The Impact of COVID-19 on Mobility in Central Ohio will be the fourth in a series of events on “Cities and Regions in the Post-Coronavirus Era,” initiating community conversations on what lessons we can learn from this crisis to create a more resilient and sustainable world.
The COVID-19 pandemic has major, unprecedented impacts on transportation at all scales. Traffic was gone and is coming back, public transit ridership is struggling, and people have rediscovered walking and biking. How is this disruption affecting mobility in Central Ohio? What are the lessons moving forward to help make our urban transportation systems more sustainable and resilient?
Moderated by Harvey Miller
Tune into our webinar to hear the perspectives of our panelists!
Our panelists include:
- Erin Synk - Government Relations Director of LNE Group’s State Advocacy Practice
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Erin Synk is Director of Government Relations for LNE Group, an international government affairs and consulting firm based in Ohio. She specializes in public policy development and analysis, state appropriations, and relationship development, with expertise in the subjects of workforce development, education, local government, and economic and community development.
Erin sits on the Board of Directors of Yay Bikes! a local bike advocacy and education organization that works to help people feel comfortable and enjoy riding bikes for transportation and recreation. Erin chairs the Yay Bikes! Advocacy Committee. Erin is a year-round bicycle commuter and does long-distance bicycle touring in the United States.
Erin is also a community leader in the South Side of Columbus, where she currently serves as Vice-chair of the Columbus South Side Area Commission. In this capacity she also serves as Chair of the Commission’s Public Services Committee, addressing issues such as housing development and affordability, access to healthy food, community park improvements and transportation infrastructure.
Prior to joining LNE Group, Erin worked as Legislative Aide in the Ohio House of Representatives and as a Policy Analyst for the Office of the Speaker. Erin holds a BFA from the Ohio State University.
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- Stephen Patchan - Assistant Director Planning & Sustainability, The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC)
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Stephen is currently the Assistant Director of Planning and Sustainability at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Association (MORPC) where he oversees sustainable transportation initiatives such as MORPC’s insight2050 Technical Assistance Program, Central Ohio Safety Program, Active Transportation Committee and Active Transportation Plan Update.
Previously to MORPC, Stephen was a Program Manager at the Southern California Association of Governments. He oversaw the Regional Active Transportation Program that awarded over $500 million in infrastructure, programming and planning projects. In addition, he developed and managed the award winning Go Human tactical urbanism series events that provided real world/ real time examples of active transportation benefits and impacts.
Before joining SCAG, Stephen was the first active transportation planner in the state of Pennsylvania where he developed Pittsburgh’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Program. During his Pittsburgh tenure, he served as the Local Host Committee Chair of Walk/Bike/Place 2014 Conference, facilitated the selection of Pittsburgh for the Green Lane Project 2.0, and served as a founding board member of the Pittsburgh bike share program (Healthy Ride). Stephen’s Pittsburgh work was recognized when he was awarded the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals 2014 Professional of the Year- Public Sector.
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- Kimberly Sharp - Sr Director Development, Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA)
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Kimberly is the Senior Director of Development at COTA since November 2019. She was the Westerville Deputy Director of Planning & Development from 2013-2019. She was also the Flagstaff Arizona Comprehensive Planning Manager from 2005-2013. Kimberly holds a BS in Architecture, OSU and Masters of City and Regional Planning (MRCP) from Virginia Commonwealth University.
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Justin Goodwin – Transportation Planning Manager, City of Columbus and has over twelve years combined experience in both the public and private sectors. Justin is dedicated to improving community livability by applying best practices in transportation planning and urban design, with a focus on creating safe, economically productive, multi-modal streets and mobility options.
Click the link below to register!
If you require an accommodation such as live captioning or interpretation to participate in this event, please contact Katie Phillips at phillips.1870@osu.edu or 614-688-4914. Requests made 10 day prior to the event will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the university will make every effort to
meet requests made after this date.
