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!

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, contact me via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a paying subscriber.

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BURR
BURR
13 years ago

he should be wearing a sombrero, not a beret….

marshmallow
marshmallow
13 years ago

They shot this at Katu? Bikelane to nowhere?

Options Guy
13 years ago

Gracias, Jonathan!

If others want to see the information and maps that the City offers in Spanish, here’s the order form (or should I say, Para mas informacion sobre como andar en bici en Portland, haz clic aqui):

http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?action=UpdateItem&category_id=1015&c=40884

Steve B
Steve B
13 years ago

TIMO FOR PRESIDENT!

ash
ash
13 years ago

You know, I don’t think Austin has anything like this…I’ll have to check…but as part of their target audience if I haven’t seen it they’re not doing their job!

Max
Max
13 years ago

Good job Timo!

craig
craig
13 years ago

Language Police 🙂

Remember the tilde in Español.

SK
SK
13 years ago

¡Chévere! También hay un buen sitio desde Quito, Ecuador para la gente que adora la bicicleta.

http://andandoenbicicarajo.wordpress.com/