The Boise Neighborhood Parking Management Plan is underway!
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is working to create a long-range, comprehensive parking management plan to address the parking issues in the Boise community. PBOT has been studying parking patterns in the neighborhood and speaking with community members to come up with equitable and effective solutions to the growing community. PBOT recently formed a Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) to help advise on the plan, has completed business canvassing in the neighborhood, and has an active survey to better understand the parking and transportation needs of the neighborhood. A final Parking Management Plan is expected to be complete by Summer 2024.
Learn more about the project and how you can get involved on our webpage!
Haga clic aquí para ver la hoja de información del proyecto en español
Here's what we’ve been up to so far:
Surveys
PBOT has been engaging residents, visitors, and businesses through parking surveys to better understand the parking and transportation needs of the neighborhood. In May and June, surveyors from PBOT 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 the responses.
If you live, work, or visit the Boise neighborhood, please take the parking survey, and share with others!
Stakeholder Advisory Committee
We finalized recruitment for the Stakeholder Advisory Committee this Spring and have held four meetings. The stakeholder advisory committee has been advising PBOT on the project area boundaries, the parking study conducted by Rick Williams Consulting, PBOT’s surveys for folks who use parking in the Boise Neighborhood, PBOT’s public involvement plan and upcoming summer engagement opportunities, and which communities to hold working groups with.
Learn more about the committee and watch the past meeting recordings for April, May, June, and July on the Stakeholder Advisory Committee webpage.
Community Outreach
We’ve attended several community events including:
- Good in the Hood
- Reclaiming Black Joy concert at Dawson Park
- Williams Ave District Business District mixers
- The Mississippi Street Fair
Thank you to everyone who talked to us about the project and look for us at an upcoming event soon!
Parking Study
Rick Williams Consulting has been conducting a parking study of the neighborhood and gathering data on where and when cars are parked within the project area. Results from the study will be shared at the September committee meeting and shared in an open house later this year. The parking study data will be one information source amongst many determining the plan elements and strategies.
Map of the streets where parking study data was collected in the Boise neighborhood.
Meet the Boise Parking Management Stakeholder Advisory Committee
How were members selected?
A selection committee made up of volunteers of two existing parking committees from Central Eastside and Lloyd, and a community representative reviewed applications. All personal identifying information was removed before applications were reviewed. The selection committee was tasked with finding 11-15 people to serve on the committee representing a diverse group of perspectives. Staff from PBOT’s Parking Operations team and Equity & Inclusion team approved the final list of members.
Boise Parking Committee Members
- Jen Stack – Co-chair, Resident, Boise Neighborhood Association
- Janet Teller – Co-chair, Resident
- Velmer Bridges Jr. – Vice-chair, Resident
- Trent Aldridge – Chief Program Officer, Self Enhancement Inc. & Historic Resident
- Kevin Craddock – Owner of Mississippi Studios, Historic Mississippi Business Association
- Cherie Davis – HR Director, Self Enhancement Inc. & Historic Resident
- Stephanie Hering – Employee
- Chase Holenstein – Resident
- Jaclyn Kiruac-Fram – Executive Director of The Rebuilding Center
- Christian Lee – Owner of The Rambler, Historic Mississippi Business Association, Resident
- Mela Seaver – Resident
- Jesse Nobile – Resident
- Jerrell Waddell – Assistant Pastor Life Change Church
Leadership
Jen Stack Co-chair
Jen and her family moved to the Boise neighborhood in 2013 after living and working in California as a chemist. In addition to being a full-time mom, Jen is the Boise Neighborhood Association Communications chair, involved in her daughter’s school PTA and she and her husband, Zack, have been managing the Free Clothing Exchange, a small nonprofit that provides clothing resources in a shopping style environment for all. She cares for this city and neighborhood and wants to help make it better and safer for everyone. She loves giving back to this neighborhood and looks forward to serving on the parking committee.
Janet Teller Co-chair
Janet and her partner moved to Portland in the fall of 2022 after years of visiting and dreaming of relocating to this fabulous city. She became enamored with Portland for its combination of natural beauty, walkability and eclectic culture. Janet comes with a background in landscape design & architecture and currently works in residential real estate. Maintaining and improving the quality of life within the neighborhood is of great importance to her. Joining the Boise Parking Committee feels like a wonderful way to get involved with the neighborhood, meet other members of the community, and be of service.
Velmer Bridges Jr. Vice-Chair
Velmer has lived in the Williams district for 3 years now with his girlfriend Samantha. He works as an in-Home Tech Expert with a company called Asurion which involves a lot of driving throughout the region. Recently his car was stolen because of a viral Tik Tok challenge that influenced people to steal tons of Kia and Hyundai cars. Thankfully he got it back and it was a reminder that parking in our community is essential for services, engagement and growth and it's important to focus on the challenges and safety to provide adequate parking for everyone! He hopes that being a part of this parking committee, he can become more engaged and understanding of common issues we all encounter in our neighborhood and can help to implement a more sustainable and easy to navigate parking system.
Purpose:
- Co-chairs help set agendas, bring up issues, ideas, concerns to the project team.
- If people have concerns, they can bring them up with co-chairs/vice-chairs, especially if they don’t feel comfortable bringing up to city or project staff.
- Bring positivity to the group and process.
- Energy is important to ensuring a good process and good outcomes.
- Foster an open and inclusive environment.
- Bring local knowledge, act as a bridge between neighborhood and city project team.
- Listen, learn, and advocate for those who may not have time but whose voices/perspectives need to be heard.
Ways to get engaged:
1. Sign up for the email list
Signing up to receive emails about this project is the easiest way to stay informed and learn about opportunities to get involved. Emails will include details and materials for upcoming stakeholder advisory committee meetings. These meetings are open to the public and community members are encouraged to attend and provide comment. Emails will also provide regular project updates and announcements for other community engagement opportunities like open houses, surveys, and listening sessions through the process.
2. Take the parking and transportation survey
If you live, work, or own property in Boise, please complete our parking and transportation survey. This survey will be used to better understand the parking and transportation needs of the neighborhood.
3. Check out PBOT at upcoming outreach events!
- SEI Homecoming at Unthanks Park - Aug. 12
- Concert in the Park at Unthank Park- Aug. 25
- Word is Bond Walking tour Saturday Sept. 2
- Soul District MLK Jr. Dream Run Sept. 16 and 17
4. Tune in to Stakeholder Advisory Committee meetings
Meetings are monthly, online, and accessible at the Stakeholder Advisory Committee webpage. At each meeting, there is time dedicated at the end of each meeting for public comment. Meetings are generally held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 6-7:30 p.m. We’re taking the month of August off, so the next meeting is scheduled for September 19th. Past meetings are recorded and available on the webpage.
5. Help us organize a listening session or focus group meeting
Are you a part of a community group, business association, church, school or just passionate about parking and transportation? If so, please consider helping the project team coordinate a focus group or listening session. This will be an opportunity for PBOT staff and consultants to hear directly from the community about issues related to this project. If you are interested in this opportunity or have questions, please email PBOT project manager Kathryn.doherty-chapman@portlandoregon.gov.
Learn more about 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