GRC - Getting Around

Your Registration includes continental breakfast and sit-down lunch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Each meal will include vegetarian-friendly choices. For places for dinner and snacks, ask us at the Registration table. There are many restaurants downtown. For a reliable internet restaurant guide, go to www.wweek.com, then click on Food & Drink, then click on Food Finder.

There are many good food carts downtown. Some stay open as late as 6 p.m. There is a cluster at 9th & Alder. Also of note:  Sisters of the Road Cafe (inexpensive, filling meals served by people who are working for their own supper), 133 NW 6th; Veganopolis (412 SW 4th Avenue); Food For Thought Café (in the basement of Smith Memorial Union on the campus of Portland State University).

The Registration Desk will be giving out free copies of Tri-Met's "Getting Around Portland" folder, which includes a good downtown map. If you want a map ahead of time, go to www.Tri-Met.org. Under "Maps", click on Portland City Center/Fareless Square, then click on  "Printable PDF Map".

High temperatures in July might be anywhere from the low seventies to 100. Morning lows should be around 65. Humidity is usually fairly low. Will it rain? Not likely, this time of year. In any case, downpours are rare, and it's not often windy, so just bring a windbreaker or umbrella, and carry on. That's what we do.

SALES TAX

No sales tax in Oregon, except on hotel rooms and rental cars (12.5%)

 
INTERNET

There is a computer room at the Conference Center with free Internet use. University Place guests may use computers in the hotel lobby. For the names of Internet cafes and other spots around town, ask at the Registration table.

To make a local phone call, you have to dial the area code first, but don't dial "1" unless you are calling long distance.

About 10 major airlines serve Portland. We haven't arranged any deals with airlines or travel agents; just do the best you can with the airfare search engines, and do it as soon as possible. Amtrak and Greyhound come here, too.

You don't really need a car for this visit. There is a frequent shuttle service between the airport and downtown hotels, including University Place, for $14 one-way or $24 round trip. It takes about 30 minutes. Blue Star Airporters    800-247-2272. Taxis cost between $20 and $25, depending on how many people are in the car. It takes about 25 minutes. Public transit is pretty easy; it takes about 40 minutes: the Max light rail train is right outside the terminal door near baggage claim #2. There are ticket machines both inside and outside the door, but not on the train. Pay $2.05 for an All-Zone ticket (the machine will make change for up to a $20-dollar bill). Get off at 3rd/4th Avenues downtown. Take any bus on 3rd Avenue (one way street). Ask the driver if (s)he is going near 3rd and Lincoln Street. If not, ask the next driver. The bus ride takes about five minutes. University Place Hotel is on Lincoln between 3rd and 4th.

Portland has five quadrants -- northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest, and north. If you are looking for an address, make sure you know which part of town you are talking about. Downtown, including the conference center and University Place Hotel, is mostly southwest. Streets are generally on a grid, but there are exceptions. There are 20 blocks to a mile. Most downtown streets are one-way. If you ask directions, Portlanders want to help, so they may guess, and may guess wrong. If they seem to be guessing, ask someone else, except the police. Stay away from the police; they are not nice.

Portland natives are not in a big hurry. Don't blow your horn; just go around.

Parking:   Street parking is tight in the conference area. There are weird meters downtown - one for each block. They take change and credit cards, but no bills, and the time limits are strictly enforced (you may not add time later on). Meters are free after 7 p.m. and on Sunday, unless posted otherwise. University Place offers parking for $12 per night for guests only. For everyone else they charge $3 per hour. Look for public garages marked Smart-Park; their price is the same as the meters on the street ($1.25/hour), but you can stay all day.

We have more bike lanes and designated bike routes than most cities, but riding in Portland is still challenging if you are not used to riding in a big city. Every city bus has a bike rack on the front, and Max light rail trains have racks inside. Bikes are permitted on most bridges.

Bike rentals: We can recommend CityBikes, a workers' cooperative, across the street from the KBOO studios at 734 S.E. Ankeny Street, 503-239-6951.

Sorry, the famous Yellow Bike program is no longer in effect.

Portland's public mass transit agency is called Tri-Met. Just about any location in the city is within a few blocks of a bus stop. Almost all routes go to and from downtown, meeting along 3rd and 4th Avenues. Riding is free downtown -- just get on. If you can't figure out what bus to take, ask any bus driver; most are helpful. Or call 503-238- RIDE. The fare is $1.75 or $2.05 depending how far you are going; tell the driver your destination and (s)he will tell you how much to pay. You must have the exact amount; they don't make change. They do take dollar bills. You will be given a receipt, which you can use to transfer to any bus or light rail train for two hours, even in the reverse direction. The trains, which we call "Max", are also free downtown, but if you are going further, you have to buy a ticket from the machine on the platform before you board. These machines do make change for up to a $20 dollar bill. There is also a streetcar that runs through downtown to the Northwest Portland neighborhood. It is free through downtown - just get on.

