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Despite sky-high housing costs and dismal office vacancy figures, pedestrian activity in downtown Portland last month hit a post-pandemic high.
That’s according to the latest figures from Downtown Portland Clean & Safe, which show monthly visitors and office workers downtown hit 3 million people for the first time since 2019. The number is higher than last summer, when foot traffic neared 2.8 million, and marks five consecutive years of growth.
Within these figures, office workers have been the group slowest to return. Since sinking from a high of 819,000 in October 2019 to a low of 179,000 in April 2020, office workers in the Clean & Safe District have hovered around 350,000 since May 2022.
“Coupled with the nation’s highest business and personal tax rates, employment traffic has not materially changed for several years—indicating structural policy barriers need to be addressed,” its latest annual study notes.
The service district, which has published foot traffic data for around a decade, recorded a high of 3.8 million workers and visitors in July 2019. The recorded low of 878,000 came nine months later in April 2020, just weeks after COVID-19 sent office workers home. Since then, foot traffic has increased annually despite winter dips.
“Hybrid and remote work have fundamentally changed the traditional five-day office week,” reads the study. “Downtown continues to feel the effects, particularly businesses that have historically depended on a large, predictable weekday workforce.”
Hotel stays in the central city also continued their rise this summer. Nights sold in July increased for the fourth consecutive year, to 240,000—just 6,000 off the 2019 high-water mark.
To compile the data, the Clean & Safe District—an affiliate of the Portland Metro Chamber—contracted with analytics firm Pacer.ai to track cellphone pings within the 273-block district. The district’s approximately 409,000 residents are included in foot traffic totals.
In a statement Wednesday, the Portland Metro Chamber, which manages the independent nonprofit district, said a lack of a central city workforce must be addressed by local leaders, but didn’t provide policy specifics.
“To restore the central city’s vibrancy,” writes chamber president and CEO Andrew Hoan, “we need the same intentional willingness from government, business, and nonprofit partners to address the root issues of drops in workforce activity, including stagnated business development in the city core evidenced by prevalent office vacancies.”
Mayor Keith Wilson said the “sustained positive momentum shows that we’ve made major progress together” and urged Portlanders to partake in the “fun experiences” available downtown.
