What's happening now?
This project was completed in the summer of 2023.
Project Background
The E Burnside Bus and Bike Lane Improvements project was identified in the Central City in Motion plan adopted by City Council in November of 2018 and is designed to improve transit speed and reliability. It will stripe a new bus and turn lane on E Burnside Street between MLK Blvd. and 12th Avenue. The new bus and turn lane will connect to and extend the bus lane on the Burnside Bridge. Related signal upgrades will improve safety and accessibility on East Burnside and MLK for people crossing the street or bicycling across the river.
Project Scope
The E Burnside Bus and Bike Lane Improvements project will add a bus and turn lane to E Burnside between MLK Blvd. and 12th Avenue. The project will replace the traffic signal at E Burnside and MLK with one that can provide separate signal phases for buses, people biking and people driving making right turns on E Burnside at MLK. For most of the project extents, the bus and turn lane will be striped in what is today the southern-most travel lane. For the block of E Burnside between MLK and Grand, a new lane will be added due to the heavy traffic demands. This will require the removal of the curb extensions and parking along the south side of E Burnside in the block between MLK and Grand. Finally, a one block bike lane connecting E Burnside to the SE Ankeny Neighborhood Greenway will be striped on MLK.
Project Benefits
Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes on Burnside will improve the speed and reliability of bus service without reducing access to local destinations. Transit priority BAT lanes will allow the buses to access and get through the Central Eastside, relieving a major pinch point in the transit system.
Better bike connections will make it safer and more intuitive to bike from downtown to the Central Eastside. This project will make it easier to connect with SE Ankeny, a low-traffic bikeway that runs parallel to E Burnside.
Public Involvement - Past Events
2020 CCIM Open Houses
- Wednesday, March 4
- Tuesday, February 18
- Wednesday, February 26
Project Evaluation and Planning Documents
(Note: The following documents have maps and information that may not work with a screen reader. While we work toward providing that level of accessibility, please contact PBOT Project Manager Gabe Graff at Gabriel.Graff@portlandoregon.gov for assistance with providing access to the information in the plan. You can also contact PBOT’s ADA Coordinator at Lisa.Strader@portlandoregon.gov or at 503-823-5703. Thank you for your patience and understanding.)