Downtown is compact -- most people can walk from one end to the other. You can spot the natives -- they don't jaywalk. Panhandlers are a common sight but are rarely aggressive. Downtown Portland and most locations in the city are safe, even at night. But if you are concerned, ask us at the registration table. Just about every street has a sidewalk, and pedestrians are welcome on all bridges except the Interstate highway bridges.

This is kind of a wide-open topic. For very basic visitor information, you can go to the Portland-Oregon Visitors Association website:  www.travelportland.com. There are also many good guidebooks to Portland. Email us or use the list serve with your visitor questions, or ask us in person at the registration table. Whether your interests are conventional or unconventional, ask us. Don't be shy. We really want to help you enjoy your visit to Portland.

There is a free weekly newspaper called Willamette Week that has rather complete music and entertainment listings. It can be found in sidewalk boxes and elsewhere on Wednesday. The Friday edition of the daily newspaper, The Oregonian, includes an Arts & Entertainment section. Or ask at the registration table.

Sorry, the guest rooms at University Place don't have radios. But if you do have one:

· KBOO broadcasts 24 hours a day at 90.7 fm (www.kboo.fm) Our studios are located at 20 S.E. 8th Ave., a little over a mile from the conference center. We will try to give you a tour if you come in weekdays between 9 am and 5 pm, though many of us will be at the conference.

· KPSU 1450 am, on the air from 5 pm to 2 am. Studio in the subbasement of Smith Memorial Hall on the Portland State University campus. www.kpsu.org

· KBPS (classical) 89.9 fm, 515 NE 15th Ave. www.allclassical.org

· Oregon Public Broadcasting (NPR) 91.5 fm www.opb.org

· Counter Media

927 SW Oak Street, downtown  503-226-8141

· In Other Words Women's Books & Resources

8 NE Killingsworth Street/503-232-6003

· Independent Publishing Resource Center Library

917 SW Oak Street #218, downtown 503-827-0249

· Laughing Horse Books

12 NE 10th Ave./503-236-2893

· Powell's City of Books

1005 W. Burnside, downtown 503-228-4651

· Q is for Choir

2510 SE Clinton Street/503-235-9678

· Reading Frenzy

921 SW Oak Street, downtown 503-274-1449

· MISSISSIPPI RECORDS, 4007 N Mississippi Ave. (at Shaver)

All kinds of new & used records, cassettes, record players, & assorted oddities.

· JACKPOT RECORDS, 203 SW. 9th Ave., downtown. www.jackpotrecords.com

· MUSIC MILLENNIUM & CLASSICAL MILLENNIUM, 3158 E Burnside www.musicmillennium.com

· Q IS FOR CHOIR, 2510 SE Clinton St. Worker owned cooperative store featuring new & used vinyl, CD's, cassettes, record players, zines/magazines & books. All music genres. www.qisforchoir.com

· SONIC RECOLLECTIONS, 2701 SE Belmont St., www.sonicrec.com Specializing in the weird & collectible. 50,000+ items available. 503.236.3050

· TIMBUKTUNES WORLD MUSIC, World music: Africa, Latin America, Caribbean, Middle East, Asia & Pacific, European & American Roots. Avant-garde jazz & classical too. 4726 SE Hawthorne. 503.239.0179. www.timbuktunes.com

· 2ND AVENUE RECORDS 400 SW 2nd Ave, downtown.  Hip-hop, rap, punk, metal, reggae, R&B, rock, oldies & more. 503.222.3783

· EVERYDAY MUSIC   1313 W Burnside St., downtown. Over 100,000 used & new CDs, DVDs, cassettes & records. Listen before you buy. Jazz & classical store next door with thousands of additional titles. 503.274.0961.

· JACKPOT RECORDS 503-222-0990 203 SW 9th Ave., downtown. www.jackpotrecords.com

· CROSSROADS MUSIC 40 different music dealers selling CDs, records, concert posters, audio equipment, music memorabilia & other collectibles. 503-232-1767 3130-B SE Hawthorne Blvd. www.xro.com

GREEN NOISE RECORDS    Specializes in punk. 2615 SE Clinton St.