Presidential Visit Expected to Cause Traffic Delays

President Barack Obama is slated to appear in Portland Thursday night to attend a fundraiser at the Sentinel Hotel in the downtown area. The president will also visit the Nike campus in Beaverton.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is encouraging people to work from home (if possible) or ride a bicycle in to work to avoid being stuck in some of the vehicular traffic delays.

While the exact itinerary of the trip is unknown, PBOT has released information regarding area closures and mass transit delays:

• The area from Southwest Morrison to Washington, 9th to 12th Avenues will be closed to all traffic, including the Portland Streetcar. The closure will begin at 2:00 p.m. Thursday and is expected to reopen at 8:00 p.m.
• The area from Southwest Morrison to Stark Street, and 4th Avenue to Broadway, will be closed to all traffic, including the TriMet bus mall and the Yellow and Green MAX lines, beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, reopening at approximately 9:00 a.m. on Friday.
• Portland Streetcar will run a modified service with Central Loop trains connecting NW 23rd Ave to the Lloyd District and OMSI via the Broadway Bridge.
• The North/South line will operate between South Waterfront and Portland State University. There will be no Streetcar Service on 10th and 11th Avenues from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
• MAX Green and Yellow lines will be disrupted from 6:30 p.m. Thursday through 9:00 a.m. Friday. Green and Yellow lines will run on the Blue/Red tracks on 1st Ave and Morrison/Yamhill in Portland City Center.
• Buses will detour off the Transit Mall on 5th and 6th Avenues between Southwest Oak and Yamhill Streets from 7:00 p.m. through 9:00 a.m. Friday as well.

TriMet is encouraging riders to please plan extra time for their commute. Delays may be significant Thursday afternoon and Friday morning as police will instruct MAX trains to hold for an indefinite period of time whenever the President or his motorcade is nearby.