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Expecting travel delays, Portlanders encouraged to arrive early and take public transit, bike or walk to Timbers game, Portland Rose Festival’s Starlight Parade

(May 28, 2024) – The Portland Rose Festival announced today the best way to navigate traffic coming downtown to enjoy the CareOregon Starlight Parade, on Saturday, June 1. It will be a special night in downtown Portland, as the Portland Timbers host a home game at Providence Park that night, so there will be more than 100,000 of people coming to and from the area for the parade and the game at around the same time.

The parade starts at 8 p.m., with parking restrictions and road closures beginning at 2 p.m. and lasting until about 11:30 p.m. Organizers are reminding everyone to come downtown early to enjoy the Starry Nights Small Business Shopping event, then enjoy all the fun of the parade, and be patient with others as you navigate heading home.

> View a map of the Parade Route Street Closures online

Starry Night Small Business Event is all day in the downtown area. Shop and support small businesses downtown, and use an online app to get discounts and to enter to win prizes, May 31 to June 2.

CityFair opens at 12 p.m. at Waterfront Park. Fun for the whole family.

When

• Parking restrictions begin at 2 p.m. along the parade route, as well as the formation and disband areas downtown.
• Road closures for Starlight Run and Parade begin at 3 p.m.
• Starlight Run begins at 6:30 p.m.
• Timbers game kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
• Starlight Parade begins at 8pm and ends with roads reopening by 11:30 p.m.

The Best Travel Plan: Go by Bike or Public Transit

Take TriMet or ride your bicycle to downtown. Buses and MAX light rail are direct, inexpensive ways to go. If you have a ticket to the Timbers game, you can use that ticket as fare on any TriMet bus or MAX up to three hours before and after the game. Tickets do not serve as fare on Portland Streetcar.

Portland Streetcar will run regular Saturday service. All streetcar lines cross the Starlight Parade route on SW 10th or SW 11th at Taylor Street. Streetcar personnel will be on hand to help streetcars move safely through the parade route with minimal delay. Parade attendees should stand clear of the barricades and streetcar tracks on SW 10th and 11th to allow for safe streetcar operations before, during and after the parade.

Learn more about secure bike parking, where to park an e-scooter and where to catch a taxi, Uber or Lyft ride at the Portland Timbers Transportation & Parking website.

The Second Best Travel Plan: Drive, Park and Walk

If you must drive, the Rose Festival and city officials recommend looking for a parking garage north of Burnside, or to the south of the parade near Portland State University, or to the east on the Central Eastside and walking 15-20 minutes to the parade route. All bridges will be open to pedestrian and bicycle use. See a map of parking garages and surface parking lots at the Portland Timbers Transportation & Parking website.

Expect road closures:

• For people driving in the area, we advise staying north of Burnside, south of Main St. and east of SW 20th Ave. (Parade formation, route and disband areas will impact the area bound by W Burnside, Naito Parkway, SW Main St. and SW 18th.)
• SW Naito Parkway will be closed between SW Jefferson St. and NW Everett St.
• HIGHWAY CLOSURE – The northbound Salmon Street exit (2A) from northbound Interstate 405 will close at approximately 5:30 p.m.
• Traffic crossing the Burnside Bridge westbound will be detoured at NW Second Ave.
• Eastbound traffic on West Burnside will be detoured at SW Ninth Ave.
• Morrison Bridge traffic westbound from SE Grand will be closed and vehicles will be routed to Interstate 5 north.

Recommended Routes

• Arriving from the NORTH

• Take I-5 south, go west across the Fremont Bridge to I-405 south to the Glisan/Everett St. exit (2B); take a right on any street prior to Burnside
• Take I-405 west to Highway 30; take Vaughn St. exit and go left on NW 23rd Ave.
• Arriving from the SOUTH

• Take I-5 north, go west to I-405, and take exit to 4th Ave. (1B) or 6th Ave. (1C); take a left on Jefferson St.
• Take I-5 north, go west to I-405 to the Glisan St. exit (2B); take a left on NW Glisan St.
• Arriving from the EAST
• Take the Broadway or Steel bridges and proceed west on NW Glisan to NW 18th Ave. or the Hawthorne Bridge to SW Main Street, or follow any of the I-405 directions from the North or South
• Arriving from the WEST

• Take the Providence Park/Jefferson St. exit (73) off of US 26
• Take the Market St. exit (74) off of US 26; take a left toward Jefferson St.
• Take I-405 north to the Glisan St. exit (2B); take a left on NW Glisan St.

PBOT traffic reduction efforts, parade clean up

In preparation for the Rose Festival, street sweeping crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) are cleaning streets downtown. PBOT striping crews also paint the honor line striping along the parade route to indicate where parade-goers can sit or stand for safe viewing. After the end of each Rose Festival parade, street sweeping crews from PBOT serve as the parade “caboose” and wash down the streets following each event. PBOT provides traffic control barricades and works closely with the Portland Police Bureau to plan and maintain a safe route for the parade and related activities.

PBOT also supports the Rose Festival by reducing traffic and creating a welcoming environment for people visiting downtown. It prohibits routine construction work or work requiring the closure of streets, sidewalks or parking lanes starting the Thursday before the Starlight Parade until the Tuesday after the Grand Floral Parade.