Maybe it’s all in a name, but the statistics only show counts for the area south of Burnside, and, interestingly enough, two of the three busiest crossings are at Burnside, one at Powells and the other two blocks down the hill on Burnside at Park.
It’s time to recognize that “downtown Portland” now includes blocks both north and south of Burnside, and that much of the retail focus has moved north, not only to the Brewery Blocks, but beyond. Almost all of downtown’s strong, “credit tenants” are now north of Burnside, with only Nordstrom and a few chain stores in Pioneer Place anchoring the old core.
This gets to the heart of the recovery strategy: rather than treating “downtown” as one place, city leaders need to view it as a collection of districts, each with its advantages and problems, and each in need of a separate approach. It’s intellectually lazy to take a “one size fits all” approach.
https://downtownportland.org/2023-pedestrian-traffic-in-downtown-and-old-town-portland/