What: SMPS’s The Future of Transportation in the Portland Metro Region

When: Wednesday, April 9 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Where: The Governor Hotel, 611 S.W. 10th Ave., in Portland.

Cost: $35 for SMPS members and $50 for nonmembers.

Registration: Visit www.smpsoregon.org or e-mail Jacquee Christnot at jchristnot@geoengineers.com.

For more information on this networking event, please click here.

Oregon is at a crossroads with the way it funds and plans for transportation improvements. Governor Kulongoski has made transportation funding a top priority in the 2009 legislative session. “There is no greater issue in this next legislative session than developing a long-term plan that addresses the needs of all of Oregon, urban and rural, and at the same time provides stable funding to achieve that plan,” Kulongoski said. Hear from four of the region’s top transportation planners and transit advocates as SMPS presents a panel discussion titled, “The Future of Transportation in the Portland Metro Region.”

The all-star lineup of speakers and their topics:

• FRED HANSEN, General Manager, TriMet – Expansion of Portland’s Light Rail Transit System
• CHRIS SMITH, Chair, Citizen Advisory Committee, Portland Streetcar – Streetcar Expansion Plans and City-Wide System Plan
• REX BURKHOLDER, Metro Councilor – Development of the Regional Transportation Plan
• JOHN WILLIS, Vice President and Area Manager, CH2M HILL – Public Private Partnerships
• Moderated by ETHAN SELTZER, Professor, Portland State University Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning