Meet Bike/Ped Planning Rock Star Mia Birk at a Streetsblog / Alta Happy Hour

Please note that the location has changed.

I’m pleased to invite you to a recently booked meet-and-greet with nationally renowned bike and pedestrian planner Mia Birk, next Tuesday, June 17, 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. in the downstairs bar area at Vinyl, 121 W. Hubbard Street. Streetsblog Chicago will be co-hosting the event with Mia’s planning firm, Alta Planning + Design. She also heads Alta Bicycle Share, which runs the Divvy program for the city of Chicago.

Mia served as Bicycle Program Manager for the city of Portland, Oregon, from 1993 to 1999, a pivotal period in the city’s transformation to a cycling Mecca. She also co-founded Portland State University’s Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation and the National Association of City Transportation Officials, which published the influential Urban Bikeway Design Guide. Mia recently published the memoir Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet. At the happy hour, she’ll talk about her professional and personal experiences with transportation cycling.

Those of you who attended Streetsblog’s reader meetup at Haymarket Brewing last year know that our events are a great place to meet fellow readers face-to-face, and share your passion for (and critiques of) walking, biking, and transit. Delicious craft beer and small plates will be available for purchase, or you can challenge other Streetsblog readers to a game of pool or darts.

I’ll be pedaling to the happy hour minutes after completing an epic 300-mile bike excursion that will be of interest to urban planning enthusiasts. Details of the trip are still under wraps, but I’ll be glad to regale you with road stories over pints of pale ale – assuming I survive the journey.