By Madeleine Voth
For decades, those who have lived and worked along 82nd Ave. have dealt with a road in desperate need of improvement. As Portland’s longest commercial strip, it functioned like a highway while lacking the basic infrastructure of a city street. Sidewalk gaps forced pedestrians into traffic crossings that were few and far between; poor lighting compounded already serious safety concerns. After years of community advocacy, 2025 marked a turning point, with visible progress now paving the way for major construction and design changes planned through 2026.
The transformation began in June 2022 when ownership of 82nd Ave. was officially transferred from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). The road, which runs through the entire east side of Portland and into the southern suburbs, had long been the subject of debate as the neighborhoods around it grew denser and more diverse.
“[82nd Ave.] used to be the outskirts of Portland,” said Hannah Schafer, spokesperson for PBOT. “But it is now very much part of the city, and in fact one of the fastest-growing and most diverse areas of Portland.”
Schafer described the road as an “orphan highway” as it fell through the cracks while ODOT focused its resources on freeways like I-205. “There was a lot of work that had not been done over the years in terms of keeping the street in good condition,” she said.
Advocates pushed for local control for decades, arguing that a street serving dense neighborhoods should be planned and maintained by the city rather than the state. Zachary Lauritzen, executive director of Oregon Walks and project manager for the 82nd Avenue Coalition, said the corridor had become a “highway that used to be one thing,” but is now “no longer in the right home.”
“You have cars that are going really far, really fast, on a wide road, through a neighborhood where there’s universities, elementary schools, high schools, shops, cafes, restaurants…,” Lauritzen said. “It’s a mismatch, from the highway of what it used to be built for; to go far and fast, versus now, just neighborhoods are all around there, and so people were being seriously injured, people were being killed, by vehicular violence up and down 82nd Ave.”
The numbers confirm this; from 2012 to 2021 there were 14 traffic deaths and 122 people seriously injured in crashes on 82nd Ave., and estimates for 2022 to 2023 include four more traffic deaths, making it one of the highest crash streets for bikers, drivers and pedestrians in Portland.
Over the past year alone, additions to 82nd Ave. include repaving approximately 1.4 miles of the corridor, including segments between SE Mill St. and SE Brooklyn St., improving ride quality and reducing standing water; construction of nearly a mile of new sidewalks along SE 82nd Ave., seven new pedestrian crossings at SE Clinton, Ash, Schiller and Knapp streets; and a full traffic signal at SE Schiller St., a crossing residents had long flagged as unsafe.
“By adding new marked crossings, there are more safe opportunities for people to cross the street in a controlled environment, creating a level of certainty for both pedestrians and drivers,” Schafer said.
“These are all investments that when we make them, we’re not just thinking about the next five years, we’re thinking about the next 20, 30, 50 years; how that neighborhood is going to look, and wanting to get the most of our money by making long-term investments that will grow with the community over time,” Schafer emphasized.
Community input has played a central role throughout the process. PBOT has worked closely with organizations including the 82nd Avenue Coalition, FUBON, Portland Community College and local businesses, conducting door-to-door outreach during construction to address access, detours and operational needs.
“A good project is not a good project without community input,” Schafer said. “The people who live, work and play along this street know what’s missing. Our job is to listen and translate that into infrastructure.”
Lauritzen said these current upgrades reflect decades of organizing by residents and advocacy groups. He emphasized that the scale of public investment, including PBOT’s $185 million commitment, additional funding from the state, federal government, Metro, the Portland Clean Energy Fund and transit investments led by TriMet, all make community oversight especially important.
“We think the public should have a strong voice in how this money is invested,” Lauritzen said. “We try to hear and listen to people who live up and down the corridor, and then try to channel those visions.”
The changes now visible are only the beginning, according to Schafer. “We will see construction within this decade that fundamentally transforms 82nd,” she said. “The goal is that when people think about this street 20 or 30 years from now, they see it as a place, not just a road.”
Looking ahead, SE Portland will remain a major focus as the project continues. By the end of 2026, PBOT plans to widen sidewalks near SE Foster Rd. and SE Raymond St., upgrade additional traffic signals using newer technology that allows signals to coordinate with one another and construct new pedestrian crossings at SE Tibbetts, Lafayette, Ramona and Tolman streets, with an improved crossing at SE Raymond St. Tree planting will also expand significantly. PBOT anticipates planting around 215 to 250 additional trees along the corridor in 2026, timed to align with the rainy season so the young trees can establish strong roots.
Entering 2026, 82nd Ave. will continue to see major improvements, and the steady build-out of sidewalks, crossings, lighting and trees signals a long-awaited shift toward a safer, more connected future for communities along the corridor. Lauritzen concluded, emphasizing his vision for 82nd Ave. “We want an 82nd of the future, not an 82nd of the past.”
Construction on 82nd Ave. Photo by PBOT.
