From my inbox to you:

Transit:  Is Wake County ready for it?
A community forum on transit

Thursday, June 26, 2008
7 pm – 9:30 pm
NCSU McKimmon Center, 1101 Gorman Street, Raleigh, NC

Community Partner Host Groups:
Downtown Housing Improvement Corp., North Carolina Conservation Network, Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association, Sierra Club Capital Group, Society for Women Environmental Professionals, WakeUP Wake County, WTS NC Triangle Chapter

Forum Sponsors:
Community Leaders: City of Raleigh, Dean Debnam, Falcon Engineering, Triangle Community Foundation

Community Builders: Capitol Broadcasting Company, Carolina Asphalt Pavement Association, Carolina Cottage Company, Cherokee, NC Go!, PBS&J, Stewart Engineering

Community Supporters: Community United Church of Christ – Justice in a Changing Climate, Greg and Anita Sawhney Flynn, Anne S. Franklin, Kimley-Horn & Associates, The Louis Berger Group, Inc., North Carolina League of Municipalities, Stan Norwalk, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Mack Paul, Ralph Urban Development I, LLC, Josh and Anna Stein, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh Social Action Committee, Carter Worthy, York Properties

We also would like to extend a special thanks to RTN and WRAL for taping and airing the forum.
 
Forum Agenda

Welcome and Overview     7 -7:10 pm
Karen Rindge, Chair, WakeUP Wake County
Joe Bryan, Chair, Wake Board of Commissioners

Keynote Address    7:10 – 7: 45 pm
“By Choice or by chance:  How can transit help us plan for a future of growth?”
Carol Coletta, CEO, CEO’s for Cities
Q&A: 7:45 – 8:00 pm

The Charlotte Transit Story    8:00 – 8:15 pm
Keith Parker, CEO, Charlotte Area Transit System
Introduction by Jonathan Parker, Sierra Club Capital Group
Q&A: 8:15 – 8:25 pm

SHORT BREAK  8:25 – 8:30 pm

Panel Discussion on Local Perspectives on Transit    8:30 – 9:25 pm
Community leaders respond with their perspective to questions related to the future of transit in the Triangle.

Moderator and introductory remarks:
Nina Szlosberg, board member, NCDOT, and NC 21st Century Transportation Commission

STAC overview:
John Hodges-Copple, Triangle J Council of Governments

Panel Participants:
Mary Ann Baldwin, Raleigh City Council
Matt Christensen, Division Vice President, KB Home
Courtney Crowder, SE Raleigh Assembly
Sig Hutchinson, Board Chair, Triangle Transit
Smedes York, Co-chair, Special Transit Advisory Commission
Kirsten Weeks, Cisco Systems

Closing Remarks    9:25 – 9:30 pm

Presenter Biographies
Carol Coletta is president and CEO of CEOs for Cities and host and producer of the nationally syndicated public radio show Smart City. Before moving to Chicago to head CEOs for Cities, she served as president of Coletta & Company in Memphis. In addition, she served as executive director of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Conference of Mayors and American Architectural Foundation. Carol is a passionate advocate for cities, and she has devoted her life to answering the question: What makes cities succeed?

Keith Parker is the Director of Public Transit for the City of Charlotte and the Chief Executive Officer of the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS). As one of the fastest growing transit systems in the country, CATS provides bus, paratransit, and light rail service to Charlotte area residents and visitors. Mr. Parker’s prior positions include Assistant City Manager for the City of Charlotte, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Director of CATS, Chief Executive Officer for the Clark County Transit Authority in Vancouver, Washington, and Assistant General Manager for the Greater Richmond Transit Company in Richmond, Virginia. In 2004, Keith was recognized as a “40 Under 40” award winner by the Charlotte Business Journal as one of the region’s most promising young leaders.
**************************************************

I very much wish I were going, but instead I’ll be in Chapel Hill at the MyNC.com launch party!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue