Spreading the word, en Español

Sing, play guitar, speak Spanish:
PBOT employee Timo Forsberg goes
the extra mile.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Transportation Options Division within the City of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation has published it’s biking and walking maps in Spanish for years (and they recently added five new languages to the mix).

It’s one thing to print resources in multiple languages, but it’s another thing to have City staff that can go on Spanish-language television and speak directly to the audience in their native tongue.

Portland is lucky to have at least one City staffer who is both passionate about bicycling and proficient in Spanish. Today on KUNP Television (Portland’s Univision affiliate), Timo Forsberg stepped up in a big way. Watch him in the news clip below…

Here’s more from Timo about how the story came about,

“The reporter, Roxy de la Torre, says she loves to bike and really wanted a chance to get the word out to the community that it’s a great way to save money, get some exercise, and have fun. They were looking for someone to speak Spanish and I was the lucky one… It was a lot of fun, but you can see how much more nervous I am on camera in Spanish than in English!”

Nice work Timo!