Parking
We want your visit to Washington Park to be a pleasant experience, and that includes driving and parking within the park.
Currently, the south side of the park has the largest parking areas and non-members of the Oregon Zoo, World Forestry Center, and Children’s Museum pay $4.00 to park here. On busy days, the lots may be congested and are often full. Visitors are encouraged to ride the bus, take MAX, or carpool if possible. If the lots are full, you may be detoured to nearby satellite lots and brought to and from the park by shuttle bus.
Right now, Washington Park and its attractions are implementing the Washington Park Transportation and Management Plan. This includes a new pay-to-park system where all parking fees will be reinvested into improvements in and around Washington Park to provide:
- Better maintenance and security
- Free park-wide shuttle service
- Improved safety for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and disabled visitors (for example: better signs, barrier-free sidewalks, and crosswalks)
Some quick facts about the plan are below.
WHAT:
The City of Portland’s Parks & Recreation Bureau owns all of the parking spaces in Washington Park and will install a new pay-to-park system in summer 2013. This includes installing pay stations in the south lots which serve the Oregon Zoo, Portland Children’s Museum, World Forestry Center, Hoyt Arboretum, and other park features.
WHEN:
Summer 2013.
WHERE:
Pay-to-park will be enforced in all lined and numbered parking spaces throughout the park, including:
- the south parking lots that service the Vietnam Veterans of Oregon Memorial, the Oregon Zoo, the Portland Children’s Museum, the World Forestry Center and the Hoyt Arboretum parking lots;
- the north parking lots associated with the Japanese Garden, the International Test Rose Garden;
- striped street parking throughout the park;
- and at the archery range along Kingston Boulevard.
All spaces for which parking fees will be charged will be lined and numbered in summer 2013. You can see a map of pay-to-park locations here: Washington Park’s Pay-To-Park Map Locations
WHO:
Portland City Council has directed Portland Parks & Recreation to initiate this new paid parking system to provide safer and better service to park visitors. PP&R is working closely with all the attractions in the park to make the transition to this new pay-to-park system as smooth as possible.
A critical partner in this effort is the newly formed Washington Park Transportation Management Association (WP-TMA) that has been formed to provide comprehensive transportation management programs and services to Washington Park. The WP-TMA is guided by a Board of Directors with representatives from Portland Parks & Recreation, the Oregon Zoo, Hoyt Arboretum, the World Forestry Center, Portland Children’s Museum, TriMet, as well as Sylvan Highlands and Arlington Heights Neighborhood Associations.
WHY:
All parking fees will be reinvested into improvements in and around Washington Park to provide:
- Better maintenance and security
- Free park-wide shuttle service
- Improved safety for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and disabled visitors (for example: better signs, barrier-free sidewalks, and crosswalks)
HOW MUCH:
Parking fees will mirror downtown’s hourly rate of $1.60/ hour with a $4 daily maximum during the non-peak season, and $6.40 daily maximum during peak season. Peak season will be April 1st – September 30th, and non-peak season will run from October 1st – March 31st.
HOURS:
Pay-to-park hours for the southern end of the park (from the Vietnam Veterans of Oregon Memorial lot to west lot and south lot) will be from 9:30 AM to 9:30 PM.
Pay-to-park hours for the northern end of the park (Hoyt Arboretum to northern entrances of the park) will be 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM.
All pay stations will have a 30 minute “free” button to allow for short visits and drop-offs in the park and venues.
MORE INFORMATION: Here are two links to more detailed information on the Washington Park Transportation and Parking Management Plan
What’s This About Parking Pay Stations in Washington Park?
Letter from Mike Abbaté, Director of Portland Parks and Recreation
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