Because I’m all about the details, I’m sending out one final reminder about just where WebTrends is, what you’ll need to know about parking and building access, and some travel advisories we already know about. I’ve sprinkled it with some editorial opinions and advice — if you’re a local, please feel free to disregard!

Where are you going?

WebTrends
851 SW 6th Avenue (between Yamhill & Taylor on W side of street)
16th Floor
Portland, OR 97204-1343
Google Map link

WebTrends is in a large secured office building; we’ll be gathering on the 16th floor. Therefore, a volunteer will need to let you in and out of the building and escort you to the elevator. In the rare event that someone’s not right downstairs, you’ll need to call – we’ll have signs on the door with phone numbers; you’ll need to call via cell for access. Again, we can’t accommodate pets or children, and bikes cannot be brought into the building, either. (We’ll have details below re. bike parking.)

Note: the parking garage directly underneath WebTrends is closed on weekends.

Parking:

If you’re driving downtown (and we really recommend that you NOT do so!), know these facts first!

On-street parking:

I strongly recommend that you AVOID on-street parking. It’s prohibitive and troublesome – most meters won’t last past 3 hours, and the local ticket enforcement is fierce (I routinely get a ticket mere minutes after my meter expired.) This means if you’re doing on-street parking, you’ll have to leave every couple of hours to move your car to another spot & pay again. (You can’t just keep plugging a single meter for a single spot once you find it. Yes, I know that’s a huge pain. See warning above re. rabid ticket enforcement – and I have the tickets to prove it – and don’t follow in my footsteps!)

Don’t believe me? See what our local court system has to say!

Parking garages:

If you’re driving a car downtown, these are your best bets. Look for Smart Park, Star Park, or City Center Parking – all within a few blocks of WebTrends (see this Google Map mashup for details.) Note that different garages have different Sunday schedules; you might want to scout this out before Sunday morning!

Bicycle parking:

Justin Kistner from WebTrends (our gracious host and sponsor this weekend; please be sure to give him some props) says that there are about 8 bike staples in front of WebTrends and 3-4 more clusters across the street. Please use those – again, we won’t allow bikes in the building itself (not even in the lobby!)

Mass transit:

I’m not even going to bother to drive downtown myself – WebTrends is located a block or so away from 3 different light rail lines, so I’ll be taking MAX in. (See TriMet’s site for more information.)

Known traffic issues this weekend:

The Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure is taking place on Portland’s waterfront this Sunday morning from 7:30 – 11 am. The Broadway Bridge will be closed, but there may be some extra MAX service. Note that 45,000 people are expected downtown and plan your travels accordingly!

Also, the Sellwood Bridge is closed from 6 am – 6 pm on Sunday, September 20th for a safety inspection. Those traveling from inner SE should pick a different bridge!

Okay, that’s enough from me. Except for this: 1. Follow @wcpdx on Twitter – we’ll try to share information with WordCamp Portland attendees this way where possible. 2. Check the WordCamp Portland web site. 3. Use the #wcpdx hashtag – that way, when you encounter a transit issue, you can send a heads-up to other attendees, for example.

See you all on Saturday!

Betsy Richter, your trusty registrar

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