Pre-Conference Event
Transit to Trails: Portland’s Washington and Forest Parks
$45 purchase lunch
Come take a forest bath in two of Portland’s tree-filled jewels: Washington and Forest Parks. Nestled up against the west side of Portland, these two parks are accessible by transit and offer great trails for hiking and running. Learn about the Washington Park shuttle, which helps get visitors where they’re going and manages traffic. Then head up on foot (your choice: hiking or running) past the Japanese Garden and through Hoyt Arboretum to historic Pittock Mansion. Continue down into northwest Portland. Purchase your lunch in a neighborhood set for transformation in the coming years with extension of the Portland Streetcar. Over lunch, hear how Portland Parks & Recreation’s community connector shuttle pilot makes Forest Park more accessible to Portlanders without a car. Also learn how urban forests, with their abundant canopy and trail systems, both help reduce heat island effects and support public health. You’ll experience the role of green spaces in urban design!
The run or hike will be approximately five miles long with 650’ of elevation gain and 1000’ of loss. Trail runners, please plan to carry your own water and fuel, if desired. There will be an option to bring a drop bag with a change of clothing, additional layers or other essentials needed before having lunch.
Walking, Health, 2025 Conference - Portland OR, Transit-Oriented Communities, Transit, Community, Sustainability.
Mobile Workshop
MW01 Crossroads at the Falls: Development and Multimodal Access in Clackamas County
$65 includes lunch
Willamette Falls is the largest natural waterfall in the Pacific Northwest by volume and the seventeenth widest in the world. The Willamette River and the challenges of crossing it have dictated where people gather and how development happens over centuries. Take a look at different river crossings and riverside infrastructure as you learn about the history of each and how humans have approached the technical, political and cultural factors involved, with a special focus on active transportation. Walk around Oregon City, the traditional end of the Oregon Trail and the first U.S. city west of the Rocky Mountains, incorporated in 1844. Gain an understanding of the practical constraints for developing transportation infrastructure in the area as well as some of the more innovative solutions to making new connections, from multimodal bridges to municipal elevators to designs for new earthquake-ready spans.
Note: Updated September 12 to indicate that lunch is provided. Updated October 25 to change the end time until 2:30 pm.
Bicycling, Walking, Economic Development, 2025 Conference - Portland OR, Engineering, Community Development, Sustainability.
Mobile Workshop
MW02 A New Fourth Plain Blvd: Mobility and Placekeeping on a BRT Corridor
$65 includes lunch
The community near Fourth Plain Boulevard in Vancouver, WA, is one of the most diverse in the Pacific Northwest: thirty languages are spoken and numerous local businesses contribute to a thriving corridor. When Vancouver’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line was slated for Fourth Plain Blvd, the City sprang into action, developing a comprehensive, coordinated investment and anti-displacement plan, reflecting community aspirations while providing support to keep people in place. The result was a corridor with safety and mobility improvements, business support grants, parks improvements, affordable housing investments and the Fourth Plain Commons community hub. Explore place-keeping and transportation investments with city staff and community members who made it happen. Learn how this coordinated program of investment aligned with the community’s vision for itself and how tradeoffs were navigated given scarce resources and competing needs.
Bicycling, Walking, Housing, Businesses, Safety, 2025 Conference - Portland OR, Transit-Oriented Communities, Community Development, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Corridor Planning, Placemaking.
Mobile Workshop
MW03 East Portland TOD: Housing, Incubator Spaces, Mass Timber
$45 purchase lunch
Take the MAX to East Portland and Gresham, a fast-growing suburb, to see a mix of proposed, under-construction and completed transit-oriented development (TOD) projects. Hear from architects, developers, city staff and TriMet about development partnerships, including joint development, as well as the role of planning studies in the community and FTA transit-oriented development planning grants. The lineup includes 12-story rental housing with energy-saving features, Downtown Rockwood redevelopment and the Rockwood Market Hall, Alta Civic mixed-use projects, and the marquee under-construction mass-timber East County Library, one of the most anticipated buildings east of the Willamette River, designed with features prioritized by the community and built on a former TriMet park and ride. There will be time to purchase your lunch during the workshop.Ride back to Portland on FX bus rapid transit (BRT).
Photo credit: TriMet
Housing, Mixed-Use Development, Architecture, Parking, 2025 Conference - Portland OR, Community Engagement, Federal Funding, Joint Development, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
Pre-Conference Event
5 Bs: Bus, BRT, Blue Line, B-Line, and Beverages!
$65 includes 1 beverage at each stop and appetizers
All the transit geeks in Portland know the 4Ts (see Mobile Workshop 17). Possibly even better are the 5Bs: Bus, BRT, Blue Line, B-line, and Beverages (oh my)! Here’s your chance to explore what Portland has to offer as far as transit and craft breweries (non-alcoholic choices available). Hop on TriMet’s FX Division bus rapid transit to check out Mt. Hood Brewing and enjoy a beverage in an old train car. Take the Portland Streetcar B-line to Living Haus Brewing for some classic beer and pizza, and take the bus to Upright Brewing in the historic Leftbank Building. Head back to the hotel via the Blue Line MAX light rail. Along the way, play Portland Transit Bingo, with squares focused on transit elements and amenities, multimodal access features and quintessential Portland-ness things. You’ll learn about and experience the different modes of transit in Portland and how they work together as a system to get people where they want to go, including outside of their work commute.
