PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Downtown Portland’s foot traffic has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, but the Downtown Portland Clean & Safe District reports that the numbers are on the rise.
Downtown Portland Clean & Safe uses foot traffic analytics platform Placer.ai to compile yearly data on the 213-Block area district’s pedestrian traffic. The latest pedestrian count shows that foot traffic in Portland increased by 25.7% from 2021 to 2022.
The report shows that the spring and summer were especially busy for Portland, which hosted many events that attracted large crowds. Despite the big Waterfront Blues Fest being scheduled in July, June was actually the month with the highest foot traffic in the city. Downtown Portland Clean & Safe recorded 2.26 million visits in June.
January was the lowest month for foot traffic, with just 1.53 million visits recorded.
According to Downtown Portland Clean & Safe, the data from Placer.ai points to Wednesday being the third busiest day-of-the-week — marking working Portlanders’ return to their offices after years of working remotely.
The release also revealed which Portland neighborhoods were bustling the most. Both Pioneer Place and Pioneer Courthouse Square were popular spots. Downtown Portland Clean & Safe said that the area’s concerts, events, and luxury retail stores which can’t be found anywhere else in Oregon, drove traffic throughout 2022.
Old Town brought in many visitors as well. In particular, there was a high volume of traffic surrounding the Hoxton Hotel and NW Ankeny Street. Local favorites including Voodoo Donuts, Bae’s Fried Chicken, AFURI and Stumptown were other places mentioned for attracting visitors.
“We have internationally known food carts within walking distance to high-end luxury retail, steps away from beloved small local retailers, who are around the corner from award-winning restaurants,” Sydney Mead, Clean & Safe’s Director of Downtown Programs, said. “We are seeing in this data that both the core of the city is becoming more active, as well as the evening hot spots and entertainment venues.”
Even so, Clean & Safe reported that Portland is trailing behind other cities in regard to pandemic foot traffic recovery. After last year’s increase in visitors, the downtown area is about 60% of 2019, pre-pandemic, pedestrian traffic numbers.
“While we have several challenges we need to resolve as a community, seeing these numbers increase gives me hope for the future,” Mead said.