N82nd Avenue in Portland, Oregon
Where bun bo hue, used car dealerships, and state city politics converge.
Recently, I spent 4 days in Portland, Oregon for the first time for my birthday. My partner and I stayed with family who lived in the south part of the city. The long weekend consisted of thoroughly enjoying amazing Vietnamese food, seeing Come From Away on national tour in downtown Portland, and hiking through City Forest. The thread through all these mini adventures was taking NE 82nd Ave to and fro. NE 82nd Ave is one of the longest north-south thoroughfares in the city at 9.6 miles connecting the airport, the city of Portland, and many southern suburbs together.
The first time we drove through NE 82nd was going from the airport to find a late night bun bo hue (aka bbh) spot. Not many places stay open past 8pm in Portland according to our Uber driver Carrie, so she was delighted to hear that Utopia was open for lotto, fried wings, and bbh. At night, 82nd Avenue is a relatively non-descript road. The street lights bounced off of all the parking lots filled with used- car dealerships. At 11pm, Utopia’s bbh was like a warm welcoming hug.
The next day with my partner’s family, we headed to another bbh spot for lunch and under the bright clouds, you can see clearly all the different Vietnamese restaurants’ signage on 82nd Avenue. Mekong Bistro, Pho Oregon, Teo Bun Bo Hue just to name a few. I later found out you can characterize NE 82nd as a hub for the Vietnamese community and restaurants in Portland.
The third thing I noticed is related to the car dealerships I spotted on our first night. Portland is well known for their food truck scene particularly with the evolution of the food truck “pod” scene. Instead of being a single truck on the street, renting a small spot with other food truck businesses in an unused parking lot to cater to customers who want variety makes logical sense. And for the US city with the most bikes per human capita, reusing commercial space meant to originally sell cars to bring people to eat highlights innovative land resuse. Just on 82nd Avenue there are two popular food pods, Cartlandia and Montavilla Food Carts.
By the end of my trip, I knew there was more to learn about 82nd Avenue. It seemed as essential to the community as Atlantic Ave or Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, bisecting the city and offering crucial services to the neighborhoods it crosses through.
Through my research, I’ve found that a key issue in the past with 82nd Avenue has been governance. Designated as a state highway 213, the city of Portland had little direct oversight into how this street is managed and how it impacts the surrounding communities. The state of Oregon, who did manage this street, viewed 82nd Avenue as a resource to move high volumes of cars, accommodate freight traffic, and as an alternative to the I-205. This prioritization of heavy car traffic comes into direct conflict with local community members who have come together to create the 82nd Coalition to prioritize local businesses and pedestrian safety.
When you look at a map of 82nd Avenue, it’s actually mind boggling to think the state categorize 82nd Avenue as a highway when you see there are so many reasons this street needs to be designed for slow traffic — there are multiple public schools right on 82nd Avenue, there are over hundreds of businesses dotting 82nd avenue, places of worship, and residents who live on or beside this street that walk or bike across this busy thoroughfare.
In late 2022, the ownership of the corridor was officially transferred from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to PBOT due to community advocacy that wanted more say in how this street was managed and improved. Now under Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) purview, 82nd Avenue is undergoing critical repairs and improvements that are meant to be completed by 2026. Of the 5 main types of improvements, 3 focus on pedestrian use of 82nd Ave — better street lighting for improved visibility, crossings to improve pedestrian safety, and corridor safety.
The story of NE 82nd Avenue is one of continued community resilience. I can’t wait to come back and visit Portland and 82nd Avenue and see how the streets have become safer for the community.
P.S. If you're curious on more history and dimensions about NE 82nd Avenue, the Portland Bureau of Transportation has put together a comprehensive contextual Corridor Atlas on the history, communities, and challenges of 82nd Avenue.