Description updated 8-19-2025.
Mobile Workshop
MW04 Replacing Burnside Bridge: The View for Transportation, Business and Recreation
$65
Update Saturday, October 25: Due to weather, the kayaking portion of this Mobile Workshop will instead be a walking tour.
The Burnside Bridge, in the heart of Portland’s central city and a long-time gathering place for celebration and protest, soon will be demolished and rebuilt. What are the possibilities of the “bridgeless interval”? As the bridge is rebuilt, how will space be allocated and contribute to the city’s resiliency? Walk across and kayak beneath the existing bridge, learning about its history and significance to businesses and for recreation and transportation. The new span will have the most space for people walking and biking in the city – 17’ on both sides – and the longest bus-only lane in the city. On the east bank, hear about transit station design and community efforts to create an ADA-accessible connection from the new bridge to the Eastbank Esplanade. Kayaks will paddle the Willamette River from the Duckworth Dock to the Hawthorne Bridge.
Bicycling, ADA, Station Design, Bus, 2025 Conference - Portland OR, Community, Sustainability.
Mobile Workshop
MW05 Rolling through RIP City: Middle Housing in Portland
$65
Portland’s Residential Infill Project (RIP), implemented in 2020, expanded allowed housing types to include duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, sixplexes and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). RIP2 followed in 2021, adding cottage clusters, impacting more zones and enabling land divisions for ownership opportunities. How has it turned out so far? Get the story as you bicycle (14 miles total) to and around the Cully neighborhood, hearing from housing policy consultants, a RIP staff project manager, and a local developer who served on the City’s Planning Commission during RIP’s passage. Learn about the longevity of middle housing in Portland and see developments built since RIP’s implementation. Speakers will cover trends in middle housing development over the last four years, including locations, sizing, regulatory considerations and lessons for other communities.
Housing, Zoning, Land Use, 2025 Conference - Portland OR, Policy, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
Session
Transportation on the Ballot: Strategies for Success
Pavilion West (Plaza Level)
When state and federal funding feels uncertain, is nonexistent, or is insufficient to cover future demands, many communities take their transportation futures to the ballot box. In the last decade, hundreds of local initiatives have gone before voters. While some won big and some flopped, there is a clear trend of success, with a majority of transportation-related measures winning support. This trend shows that well‑crafted measures can generate real revenue for mobility improvements. In this interactive workshop, dig into the strategies behind winning campaigns, including how to craft ballot measures that engage diverse stakeholders and secure public trust. Through case studies from around the country, we’ll unpack critical success factors, lessons learned from real elections and the creative tactics that have helped communities turn a strategy into a success. Come ready to share and leave with actionable ideas for your own local initiatives.
Mike Schneider, Managing Partner, InfraStrategies, Irvine, CA
Jessica Grennan, Director, Center for Transportation Excellence (CFTE), Washington, DC
Denny Zane, Director of Policy and Strategy, MoveLA, Los Angels, CA
Scott Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer, AlphaVu, Washington, DC
Amanda Vandegrift, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Finance and Administration, WeGo Public Transit, Nashville, TN
Sharmila Mukherjee, AICP, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategic Planning and Development Officer, CapMetro, Austin, TX
Lonny Stern, MPA, Movability Texas, Austin, TX
Networking
LGBTQ+ Community and Friends – All are Welcome!
Badlands Portland, 110 NW Broadway, Portland, OR 97209
A special invitation to LGBTQ+ conference-goers and friends: Come raise a glass, meet fellow attendees and start the week in a space that celebrates community and conversation. Get a head start on the Sunday Night Welcome Reception at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Networking
Leadership Reception
Invitation Only
An invitation-only social hour prior to the Welcome Reception.
Networking
Welcome Reception
OMSI, 1945 SE Water Ave., Portland, OR 97214
Sponsored by Parametrix
The celebration of 30 years of Rail~Volution, now Mpact Transit + Community, begins at the Welcome Reception at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), across the Willamette River from downtown Portland.
This will be a welcome to remember! The fun starts with getting to OMSI. Jump on the Portland Streetcar featuring live music – different bands on different trains – to get you in a party mood as you ride over Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People. You can also join a bike ride, hop on MAX light rail or ride one of four bus lines, including TriMet FX® – Frequent Express. At OMSI you’re invited to roam the interactive exhibits as you say hello to old friends and meet new ones. Don’t miss the screen displaying artwork from all 30 conferences. Stop at the photo booth.
Streetcar music will see you back to the Hilton, ready to dive into #MpactPDX on Monday.
