Mark Graves, The Oregonian/Oregonlive

It's easy to gripe about the many problems that Portland faces. The city can't seem to find a workable solution to rampant homelessness. The City Council gives new meaning to the term "dysfunction." And -- oh my stars! -- the traffic keeps getting worse and worse.

But 2018 wasn't all bad news. The year brought a number of positive changes that are worth celebrating. Some were small but significant. Other changes set the stage for future improvements in our overall livability.

Here are 14 ways Portland changed for the better in 2018.

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We finally got a Zara store

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Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Yes, this new shopping destination is really a big deal! In November, the Spanish fashion giant Zara opened its highly anticipated two-story store in downtown's Pioneer Place, after almost a year of construction. Zara's opening continued the revitalization of Pioneer Place, which has overhauled storefronts and its food court to appeal to downtown shoppers. A healthy Pioneer Place is good for downtown's overall retail scene, which has struggled in recent years as some shoppers have gravitated to more online shopping.

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Crystal Springs Creek came back to life

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Michelle Brence, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Crystal Springs Creek is a 2.4-mile tributary of Johnson Creek near Reed College in Southeast Portland, and has undergone a major restoration project in recent years. The city's Bureau of Environmental Services replaced culverts on public roads that were causing flooding and water-quality problems, endangering the waterway's salmon and trout habitat. Turns out the project was a success, and the salmon returned this year to spawn.

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Access to Washington Park is going to get a lot better

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Courtesy of PLACE Studio, LLC

The Portland City Council approved a $94 million, 15-year master plan for Washington Park this year, and it's aimed at improving transportation, parking and maintenance issues, while potentially adding dozens of new features that could drastically improve the visitor experience. The master plan is essential for one of the city's most-sacred public spaces, which features the Oregon Zoo, the International Rose Test Garden, Portland Japanese Garden and Hoyt Arboretum, and attracts more than 3 million visitors every year.

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City OKs more bus-only lanes, protected bike lanes

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Kristyna Wentz-Graff, The Oregonian/OregonLive

In an effort to make public transit and bike commuting more-efficient and safe, Portland pledged in November to create bus-only travel lanes on the approaches to three downtown bridges, and to build a network of protected bike lanes on both sides of the Willamette River. The $36 million plan also aims to improve dozens of dangerous pedestrian crossings in the city's center. The vote by the City Council marks the most-significant action on bike and transit projects in years. Advocates hailed the move as critical to getting more commuters out of their cars.

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The city got serious about downtown garbage

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Gordon R. Friedman, The Oregonian/OregonLive

One of the biggest gripes people have had about downtown Portland in recent years is the amount of garbage littering sidewalks and doorways. All that trash is related, in part, to the city's overwhelming homeless population. While the city struggles to address the larger issue, Mayor Ted Wheeler at least offers a Band-Aid for all the garbage, by pledging to increase trash pickup to downtown sidewalk receptacles, in a quest to make Portland the "nation's cleanest city." Six-day-a-week pickup has already started, and daily pickup is scheduled for April 2019. We've got a long way to go before we can brag about spotless sidewalks, but increasing trash pickup is a good start.

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Greedy landlords were forced to pay tenants' moving costs

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Elliot Njus, The Oregonian/OregonLive

This year, the Portland City Council made life more difficult for greedy landlords who evict tenants without cause or force people to move because rent increased by 10 percent or more. Commissioners made permanent a program that required landlords to pay renters' moving costs in these circumstances. The program, which was dreamed up by Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, aims to address Portland's escalating housing and homelessness crisis.

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The old Meier & Frank building showed new signs of life

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Lizzy Acker, The Oregonian/OregonLive

Downtown's retail core seemed to die a little when Macy's closed its store in the old Meier & Frank building two years ago. But now the building is coming back to life, thanks to this fall's opening of Muji, an 11,000-square-foot store from the Japanese lifestyle brand, which took up the building's east end. The store sells everything from clothing to stationery, all with a sleek, modern look. We can't get enough of it.

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Talks resumed on replacing the Interstate Bridge

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Mark Graves, The Oregonian/Oregonlive

People who commute from Vancouver to Portland have been understandably angry over the state of the Interstate Bridge across the Columbia River. The aging span isn't adequate for the amount of traffic it carries, and it can't accommodate an extension of the MAX Yellow Line. Trouble is, Oregon and Washington haven't been able to agree on how to replace or retrofit the bridge. In 2014, Oregon shut down the failed Columbia River Crossing project office, a year after a handful of Washington lawmakers blocked the state's share of funding for the project. But this December, officials resumed talks on replacing the bridge. These talks don't guarantee a new bridge is coming any time soon, and Washington legislators could derail a replacement. Now, if only that talk could become action, making the lives of frustrated commuters better.

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Metro expanded the urban growth boundary

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Fredrick D. Joe, The Oregonian/OregonLive

The Metro Council OK'd four expansions to the region's urban growth boundary this year, opening up more than 2,000 acres of land for development. The opened-up areas are just outside Beaverton, Wilsonville, King City and Hillsboro, opening a path to more than 6,000 new homes and 3,000 apartments. The expansion will help ease the Portland-area's fast-growing population, which is expected to grow by half a million people over the next 30 years.

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TriMet moves ahead with a new southwest MAX line

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Beth Nakamura, The Oregonian/OregonLive

For years, residents of Southwest Portland and Tigard have yearned for an easier way to commute downtown. This fall, plans moved forward for a 12-mile light-rail extension that would stretch from downtown to Bridgeport Village. The project, which could cost between $2.6 billion to $2.9 billion, could be online by 2027. It's estimated that as many as 43,000 would ride the line daily, easing congestion on Interstate 5.

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Downtown's hotel building boom continued

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Elliot Njus, The Oregonian/OregonLive

There's been a boom in new hotels in recent years, and 2018 saw the arrival of the upscale Porter, Radisson Red, and Woodlark hotels opening their doors. In addition, a pair of hotels also opened in the Pearl District just north of downtown. More rooms are on the horizon, with construction set to begin on a new 35-floor tower north of the Galleria that will include 10 floors of luxury accommodations.

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The insane housing market continued to slow down

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The Associated Press

After years of fast-rising home prices, Portland's housing market continued to cool off in 2018, following a similar trend from 2017. While prices for homes still went up, it was at a much lower rate than previous years. But the pictures isn't all rosy news: new home buyers may not face the intense competition from other buyers, but rising interest rates make getting an affordable loan more challenging

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The city fell in love with scooters

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Mark Graves, The Oregonian/Oregonlive

In an effort to explore new ways of getting people around the city, Portland offered a four-month pilot program this summer and fall that allowed electric scooters on city streets. Almost overnight, e-scooters from the companies Bird, Lime and Skip popped up around town, and they were a big hit. Well, at least with some people. Critics of scooters pointed out that most riders didn't follow rules about wearing helmets, not riding on sidewalks, and staying out of Tom McCall Waterfront Park. And there were a handful of injuries attributed to unsafe riding. Will scooters be back in 2019? That's up in the air, but given their popularity, it's likely we haven't seen the last of them.

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The year ended with a flurry of exciting new restaurants

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Beth Nakamura, The Oregonian/OregonLive

There's always churn in Portland's dining scene, but 2018 ended on an up note, with the arrival of a bunch of promising new eateries, including Bullard, the greatly anticipated new restaurant from "Top Chef' contestant Doug Adams. There's plenty of good eating ahead in 2019.

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-- Grant Butler

gbutler@oregonian.com

503-221-8566; @grantbutler

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