Portland — Streetcar Extension

Rail Transit Online, January 2006

The Portland City Council has voted approval of the route for the next streetcar extension, a 16-block loop in the South Waterfront redevelopment district, although no funding has yet been identified for the $11-million project.  The track would head south along Southwest Moody Avenue to Lowell Street from the current terminal at Gibbs Street, then return north on Southwest Bond Avenue to Gibbs.  The right-of-way between Gibbs and Lowell will have to be shoehorned into a narrow corridor shared with a proposed aerial tram and the section on Moody will have to include a bicycle lane.  Three previous Portland Streetcar segments have been funded with a combination of property tax assessments and revenue generated by higher property values.  The next expansion will take the streetcar to Lake Oswego following an old trolley route along the Willamette River now used by vintage trolleys.