South Portland Addressing Project

Transportation
Completed
This project improved wayfinding, 9-1-1 dispatching, and emergency response improvements by readdressing former portion of Southwest Portland as South Portland and standardizing the spelling of street names effective May 1, 2020. U.S. Postal Service delivered mail to old addresses through 4/30/21.
South Portland Addressing Map Extents
Completed May 1, 2020
Location Description
South Portland, SE Martins Court in Woodstock, SW Radcliffe Street & Lane in Crestwood
Businesses Affected
1000
Residences Affected
9000
On this Page

What’s happening now?

This area was readdressed as South Portland on May 1, 2020 per City Council approval on June 6, 2018.  Final property owner reminder notification letters were mailed on April 20, 2020, and final tenant reminder notification letters were mailed on April 21, 2020, concluding the public notification process.   

Project Background

Sixth Sextant Logo

The Portland Bureau of Transportation collaborated with Portland Fire & Rescue, the Portland Police Bureau, and Multnomah County to improve wayfinding, 9-1-1 dispatching, and emergency response in the former area of Southwest Portland east of SW Naito Parkway and SW View Point Terrace. Due to the eastward curvature in the Willamette River, east-west addresses in this area were previously addressed with a leading zero to differentiate them from addresses west of this dividing line. About 8% of Southwest Portland addresses prior to the creation of South Portland were in this leading zero addressing area.

Wayfinding, 9-1-1 dispatching, and emergency response issues increased each year as development increased and population grew in the former leading zero addressing area, especially in South Waterfront. Multiple databases and information technology applications have difficulty with the leading zero address or simply do not support leading zero addresses. Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) staff and Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) staff were directed to implement a solution to eliminate this issue, including for unincorporated Multnomah County areas served by the City.  

In addition, the spelling of street names on property owners’ addresses, street signs, and the official names of certain streets were inconsistent. The spelling of all Portland street names are now standardized throughout the city, including:

  • The spelling of SW Radcliffe Street (formerly SW Radcliff Street) and SW Radcliffe Lane (formerly SW Radcliff Lane) in Crestwood N.A. has been standardized for consistency with S Radcliffe Court, S Radcliffe Lane and S Radcliffe Rd. 
  • SE Martin Court in Woodstock has been renamed to SE Martins Court consistent with nearby SE Martins Street. 

Additional Documents

Interactive South Portland Web Map

Table of South Portland Address Changes

Table of Martins/Radcliffe Address Changes