Walking & Cycling for a Vibrant St. Louis – Tonight!
"We have been building cities for over 5,000 years, but it's only the last 60 or 70 that we have been thinking more of car mobility than people's happiness. Those two concepts are incompatible."
St. Louisans have an extraordinary opportunity to hear a pioneer in the field of livability speak tonight in an intimate setting – Sasha’s on Shaw.
Gil Penalosa, creator of the Open Streets movement, is in town for workshops that will advance the Gateway Bike Plan, and Trailnet is lucky enough to have engaged him tonight.
Gil is a dynamic speaker and an internationally renowned livable city advisor who works as executive director of 8-80 Cities encouraging walking, cycling, and the use of underperforming parks and streets.
Tonight, during Walking & Cycling for a Vibrant St. Louis, Gil will highlight best practices from around the world for St. Louis to consider as it moves toward becoming one of the country's top 10 livable cities.
When: Tonight – Monday, September 24, 2012
The program is from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. but we encourage you to come early and stay late to network.
How much: $10 and you may register here.
A cash bar will be open before and after program.
Where: Sasha’s on Shaw, 4069 Shaw Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110
From Guadalajara to New York, the Open Streets movement is rapidly gaining pace. But what exactly are Open Streets?
Here in the States we call them Open Streets and they originated in Bogota, Colombia in the late 1970’s, when Gil was the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation there. In South America they are sometimes called Ciclovias.
During an Open Streets event, the streets are opened to people and closed to cars. People traffic replaces car traffic, and the streets become “paved parks” where people of all ages, abilities, and social, economic, or ethnic background come out, socialize, and walk, bike, dance, skate, and play. Open Streets events build community and provide free recreational opportunities and public spaces for people to meet, interact, and connect. They allow people to discover how easy and convenient it is to reach places by walking and cycling when safe facilities are provided.
St. Louis’s second 2012 Open Streets event is coming up next weekend in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. More information about that can be found here.
Tonight’s event is brought to you by: Trailnet and sponsored by Great Rivers Greenway and the Livable St. Louis Network.
Ann Rivers Mack
Chief Executive Officer