A view of Times Square before and after its transformation from traffic-choked throughway to broad pedestrian plaza in 2009. Photo by NYC Department of Transportation.
Alert: Event is sold out!
This event is sold out as of March 14. Didn't register in time? Sadik-Khan is also speaking at Powell's Books on Thursday, March 24. Learn more here
Controversies about building bike lanes, public space and faster transit emerge in media headlines and dinner conversations in cities across the nation. Every community has excuses for why transforming their streets is impossible.
But during her time as New York City’s transportation commissioner from 2007 to 2013, Janette Sadik-Khan didn't let those excuses hold the nation's largest city back.
On Wednesday, March 23 at the McMenamins Mission Theater in Northwest Portland, she'll review what she's learned, and discuss how New York's lessons could apply to the Portland region.
Wednesday, March 23
McMenamins Mission Theater
1624 NW Glisan Street, Portland
Doors: 5:30 p.m.
Presentation: 6:30 p.m.
Serving in the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sadik-Khan led the transformation of the streets of one of the world’s toughest cities into dynamic, safer and economically vibrant spaces for everyone on the street. She converted Times Square from a congested throughway to a great public square and completed the fastest installation of bike lanes ever executed in any city, creating nearly 400 miles of bike lanes. She also led the construction of more than 60 plazas, seven rapid bus routes and the nation’s largest bike share system.
Sadik-Khan
Bloomberg himself has described Sadik-Khan as "the child that Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs never had: an urban visionary determined to reshape the streets of new York, but with an abiding concern for the health of neighborhoods and the safety of their residents."
Sadik-Khan has recently released a book about her experiences. Streetfight!: Handbook for an Urban Revolution is described as "an empowering road map for rethinking, reinvigorating and redesigning our cities."
But can the lessons of New York apply in the Portland region? Join Sadik-Khan for an engaging talk about how she was able to achieve so much in New York.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The presentation begins at 6:30 p.m and will include a Q&A. Sadik-Khan will sign books before the presentation.