I’m excited to announce that this week at Bike Happy Hour we’ll get to hear from two top transportation bureau staffers. Mark Lear and Shoshana Cohen will join us to talk about two important and timely topics: autonomous vehicles (AVs) and the new PBOT funding proposal.
Many years ago when I hosted a series of events throughout the city called “Get Togethers” (anyone remember those?!), I almost always lined up PBOT staff to join us. I loved connecting users of our cycling network with the people who manage it. Since I started Bike Happy Hour nearly three years ago, I’ve been waiting for the right time to do it again. Now is that time!
This Wednesday (March 18th), Mark and Shoshana will help us understand the latest thinking at the City of Portland regarding the future of Waymo and other AVs on our streets, and how PBOT is going to fund itself into the future.
Mark, whose official title is “resources manager,” has been at the center of PBOT funding conversations for nearly two decades. I first mentioned his name on the blog in 2006 in a post related to a safety plan PBOT was working on. Mark was a point person for PBOT in 2008 when former Mayor Sam Adams (then a commissioner) introduced his “Safe, Sound, and Green” funding proposal. Today Mark plays a key role in PBOT’s Fixing Our Streets program and is one of their go-to-guys for all things funding. What I like about Mark is he’s always been someone who seems to really listen and learn from what people in the community are saying. He’s a genuinely thoughtful and smart dude and I can’t wait to hang out with him on Wednesday.
Shoshana has been more on the government affairs side of the ball since she joined PBOT in 2015. Today she’s on PBOT’s Executive Team with the title of “chief of staff.” Before joining PBOT, Shoshana was executive director of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, so she is no stranger to how community feedback influences city policy. Another interesting note about her background: she holds a Master of Urban Planning and Policy degree from the University of Illinois Chicago.
If you care about the future of AVs or the future of our roads in general, you don’t want to miss Bike Happy Hour this week. I hope you can join us for a spirited conversation.
As per usual, I’ll start things off at 5:30 with announcements, then we’ll get right into the PBOT conversations. Come at 4:00 if you want to share some food with us!
Bike Happy Hour with Special Guests from PBOT
Wednesday, March 18th – 3:00 to 6:00 pm (Program begins at 5:30)
Migration Brewing (3947 N Williams Ave, enter from alley for bike parking)
