Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

Trains … they bring the best of both worlds: the convenience of traveling while playing crossword puzzles or sleeping, but without dangling 30,000 feet above sea level. It’s even better when they’re efficient, on time, cheap, and offer a super scenic route.

On Wednesday, August 19, Amtrak Cascades will introduce a new, complete connection between Vancouver B.C. and Eugene, Ore., via Portland. For $46 (or cheaper if you’ve got AAA) here is what you can expect: (more…)

After jaw-dropping amounts of snow (for Portland) and torrential amounts of rain (for Portland), the city streets look a little rough around the edges….or rather, right in the middle.

In order to fend off accidents, flat tires and generally annoyed drivers and cyclists, the city has set up a hotline where people can report potholes.

I think this is an excellent idea – the city has more eyes on the road, drivers and cyclists can take action to help solve the problem, and everything becomes safer.

If you spot a problem, call 503.823.BUMP (2867).

For more information, see the city press release.

While some things always seem more expensive than they did the year before – food and airline tickets, for example – a few items are actually getting cheaper in Portland.  One such ‘on sale’ service is downtown parking.  A combination of this summer’s high gas prices, Portland’s great public transportation and Portlanders’ love affair with bikes lead numerous garages around town to slash their prices by  more than 10%.  This cost savings wasn’t limited to the daytime hours, either.  A few parking structures dropped their  “after 5″ event prices as well.  The best news?  Even though gas prices have fallen and many Stumptown residents have traded in their bikes for the winter season, the under $9/day ticket prices still remain.