These DOT Directors Get It. What’s Standing in Their Way?
The chiefs of transportation for Los Angeles and Oakland came to their positions having earned reputations as leaders in the field of active transportation. Seleta Reynolds, General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, came to that post after leading San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Livable Streets Division in charge of biking and walking transportation in that city. Similarly, Ryan Russo came to be the Director of Oakland’s Department of Transportation after implementing progressive bike and pedestrian improvements in New York City as Deputy Commissioner and one-time Director of Bicycle & Pedestrian Programs. They will be joined by Kome Ajise, Executive Director for the Southern California Association of Governments, who we know from his years as the Chief Deputy Director at Caltrans and one who we could count on to solve our bike problems when we needed help at that sprawling state agency. These leaders get it. They want what we want out of our transportation system. Yet progress is slow, so slow. What’s standing in their way? What can we do to help them be more successful? This should be a lively conversation.