Schiller & 72nd Street Plaza
Latest News
Street Plaza Needs Volunteers to Paint
Neighbors and Friends!We just received notice from PBOT that the Street Plaza will begin the first phase of installation this coming Tuesday, June 23rd. This first phase will include painting the street with our chosen design. The short notice means that we don’t have much time to organize volunteers to help the PBOT/City Repair crews paint, but if you are around on Tuesday and would like to assist, please fill out the form linked below!Come for any amount of time – sign up for the time slot that best fits your availability.…
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Street Plaza Design Contest Winner
And the winner is… Option C – Plants By a Stream! You voted, and a clear winner emerged! The winning street painting design was submitted by Christina G.! Thank you to everyone who took the time to make your voice heard. The winner was chosen through ranked choice voting. When a vote was submitted in the form, it was collected into a spreadsheet. To calculate the winner, the spreadsheet was uploaded to the website RCV123.org. There were 137 votes cast, and Option C received 100 first place rankings. Sometimes in ranked choice…
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A Trial Street Plaza is Coming to Foster-Powell!
Last Autumn, the Portland Bureau of Transportation sent out an open call for Street Plaza applications. Foster-Powell neighbors expressed interest, a poll was conducted through the Neighborhood Association, support was found, and the Foster-Powell Neighborhood Association board voted to apply. PBOT received a total of twenty-one applications and four were chosen, including ours!
The Street Plaza will be at the intersection of SE Schiller & 72nd Ave. It will fill the space between the northbound and southbound lanes of 72nd and the two segments of the Firland Parkway. PBOT will be providing many of the supports needed to get the plaza started, but we need YOUR help to make this a success! The Street Plaza will be installed at the end of May or early June and will be temporary. After a trial period of about 3-4 months, PBOT will decide if it will remain permanent based on community engagement and feedback.
What is a Street Plaza?
Street plazas are flexible public spaces intended for community gathering and safe pedestrian use. Rather than just a place to pass through, these sections of city streets become vibrant community hubs where all are welcome. Common features include:
- Street Painting
- Public Seating
- Planters & Greenery
- Event Space
- Safety Features
There are already several examples of street plazas all across Portland – you may have even used one without knowing! Other neighborhoods nearby have already created their own street plazas. The closest example is the Arleta Triangle Square at SE 72nd and Woodstock in the Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood. Through help from the City of Portland and the volunteer efforts of neighbors, they transformed the space from an unused, unsafe pedestrian crossing into a pedestrian and cyclist haven. The site features public seating and a stage and is a shared space for events, gatherings, public forums, celebration, and relaxation. You can read more here about PBOT’s Street Plaza Program.
The Arleta Triangle Square is just one example of a use for a Street Plaza. The Foster-Powell Neighborhood will decide the best way to utilize our space!
Street Painting Design Contest
Current Status: Design contest winner has been chosen! The contest is closed.
Contest Timeline
Below are the design parameters for the contest. This is for archive and review purposes only. Design submissions are now CLOSED.
Before the Street Plaza can be installed, we need your help to design and select the street painting!
As part of the temporary Street Plaza, PBOT will be purchasing supplies for a street painting within the plaza. Therefore, we need to come up with a design! We are holding a design contest and will be organizing an online vote to determine the winner. All designs must be approved by PBOT, and there are guidelines below for reference.
Design Template & Parameters
After speaking with PBOT and neighbors, there are several parameters that need to be taken into consideration when planning your design. Many neighbors along Schiller & 72nd expressed an interest in keeping the colors of the design more natural to compliment the Firland Parkway. Below are the colors that PBOT stocks standard as an example of the colors available to us. This palette is not exhaustive and other colors may be used. In the final design, PBOT may have us adjust some colors, but we will try to stick as close to your original designs as possible.
All designs must be approved by PBOT. Please use the following guidelines when designing your street painting:
- Leave half the ‘canvas’ as negative space. It’s a ~3,000 sq. ft. space but only ~1,500 sq. ft. can be painted in total.
- No speech. Designs may not contain words, letters, numbers, universally recognized symbols, or logos of any kind.
- No copyrighted material may be used in whole or in part.
- No mimicking of traffic control devices that might affect driver behavior. Put simply, designs should not look like crosswalks, stop signs, or other three-dimensional objects.
- No depiction of activities or products that are not available to all ages. e.g. alcohol, tobacco use
- No painted games or sports courts such as basketball or pickleball.
- Use more natural colors in your palette. Neighbors near the intersection have repeatedly expressed their desire to not see anything garish out their windows. We want to honor that request.
- Contrast. Draw your design on a piece of paper (or on a computer) where the background color is the same grey tone of your roadway. This will help pick colors that get the type of contrast you want.
- Shapes. Use large, simple shapes, as opposed to many small ones with tricky detail. You want to make sure that youth, the elderly, and people with all kinds of skill levels can participate in the project. Also, large shapes make installation and maintenance much easier.
Need assistance?
If you have any questions or comments about the street plaza, you can send us a message at contact@fosterpowell.com and we would be happy to help!