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More than nine months after the city of Portland began asking for a change in the route of the Portland Marathon, organizers have agreed to a compromise.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation formally rejected the marathon's permit in June. The new route doesn't guarantee the marathon will still take place in October, but it does put the event back on track.
The old route, which had been in place for two decades, required 80 police officers. Because of staffing levels at the police bureau, the city is willing to provide only 33 to staff outside events.
The new route will no longer take runners over the Broadway Bridge. Instead, runners will cross the St. Johns Bridge as they have in years' past—but going west to east, and then double back along the same route.
The city has not yet issued a permit for the marathon.
"Because the organizers did not contact the Police Bureau or PBOT to discuss event plans for more than six months, time is running out and the marathon still has many steep hills to climb before it can qualify for a permit," says PBOT spokesman Dylan Rivera.
The hurdles facing organizers include prepayment of estimated police and PBOT expenses, which is due by month end, along with formally agreeing to a medical plan required by Portland Fire & Rescue.