City Cast Portland
🚶Sidewalks for East and West Portland
March 19, 2025 · — John Notarianni
Good morning, Portland! It's executive producer John Notarianni filling in for Rachel today.
Sunday Parkways is one of our favorite summer traditions, where the city shuts down neighborhood streets for walking and cycling. This year's dates have been announced, including the first Sunday Parkways downtown in nearly a decade! We'll see you there 🚲
What's CITY Talking About?
Oregon Hits the Mark on Electric Vehicles
Oregon and nine other states recently hit a major milestone by collectively getting 3.3 million new electric cars on the road since 2013. Oregon alone went from just 300 electric vehicles on the road in 2013 to over 100,000 today, thanks to federal and state tax rebates. [Oregon Capitol Chronicle]
A Push For Sidewalks in East and West Portland
City Councilors Loretta Smith and Mitch Green are teaming up to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to build sidewalks in their respective eastside and westside districts. They’re considering several funding options, including tax bonds and using money from the Portland Clean Energy Fund tax. [Willamette Week]
A Halt on Police at City Council Town Halls
Portland Police Chief Bob Day has temporarily stopped sending on-duty officers to city councilors’ town halls following recent tensions. Officers recently showed up unexpectedly to events hosted by Councilors Sameer Kanal and Angelita Morillo, who have both been critical of the Police Bureau. Chief Day’s decision follows a request by Council President Pirtle-Guiney to respect councilors’ preferences. [Oregonian 🔒]
Cutting A Path Through Forest Park
On the midweek roundup, why did PGE get approval to cut a path through five acres of Forest Park to build transmission lines, even though the Portland Permitting & Development office recommended the project be denied earlier this year? [City Cast Portland 🎧]
What To Do
Wednesday, March 19
- 🦆 Morning Bird Walk | 8:15 a.m. | Free | Tryon Creek State Natural Area
- ⛱️ OMSI After Dark: Spring Break | 6 - 10 p.m. | $27+ | OMSI
- 🧿 Kenahorror! Behind the Evil Eye | 7 - 9 p.m. | $7+ | Eastside Jewish Commons
- 📖 Mundo de las Mujeres: Worry Dolls Staged Reading | 7:30 p.m. | $5+ | Milagro Theater
- 🥕 People’s Farmers Market | 2 - 6 p.m. | Free | Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood
Thursday, March 20
- 🎫 Kane Brown | 7 p.m. | $49+ | Moda Center
- 🛶 Reel Science: Columbia River Canoe Project | 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. | $8 | OMSI
- 🍄 Drop-In Paper Mushroom Workshop | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | $5 | Nordia House
- 🤣 The 2025 Undisputable Geniuses of Comedy! | 8 p.m. | $23.31 | Revolution Hall
Oregon State Parks are more crowded than ever, setting a new record in 2024 with nearly 54 million day-use visitors. But there's still a handful of places that barely anyone has visited. My pick from this list of least-visited state parks: Beat the crowds and go see Fort Rock State Natural Area this year!
Free · Daily