By Andrew Aebi, Columbia - Lombard Wayfinding Project Manager and Zef Wagner, Transportation Planner

Wayfinding Improvements

The Portland Bureau of Transportation has been collaborating with property owners, neighborhood associations and other stakeholders to improve the confusing names of streets in the Columbia / Lombard Corridor in both North Portland and in Northeast Portland.  Within Northeast Portland, Columbia Blvd. is north of the Kenton Line railroad tracks while Lombard St. is generally parallel to the south, with few grade crossings to correct for wayfinding errors, particularly for operators of freight vehicles and large trucks.  New industrial and living wage jobs are coming to this corridor, meaning that opportunities for wayfinding errors will increase with future development absent street naming changes.  

This project received Planning & Sustainability Commission approval on September 24, 2019 and received City Council approval on July 22, 2020 with the passage of Ordinance Nos. 190065, 190066, 190067, 190068, 190069, 190070, 190071, 190072 and 190073.  Changes to addresses and street names will be effective on May 1, 2022.

Although the combined length of street segments to be renamed are long and have very high traffic volumes, fewer than 150 properties are addressed on street segments to be renamed.  Many properties abutting the street segments to be renamed are quite large in area.  Properties which abut the street segments to be renamed but are addressed from intersecting local streets or private streets in most cases would have no address change.  Currently all planned address changes are to the street name only, with no change to the address number itself and the boundary between North and Northeast Portland will not change.

Wayfinding Improvements:

N. Lombard Street from N. Burgard Rd. to the N. Kelly Point Park Rd. & N. Marine Dr. intersection will be renamed as N. Columbia Blvd.

N. Burgard Rd. from the current N. Lombard St. / N. Columbia Blvd. intersection to the 10900 block of N. Lombard St. will be renamed as N. Lombard St.

N. Columbia Blvd. Frontage Road from N. Bliss St. to N. Buchanan Ave. is separated by a berm from N. Columbia Blvd. and will be renamed as N. Johnswood Dr.  This is the only local street in North Portland which would be renamed; all other streets to be renamed are arterials.

NE Lombard Pl. from the NE 11th Avenue & Lombard St. intersection to the NE Columbia Blvd. & Lombard Pl. intersection east of NE 17th Avenue will be renamed as NE Lombard Ct.

NE Portland Hwy. from underneath the NE 42nd Avenue Bridge at the current eastern terminus of NE Lombard St. to NE Killingsworth St. will be renamed as NE Lombard St.

NE Columbia Blvd. from the current NE Columbia Parkway to NE 92nd Drive would be renamed as NE Columbia Ct.  NE Columbia Blvd. from NE 92nd Drive to the current NE Killingsworth Street will be renamed as NE 92nd Drive.  These are the only local streets in Northeast Portland which would be renamed; all other streets to be renamed are arterials.

NE Columbia Pkwy. from the current NE Columbia Blvd. to the current NE Killingsworth Street will be renamed as NE Columbia Blvd.

NE Killlingsworth St. from the current NE Portland Hwy. & Killingsworth St. intersection to Interstate 205 will be renamed as NE Lombard Street and will be coordinated with changes to Interstate 205 freeway exit signage and advance exit signage on I-205 southbound from Vancouver, Washington and on I-205 northbound from Mall 205.

Link to Address Changes

www.portlandmaps.com/reports/index.cfm?action=columbia-lombard

Questions? Please contact Andrew Aebi, Columbia - Lombard Wayfinding Project Manager at 503-823-5648 or via e-mail at andrew.aebi@portlandoregon.gov or Zef Wagner, Transportation Planner at 503-823-7164 or via e-mail at zef.wagner@portlandoregon.gov