at the summit this morning.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
The Oregon Active Transportation Summit is going on right now at the Salem Convention Center. 350 attendees will spend today and tomorrow learning, networking, and getting inspired to make cities throughout Oregon a better place to walk and bike.
The Summit brings together a powerful mix of activists, planners, scores of staffers from PBOT and ODOT, elected officials, and others. So far they’ve heard excellent keynote speeches and attended breakout sessions. There are three breakout sessions today and they cover a wide range of topics from the economic benefits of bicycle tourism to the nuts and bolts of ODOT funding. Here are some highlights of the agenda:
- Keynote Presentation: Rethinking America’s Auto-Oriented Transportation and Land-Use Planning – Mark Gorton, Executive Director, OpenPlans
- News from the National Bike Summit: Andy Clarke, Executive Director, League of American Bicyclists
- Lunch Keynote Presentation: Understanding How Transportation and Land Use Decisions Affect Our Health: Emerging Evidence: Larry Frank, President, Urban Design 4 Health
- Breakout session topics: How to Talk to Legislators about Active Transportation; Economic Benefits of Trails, Tourism and Rural Travel; Active Transportation Funding; Understanding the Macro Benefits of Active Transportation; Health and Equity; What Gets Measured, Gets Done – New data and analytical tools help make the case for a lot more investment in bicycling and walking; The Intersection Between Land Use and Active Transportation; Bikes Mean Business; A network greater than the sum of its parts: Public Transit + Active Transportation
After a reception and more networking tonight, they’ll be back at it tomorrow for a day that includes a lobbying session at the State Capitol. (Check out this BTA blog post for details on the lobby day agenda.) State Representative Shemia Fagan (East Portland) will be tomorrow’s speaker.
Stay tuned for coverage from the Summit and follow #OATS13 on Twitter
Is there a good route to bike to Salem from Portland and how long does the route take? It would be so nice to just ride the I-5 corridor. Am I correct in assuming that I-5’s shoulder is an enforced no bike zone? (Aside from it being dangerous and a bad idea in it’s own right)
http://www.oregon.gov/oprd/BIKE/Pages/WVSB_main.aspx
It’s a fantastic route. Definitely a long day, but a strong rider could do it. You can also take Amtrak one way, or both ways. Only $5 to add your bike to your ticket, and no boxing it, you just hand it to the baggage handler when you get on.
http://www.amtrak.com/cascades-train
There is as well WES Commuter Rail from Beaverton Transit Center (frequent bus and MAX connections) to Transit Center with seamless express bus connections to downtown Salem including the Sate Capitol.
There is as well WES Commuter Rail from Beaverton Transit Center (frequent bus and MAX connections) to the Wilsonville Transit Center with seamless express bus connections (“Smart Bus” or “Cherriots Salem and Keizer Transit”) from there to the State Capitol.