Background
After years of discussions about parking in Eliot, neighborhood representatives and the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) convened a new task force of residents and businesses in October 2022. This task force met for over a year to study parking in the Eliot neighborhood and the impact large events in and around the Rose Quarter have on residents and their guests finding parking. According to their analysis—along with feedback from an open house and surveys—the evening hours in the months of October through May showed the biggest impact to residential parking from large events.
Voting and map
In early 2024, 172 Eliot neighborhood households in the area bordered by N Flint Avenue, Russell Street, NE Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard, and Schuyler Street voted whether or not to be included in the new permit area.
A total of 10 contiguous block faces voted for and met the minimum requirements to form a permit area. Based on those results—as well as parking data during large events at the Rose Quarter and the needs of several multifamily buildings—PBOT proposed a permit area map.
PBOT and the Task Force felt it was in the community’s interest to form a cohesive area with these boundaries, making it easy to understand for residents, businesses, and visitors alike. Thus, the proposal includes block faces that voted in favor of the proposal as well as many others, including those that have no residents and thus did not vote.
On-street parking inside the new permit area is limited to 2 hours between 5–10 p.m., all days from October through May. Those with permits can park beyond the 2-hour limit.
Residents in the shaded areas of the map as well as businesses, nonprofits, and their employees, are eligible for permits. No one is required to purchase a parking permit.
Timeline
The proposal was approved by Portland City Council on June 12, 2024. PBOT will install new signs over the summer of 2024. Eligible residents, employees, and businesses will be able to sign up for permits beginning Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024.
The new permit area officially starts Oct. 1, 2024.
Over the new permit area’s first year, PBOT will study parking demand, traffic volumes, and how many permits are issued to eligible residents just outside the new permit area. This data will help PBOT determine which block faces may be added in the second year of the permit area (Oct. 1, 2025 – May 31, 2026). PBOT will also pay close attention to Tillamook Street because it is a designated low-traffic street known as a neighborhood greenway.
Resident parking permits
Annual permits
Each annual residential parking permit costs $80 with two discounted rates of $38 or $55 based on median family income (MFI). For example, a household of two making $54,000/year would pay $38 and a household of four making $100,000 would pay $55. See section below on how tiered pricing works.
No one is required to purchase a parking permit. There is no limit to the number of permits each household can purchase. Permits are available to all residents in the established parking area as well as those within a roughly 400-foot buffer zone outside the established boundaries.
Guest permits
Regardless of whether they decide to purchase a residential permit, all households in the new permit area (and within the buffer zone) have access to guest parking permits. For the first year, households can request one FREE annual guest permit and 30 FREE daily guest permits, with options to purchase up to 70 additional guest permits in sets of 10 for $20.
These permits allow residents and their guests to park longer than two hours during the evening and months parking restrictions are in place. Eligible residents will be able to sign up for permits beginning on Sept. 3. All residential and guest permits are paperless. PBOT uses an online, license-plate based system.
Annual resident permits are intended to be used for vehicles owned by the resident. Annual guest permits are intended to be used by frequent visitors but can also be used by other guests if only one vehicle is using the permit at a time. Daily guest permits can be useful when you have two or more guests that need to park for more than two hours at the same time.
Tiered pricing, explained
Annual residential parking permit (for those who want one) will cost $80, with two discounted rates based on median family income (MFI). Households earning more than (>) 90% MFI will pay the full permit price of $80/year. Households earning between 60-90% MFI will pay $55, while households earning less than (<) 60% MFI will pay $38.
The following table shows MFI ranges for the Portland metro area in 2024:
| Household size | Full permit price Annual household income more than (>) 90% MFI | Discount tier 1 Annual household income 60-90% MFI | Discount tier 2 Annual household income less than (<) 60% MFI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | > $74,340 | $49,560 - $74,340 | < $49,560 |
| 2 people | > $84,960 | $56,640 - $84,960 | < $56,640 |
| 3 people | > $95,580 | $63,720 - $95,580 | < $63,720 |
| 4 people | > $106,200 | $70,800 - $106,200 | < $70,800 |
| 5 people | > $114,750 | $76,500 - $114,750 | < $76,500 |
| 6 people | > $123,210 | $82,140 - $123,210 | < $82,140 |
| 7 people | > $131,760 | $87,840 - $131,760 | < $87,840 |
| 8 people | > $140,220 | $93,480 - $140,220 | < $93,480 |
Employee, business and nonprofit parking
To understand how a new parking permit area would affect area businesses and nonprofits, PBOT staff and the Eliot Parking Task Force have been discussing this proposal with businesses over the past two years. Over that time, we learned that most businesses in the proposed parking permit area don't operate after 7 p.m. and would not be impacted by a 2-hour limit between 5-10 p.m.
That said, businesses and nonprofits operating in the shaded areas of the map whose employees need to park on the street for more than 2 hours between 5-10 p.m. would be eligible for permits.
- Employees can purchase one annual permit for $80, with two discounted rates of $38 or $55 depending on income. Employees are not eligible to purchase guest permits.
- For the first year only, businesses in the shaded areas of the map may also request one FREE annual guest permit and 30 FREE daily guest permits. They may also purchase up to 70 additional daily guest permits in packs of 10 for $20.
- Nonprofit organizations in the shaded areas of the map can purchase additional annual guest permits for $63.44.
Eligible employees, businesses and nonprofits will be able to sign up for permits beginning on Sept. 3. All employee and guest permits are paperless. PBOT uses an online, license-plate based system.
Apply for a Zone V parking permit
Differences from the 2019 proposal
In 2019, the Eliot neighborhood voted against a proposal for a parking permit area. That proposal was like area permits PBOT has created in other neighborhoods to limit commuter parking. It would have restricted parking to one hour from 7 a.m. - 10 p.m. seven days a week, year-round. Annual permits would have been $75, available to residents and businesses. The vote was also based on the entire permit area, an all-or-nothing proposal.
This plan is much more precise. It aims to make it easier for residents and their guests to find on-street parking when large evening events happen in and around the Rose Quarter, mainly in the months of October-May. Permits are only available for residents.
The permit area has longer visitor time limits: two hours. This is so guests of residents can park on the street longer without a parking permit, but short enough to deter event attendees from parking in the neighborhood. We also heard from residents supportive of the 2019 proposal who were concerned their neighbors may not be able to afford the permit cost.
Unlike the 2019 proposal, this permit area has determined how guest parking permits will work, with guidance from the Eliot Parking Task Force made up of area residents and businesses.
Based on feedback during a May 2023 open house, we determined the three price levels outlined above. Based on input from the task force, we also added free annual guest permits for residents both in and nearby the permit area. Annual guest permits are much easier to set up than daily permits, especially if you have frequent guests such as family or caretakers.
Instead of the all-or-nothing approach of the 2019 proposal, the permit area was determined block by block, with votes tallied separately for each block face. As long as nine contiguous (touching) block faces support the permit, the proposal would move forward to a vote of council.