Plans to redevelop Portland's Franklin Street corridor advance with $2M grant

Photo / Courtesy City of Portland Franklin Street runs north-south on the left side of this photo. The project is to reconnect neighborhoods divided by 1960s construction, creating new housing and commercial opportunities.

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By Laurie Schreiber

Plans to redesign Franklin Street, a major corridor on the Portland peninsula, got a boost this week with a $2 million grant from the federal government.

The money comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities pilot program.

The city of Portland’s project, on the drawing board for 15 years, is to reconnect Portland neighborhoods divided by 1960s construction, creating new housing and commercial opportunities, according to a news release.

“The construction of the Franklin Street arterial in the late 1960s had a challenging impact on many Portlanders, resulting in the demolition of whole neighborhoods, the displacement of longtime residents and a permanent physical divide through the heart of the city,” said U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, who announced the award this week.

The Franklin Street update aims to transform one of Portland’s most heavily used streets into a modernized urban corridor that better serves residents, pedestrians, motorists and cyclists while creating a stronger connection between surrounding neighborhoods and the rest of the city.

“This funding will significantly advance the city’s efforts to transform Franklin Street into a multi-modal, connected corridor that has the potential to foster significant economic growth and residential development in the heart of the city,” said Bruce Hyman, transportation program manager for the city’s Department of Planning and Urban Development.

The idea for the update was launched in 2009 by concerned citizens and was adopted by the city council in 2015.

It includes removing the existing grassy median, adding bike lanes and pedestrian spaces on either side of Franklin Street and creating a roundabout at the intersection of Franklin and Commercial Streets to improve traffic flow and safety.

A study launched by the council developed possible solutions that aimed to balance the interests of all stakeholders. The process created three separate alternatives for improving the corridor.

A master plan was completed and adopted by the council in 2015.

But since then, a number of factors have changed that signal the need for an update or refreshing of the master plan’s transportation component, according to the city’s 2023 update.

The factors included:

Significant residential and commercial development along Franklin Street, downtown and at the Eastern Waterfront
Changing transportation patterns during and since the pandemic
Advances in active transportation design and expanded transit services
A renewed commitment to expanding housing opportunities in Portland
New federal funding opportunities for transformational transportation projects such as Franklin Street.

Franklin Street serves as a key north-south connection for motorists between Interstate I-295 and Portland's downtown and waterfront.

But it creates barriers to east-west travel by all forms of travel.

One of the key goals of the planning initiatives has been to recreate many of the finer-grained street and neighborhood connections that were severed and add more active transportation and transit travel options on Franklin Street.

A new update is planned with the help of consultants.

Construction construction wouldn't start until between 2026 and 2030.