Portland — Streetcar Ring

Rail Transit Online, June 2004

Officials at the Portland Streetcar are calling a proposed center city loop the Ringstrasse Concept, after the majestic boulevard encircling Vienna’s city center.  It would be an ambitious extension of the existing 2.4-mi. (3.86 km) route creating a circle line that would extend across the Broadway Bridge, through the Lloyd District and the central east side, then back across the Willamette River to RiverPlace, where it will link up with a streetcar extension already under construction.  Initial estimates place the cost at $80 million, and funding sources have yet to be identified, although federal money will most likely be sought to pay for part of the project.   The loop would provide a connection between downtown and the east side, helping to stimulate redevelopment as did the original segment, which averages about 5,700 daily riders, slightly above the 5,000 passengers predicted before it  opened.  The 0.6-mi. (0.96 km) RiverPlace extension is scheduled to be completed next March.  Planning for another 0.6 mi. to Southwest Gibbs Street should be finished by September and could be ready for operation in 2006.