(Photo: Garrett Downen/Bus Project)
Despite the Portland Mercury’s well-intentioned efforts to make their Bikes vs. Cars debate a slug-fest, I’m happy to report that last night was anything but.
The venue was packed and from what I heard, most people said it was a success.
About 98% of the crowd rode bikes to the event and things were clearly stacked in favor of the a bike-centric perspective. However, that didn’t stop Mel Zucker (remember him?) from trying to make his points (even if they were based on outdated, national data).
My favorite quote from the night was Zucker repeatedly responding to ideas and questions about funding for various bike infrastructure and other projects as, “that’s typical Portland fantasyland.” Then Commissioner Adams — who showed up wearing a black gown over his suit — called Zucker out on some of his own dubious stats and said, “that’s typical Mel Zucker fantasyland.” The crowd of course got a good laugh out of this.
Even though Zucker has some interesting opinions about bicycles, he isn’t such a bad guy. On a few points, he was actually on the same page as his debate counterpart, BTA interim director Scott Bricker.
Bricker acknowledged Zucker’s perspective several times throughout the evening and gave him credit for “thinking outside the box” and having some innovative ideas.
(Photo: Portland Mercury)
The other panelist on the car side of the discussion was Sreya Sarkar of the Cascade Policy Institute. She advocates for public funding of automobiles to help lift low-income people into better jobs and better lives (think of it like the Community Cycling Center’s Create-a-Commuter program only with cars).
The Mercury’s photo above doesn’t do her justice. From what I heard last night she seems like a completely reasonable person with good intentions. After the debate was over, I was happy to see BTA Safe Routes to School staffer Angela Koch approach her to exchange contact information.
to vote on a series of questions.
(Photo: Garrett Downen/Bus Project)
There weren’t really any bombs dropped that I can remember and the dialogue never got personal between the panelists.
For me, the biggest take-away from the night was the eloquence and passion displayed by Scott Bricker. For Bricker, the debate could not have come at a better time. He was just named as the BTA’s new leader last week and this event gave people in the community a chance to see what he’s all about.
His answers and rebuttals showed a passion for his work and were met with cheers of approval from the crowd. He displayed candor, intelligence, humor, charisma, and a willingness to take an open-minded, cooperative approach to getting more people on bikes.
I’ve got an interview with Bricker I’ll publish later today. That interview, combined with his performance last night give me a renewed hope for the BTA, and for the bike movement in Portland.
Big thanks to the Portland Mercury and the Bus Project. They are both doing great work. To pack a room full of young people on a sunny evening for a conversation about transportation choices is no small feat.
For more photos from last night, check out this post on the Mercury blog.