• NEBBA Holiday Party. TONIGHT! Wednesday, December 10, 6 PM - 9 PM at Brian Marki Fine Art (2236 NE Broadway).  The Northeast Broadway Business Association  (NEBBA) is celebrating the season. Please join them for a fun and festive get-together. NEBBA will be providing beer, wine, and soda in addition to a heavy spread of appetizers and sweets. All property managers, business owners, and employees are welcome and you don't need to be a NEBBA member: if you work in the NE Broadway business district, consider yourself invited! The part is a casual come-and-go affair, so feel free to stop on by. If you have any questions, please contact Murray Koodish at 503-287-2897 or [email protected]. 

• Portland Bike Theft Summit. TONIGHT! Wednesday, December 10, 5:45 - 8:45 PM at Velo Cult (1969 NE 42nd). Bike Portland and Bike Index have organized a summit to tackle the problem of bike theft in the City of Portland. The agenda is packed with panel discussions on enforcement, prevention and technology, and parking. There will also be opportunities to share your theft story, network with others, and even a "Lock Stars" competition. Download an agenda and RSVP via Facebook.
• Trimet Extending 2-hour Ticket Transfer Times. Effective March 1st, 2015, TriMet will extend the transfer time on 2-hour tickets so that they are valid for 2.5 hours. This will allow riders additional time to complete a trip or make transfers between buses and trains. Read the complete news release for additional details. 
• East West College Offers a Special Discount for Universal Pass Holders. Does your company participate in Go Lloyd's Universal Pass program? Lucky you! Not only do you save tremendously on transit costs, you can also save on a massage at East West College's student or alumni massage clinic. Current Universal Pass holders are now eligible for a 10% discount on any single appointment (offer not valid on multi-session massage packages). Be sure to bring your pass with you to your appointment and please help us thank East West College of the Healing Arts for this generous benefit.
• TriMet Prepares to Go Electronic. TriMet is working to build a new, state-of-the-art electronic fare system that is anticipated to be in place in 2017. The new e-fare system will allow riders to pay with a reloadable fare card, their smartphone, or American Express, Discover, Mastercard or Visa credit/debit contactless smart cards. Paper tickets are expected to be phased out as part of the switch. The e-fare system is expected to offer a number of benefits over the current system, including lost fare card protection, easy account management and fare-reloading, convenient fare loading via phone, web, or at authorized outlets, and the potential for daily/monthly pricing caps which would equal savings for frequent riders. Learn more about the e-fare plans at Trimet.org/efare. 

The winter holidays are upon us, which often means a busy month of get-togethers with friends and family, holiday events, and shopping. Luckily, there are lots of ways that working or living in the Lloyd District makes the holiday season a little easier.

We are lucky to have great access to public transportation, bike infrastructure, and pedestrian-friendly walkways here in the Lloyd District that can help you skip the traffic headaches and get to your destination quickly and safely, whether it's a holiday party or a shopping trip. Have you checked out Go Lloyd's Bike Parking map to identify great bike parking options in the district? Some bike parking you might have been missing recently is back: the first phase of renovations at the Lloyd Center Mall is complete, which means that the bike racks near the fish fountain at the southeast entrance on Multnomah are back in service. Check them out - it might just be the quickest way to get in and out of the mall during the holiday season.

Speaking of shopping, the Lloyd District has many options for holiday gifts. Keep your dollars local by visiting the District's small businesses on Small Business Saturday and throughout the holiday season. (The businesses that participated in our Age-Friendly Campaign this summer are especially ready for shoppers of all ages.) The  Lloyd Center Mall has a variety of promotions and events, special holiday pop-up shops, and that perennial holiday favorite - ice skating! 

If you find holiday shopping stressful, as many of us do, consider simply buying less. Giving the gift of an experience or simply the gift of your own time can be truly meaningful and doesn't require large crowds and excessive packaging. This works on two levels--your friends and family don't end up with more unnecessary "stuff", and we can reduce waste in the community by minimizing unwanted gifts that get thrown away.  

Are you susceptible to impulse purchases during the holidays? If so, you're not alone, and you might be interested in this recent New York Times article about using gratitude to curb impulse purchases. Reflecting on what we already have and are grateful for is a great practice anytime, but particularly at the end of the year. Here at Lloyd EcoDistrict, we are grateful for all the great things happening to make the Lloyd District a wonderful place to live, work, and play. What are you grateful for this holiday season?

Alison Hopcroft is the Program Manager at Lloyd EcoDistrict. You can reach her at [email protected].

Two new Transit Trackers are up and running in the Lloyd District, courtesy of a partnership between Go Lloyd and TriMet. The newest trackers, which provide real-time bus and MAX arrival time information to passengers, are located inside bus shelters at NE Multnomah Street/9th Avenue (Stop ID 10876) and NE Weidler/Lloyd Center (Stop ID 6216). Electrification of an additional new transit tracker at NE Holladay/11th is expected to be completed before the end of the year, and another installation is in the works at NE MLK/Holladay pending completion of nearby residential construction.