Green Lane Project Equity Summit Kick Off – Reg by 5/8

On behalf of the Public Works Department's Bicycle Program, you are invited to an evening reception to kick off the Green Lane Project Equity Summit on Wednesday, May 15 in the Atrium at Austin City Hall. The keynote speaker for the event will be Mayor ProTem Sheryl Cole. Please join us in welcoming our guests from the five other Green Lane cities (Portland, San Francisco, Memphis, Washington DC, and Chicago) for this exciting event. Please RSVP to Sarah Murer sarah@bikesbelong.org, 303-449-4893 extension 8 by May 8, 2013. 

Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Speakers begin at 7 p.m.

Howard S. Lazarus, PE, PWLF
Director, Public Works Department
City of Austin
505 Barton Springs Road, Suite 1300
Austin, TX  78704

Green Lanes Equity Summit – Austin, TX, May 15-16, 2013

A two-day gathering of transportation professionals, policymakers and community leaders from the six Green Lane Project cities. The focus is on building support for green lanes and related improvements in low-income and historically underserved neighborhoods. On the agenda:

• Understand outreach challenges facing city leaders in building support for bicycling and bicycling infrastructure
• Share best practices and lessons learned from the six GLP cities
• Address cultural stigmas related to bicycling
• Identify specific next steps that can support the efforts of city leaders

The issues surrounding equity in bicycle transportation are complex, ranging from the current wave of gentrification in cities to cultural barriers to bicycling in African-American and Hispanic communities. The Summit does not presume to “solve” these complex and often emotional issues, but to initiate a robust conversation, improve our collective understanding, and identify effective approaches. The expansion of green lane networks provides a current, relevant focal point for discussing the challenges of building support in communities where the “innovation” is not always readily embraced.

The Green Lane Project assembles policymakers, transportation professionals, and senior staff from the six focus cities to study, experience, and be inspired by the most advanced bicycling environments in Europe and North America. Intensive hands-on policy and design workshops cover topics such as network design, building political and popular support, and using bicycling to add economic value to cities. Focus cities also participate in regular best practices-sharing summits and additional training opportunities during the two-year duration of the Project. Professional exchanges among peer cities and international experts inspire new adaptations of proven practices that lead to safer, more effective bicycle transportation back home