Executive Director Andy Clarke.
(Photo © J. Maus)
The eighth annual Towards Carfree Cities Conference is coming to Portland in less than a month (June 16-20) and organizers have lined up an impressive list of speakers, events, and workshops.
The latest addition to the program is a keynote presentation by head honcho of the League of American Bicyclists, Andy Clarke. According to conference organizer Elly Blue, Clarke — the man who broke the news about Portland’s Platinum designation — will speak during the event’s free Public Day on Tuesday June 17th.
Public Day is free and open to everyone (pre-registration is required). It runs from 9:00am to 8:00pm and is full of workshops, speeches, panel discussions, and interactive events. Highlights include panel discussions on the Columbia River Crossing project and the Mt. Hood Freeway, both moderated by Amy Ruiz of the Portland Mercury.
Transportation Solutions for Families in a Car-Oriented World is another panel discussion on Public Day that you won’t want to miss.
Other Public Day highlights include a keynote by Gil Penalosa, the executive director of Walk and Bike For Life and an ardent supporter of carfree events like Colombia’s Ciclovia and Portland’s upcoming Sunday Parkways (June 22).
After a full day of inspiration and networking, the Carfree Cities International Art Show will have its opening reception at Portland’s City Hall. The show will feature artists Laura Garzon, Andy Singer, and Ken and Roberta Avidor.
Beyond Public Day, conference attendees will be treated to presentations and discussions on a myriad of livable streets and sustainable transportation topics.
This event looks to be shaping up into an amazing week of education, networking, and inspiration!
Stay tuned for more coverage, learn more at CarfreePortland.org and don’t forget pre-registration is required (even for Tuesday’s free Public Day!).
Thanks for the write-up, Jonathan!
Registration is required for the daytime events at PSU\’s Smith Center from 9 – 4, but you can just show up to the art show City Hall after work and dance, vote on postcards, and maybe help bust open a car-shaped pinata! Hope to see you there!
The whole day is totally free and open to everyone, but we are accepting donations to help cover the costs of this grassroots event.
Jonathan will be blogging the conference, and Dan Kaufman will be webcasting parts of it… but I still hope to see a lot of you bikeportland readers there in-person.
I promise not to be as angry as I appear in this picture – I\’m sure that just being in Portland will put a platinum smile on my face.
I don\’t think Portland should have been given the Platinum rating until, well, the whole city is Platinum. Right now, arguably, maybe, maybe 25% (measured in square miles) is. Wouldn\’t you agree Roger?
looking rather forward to meeting you, Andy. to add to the fabulous roster that is Public Day, my mom will be there, too!
The public day is close enough to my house to walk. Which is good news because I expect that the bike parking will be full 🙂