Section 1: About the Green Loop

What is the Green Loop?

The Green Loop will be a 6-mile linear park and multi-use path that invites residents, workers, and visitors to experience Portland's Central City in an entirely new way. It will improve access to and link important regional destinations, while also serving as a series of public spaces for people of all ages and abilities to move, gather, relax, and play. It will be a connection between places, as well as a series of places itself.

Similar Projects Around the Country

View full size image of A trio of images showing urban trails from around the country

Built Segments of the Green Loop

View full size image of Two images: one showing a nice brick lined street with trees. The other shows a pedestrian bridge over a highway

Where we are in the process – Green Loop Concept Plan

The Green Loop was identified as one of six "big ideas" in the Central City 2035 Plan, adopted in 2018. Since then, area plans, design studies, community events, and completed projects—including the Blumenauer Bridge, Flock Block, and SW College near the new PSU Art Building—have helped advance the vision.

Funded through a State of Oregon Transportation and Growth Management grant, the Green Loop Concept Plan will guide long-term implementation and identify projects that could move forward in the next five to ten years. While no construction is planned or funded yet, this work will help prepare future projects for funding, design, and construction.

Timeline

Previous Plans

2018

• Central City 2035: Identified the Green Loop as a priority and established a set of objectives and design principles for the Green Loop
• Central City in Motion: Recommended the Green Loop be routed on SE/NE 6th Avenue and identified a series of pedestrian improvements in the Central Eastside and North Park Blocks

2020

• Green Loop Studies: Alignment and design studies for North Park blocks, the Lloyd District, and Southwest
• USPS Master Plan: Established Green Loop as an integral part of the open space network that links the North Park blocks, adjacent buildings, and Broadway Bridge through on street and elevated pathways
• South Park Blocks Master Plan: Established preferred Green Loop alignment on the west side of the South Park Blocks and cross-sections between SW Salmon and College streets
• River District Right-of-Way Standards: Defined cross-section for Green Loop on NW Park Avenue from W Burnside Street to NW Johnson Street

2022

• OMSI Central City Master Plan: Included a preferred and alternative alignment for the Green Loop, using a new bridge over the railroad or existing street connections
• Green Loop Studies: Alignment and design studies for Midtown, Lloyd/Albina, new bridge in the OMSI area

2024

• I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project Environmental Assessment: Scope included the anticipated pedestrian/bike bridge over I-5 to support the Green Loop 
• Green Loop Operations & Programming for Equitable Development: Proposed strategies for governance, maintenance, activation, and equitable design based on national best practices and local context

Green Loop Concept Plan (We Are Here!)

2025

• Evaluate previous plans, current transportation and community context
• Verify and refine the Green Loop vision
• Evaluate and finalize the Green Loop long-term and short-term alignments
• Develop design concepts

2026

• Create a Green Loop project list of short-term and long-term projects
• Prioritize projects according to evaluation criteria
• Identify implementation tools and funding sources
• Create final report for adoption by City Council

Green Loop Projects (Future)

• Identify and secure funding, leveraging other PBOT capital projects or community partner activities
• Project development, including additional public engagement in project areas
• Design and engineering
• Construction and activation

Dive Deeper

Why does the Green Loop matter now?

The Central City is home to many of Portland's favorite places—parks, cultural institutions, events, and more—and to a diverse community of residents with a wide range of needs and experiences. Compared to the city as a whole, more people here live on lower incomes or with disabilities, and many rely on walking, rolling, biking, and transit to get around. The Green Loop will make it easier for people who live here to reach daily destinations, while also welcoming visitors from across Portland and the region. It will expand access to parks, and provide safe, active ways to travel for thousands of people.

Today, the Central City needs the Green Loop more than ever. As remote work has reshaped downtown since COVID-19, the area needs to evolve into a neighborhood where people want to live, work, visit, and spend more time. With growing momentum and new ideas to support downtown's recovery, the Green Loop can play an important role—connecting Central City destinations, supporting local businesses, and creating a lively, welcoming public space.

Green Loop Vision

The Green Loop Concept Plan outlines a step-by-step approach for building the Green Loop. We'll start with more feasible projects on the Short-Term Alignment to build momentum for the more complex and expensive Long-Term Alignment.

Short-Term Alignment

Lower cost improvements that strengthen connections and create welcoming places

• Targeted connectivity improvements so people can experience riding, rolling, jogging, or walking a longer portion of the Green Loop to explore the Central City
• Amplifies existing activity areas (local businesses, institutions, destinations) with planting, furnishing, and wayfinding
• Addresses known transportation gaps in the pedestrian and bike networks
• Upgrades existing walking, rolling, and biking routes
• Leverages designed or planned projects in areas where future Green Loop bridges are envisioned
• Proposes a menu of design options that can be refined during future project development with community members

View full size image of Map of Green Loop short-term alignment and illustration of people walking, biking, and rolling on a colorful two-way pathway with potted plants

Long-Term Alignment

A signature six-mile linear park and pathway unlike anything in the Central City today

• Uses distinctive and higher quality planting, paving, signage and street furniture than typical Portland streets
• Activated by future redevelopment anticipated in Broadway Corridor, OMSI, Rose Quarter, Lower Albina, Lloyd
• Includes new high-cost bridges and off-street connections
• A collaboration between public, private, philanthropic, and non-profit partners
• Requires ongoing capacity to maintain and activate the Green Loop

View full size image of Map of Green Loop long-term alignment and illustration of people walking, biking, and rolling on a raised two-way pathway with planters, trees, and furnishing

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