, and the project kicked off.

At that same time, the Eliot Neighborhood Association asked PBOT to study parking in their neighborhood and the impact large events in and around the Rose Quarter have on residents and their guests finding parking. After two years of work the Zone V Parking Permit program launched in October 2024.

PBOT recognizes there has been extensive growth in the Boise and Eliot neighborhoods since the initial projects kicked off and is not slowing. The WNBA team will kick off their season in spring 2026 and new mixed-use development slated for the Williams corridor, including two at Russell Street.

There is a need to extend the plan into the Eliot neighborhood south to Schuyler Street.

Expanding the boundary of the existing plan ensures PBOT doesn’t have to go back to the drawing board with community members or city council. However, this doesn’t mean PBOT will apply the same parking management strategies everywhere within the district. PBOT will be guided by parking data, community input, and goals identified by the Boise and Eliot neighborhoods.

The Boise Eliot Parking Management Plan will be guided by a joined Boise Parking Stakeholder Advisory Committee and the Eliot Parking Task Force.

Data Collection

A map showing the streets in the Boise neighborhood where parking study data will be collected. — Streets where parking study data will be collected.

Intercept survey

In May and June, surveyors from Portland Bureau of Transportation were out talking to people about their visit that day on N Mississippi Ave and N Williams Ave. We talked with more than 400 people about their transportation and parking experience that day.

Click to view survey responses303.12 KB

Project background

2014-2015 | Neighborhood participated in Centers & Corridors Parking Study
2018 | Portland City Council approves a new Parking Pilot Program.
2018 | The Boise Neighborhood Association (Boise NA) requested an area parking permit program, but failed to get enough votes.
2019 | Boise NA requested PBOT's help to develop a long-range parking plan.
December 2019/January 2020 | PBOT & Boise & Humboldt Neighborhood Associations get started on planning scope.
February/March 2020 | PBOT recruits parking consultants.
April 2020 | Project put on hold due to COVID-19 pandemic.
June 2022 | Boise NA support resuming the planning process.
Fall 2022 | PBOT and consultants start on public involvement strategy.
January 2023 | Recruitment for the Stakeholder Advisory Committee begins.
April 2023 | Stakeholder Advisory Committee begins to meet.

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Project timeline

Winter 2023 - project scoping; outreach; recruit for stakeholder advisory committee
Spring 2023 - committee meetings begin; decide study area and hours
Summer/Fall 2023 - conduct parking study and community survey; develop project goals; hold committee meetings
Winter/Spring 2024 - hold corridor working group meetings; hold committee meetings
Summer 2024 - draft parking management plan; focus groups and listening sessions
Fall 2024 - resume committee meetings; open house
Winter 2024/25 - Finalize plan; City Council hearing

Goals and benefits of parking management

The goal of parking management is to balance all the competing needs for on-street parking. Customers, commercial delivery drivers, and a growing population all need access to on-street parking.

Benefits of parking management include:

Better livability for residents
Better access to local businesses for customer and freight
Less congestion and carbon emissions
Better air quality and safety for everyone
Less illegal parking and fewer blocked driveways with regular enforcement

Parking management videos

Two videos have been created to help explain why PBOT manages parking in Portland and the strategies that we use. The specific strategies chosen are tailored based off the needs of the neighborhood.

The video above explains why parking management is necessary and the important role it plays on preserving access to the shared resource of on-street parking.