(Photo © J. Maus)
The Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN, one of several umbrella groups for Portland’s 95 neighborhood associations) will host an event on January 31st billed as, “Sharing the Road: People on the Move.”
The event, which will include speakers from the BTA, the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition, and the City’s Bureau of Transportation, looks to be sort of a town hall on traffic safety. Here’s a snip from the event announcement:
“Speakers… will address safety strategies for people who walk, bike and drive… Underlying cultural tensions exist in conversations about transportation and the profiles of different types of commuters. This event provides a forum for neighbors to hear perspectives from multi-modal transit users, researchers and city planners and discuss the ways in which our City’s different transportation needs connect.”
I really like the sound of this and I hope it’s a productive discussion. There are already tensions that exist between people just based on which mode their using, and we know from past experience that bicycling (and the people who do it) can represent quite a culture clash for some people. I’ve found that education and conversation (not knee-jerk anger) are the best ways to get people to start seeing eye-to-eye.
Last year, the ideas of equity and communities of color really came to the fore around Portland’s bicycle transportation planning table. As PBOT pushes projects into parts of the city where these “underlying tensions” exist, being mindful of them is extremely important. Perhaps insights gleaned from this event will help inform the process for the upcoming bikeway project on N Williams.
Here’s the list of folks that will speak at the event:
- Carl “Super-Commuter” Larson from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance will provide perspective as someone who uses multiple modes of transportation on a daily basis
- Steph Routh from the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition discusses a recently published report on the main safety issues facing pedestrians and what can be done to make walking safe for everyone
- Greg Raisman from Portland’s Office of Transportation discusses the City’s plans to combine safety with community development through a series of transportation “Greenways”
Event details are below…
- Sharing the Road: People on the Move
January 31st 7-9pm
Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN)/King Facility (4815 NE 7th Ave.)
RSVPs are encouraged. Call (503) 823-4135 or email katy[at]necoalition[dot]org