I was thrilled to attend The Street Trust’s annual Oregon Active Transportation Summit this past week, one of my favorite events on the calendar for diving into the weeds of the planning and funding of walking, biking, and rolling! Making this year’s edition particularly special is that it was the first time the event has been entirely in person since 2019, so it was fantastic to see lots of familiar faces and new ones, many for the first time in quite a while.
Without question, the highlight of this conference for me is the networking aspects. OATS brings together a fantastic mix of high-minded people, including a healthy mix of public-sector folks, activists, and consultants. Through the years I’ve been lucky enough to connect with countless amazing folks through this event, and the 2024 edition was no different. I would also be remiss if I did not give a shoutout to keynote speaker Charlene McGee and her amazing young assistant (whose name I sadly didn’t get) for an incredible assessment of the inequitable health impacts of our transportation realities.
One thing that struck me as a bit odd—and it certainly represented a departure from past years—was the prevalence of exhibitors and sponsors who are…ummm…not exactly known for their walk/bike bona fides. I am not sure what impact their presence had upon the program, but it did feel like some of the idealism of past years was missing. I suppose these firms see it as a PR win to support walk/bike type causes with their big freeway expansion bucks, but it was an odd enough spectacle that I half expected Rod Serling to step out from behind a banner to provide the context.
I should say, I don’t blame the Street Trust for this in the slightest; the funding picture for these sorts of nonprofits right now is what it is. But it does reflect the gross and undignified nature of the consulting space generally, and serves as good reminder of why I founded Studio Davis to begin with. We’ve got to work a little harder, be a little smarter, and approach problems a little more creatively, but we stand as proof that it is indeed possible for a transportation consultancy to succeed while maintaining the courage of our convictions, and I am unbelievably proud of that.