Help close out Bike Month with exciting stories by Chris Morfas on his work in Bogota, Colombia, one of the Americas’ Leading Bike & Transit Cities

What happens when a city builds 200 miles of protected bikeways? How did CicLAvia get its name? Lessons from Bogota, Colombia one of the world’s most interesting cities for bicycling and placemaking boasting 5.5 million transit trips and 600,000 bike trips per day!

We will hear about this and more from Chris Morfas who since 2014 has been Senior Advisor to Despacio, a nonprofit based in Bogota, Colombia, a city with rates of transit and bicycle use that are among the highest in the world. Morfas is a longtime transportation reformer, the founding executive director and former Board Chair of the California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike), a senior policy coordinator with the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District. At CalBike, Morfas directed award-winning successes that launched the nation’s strongest Safe Routes to School program, Complete Streets policy, and the innovative Bicycle Transportation Account that funds bike infrastructure like bikeshare and more.

Don’t miss this evening with delightful snacks, delicious Sierra Nevada beer, sweet raffle prizes and exciting tales of travels and transportation from Chris Morfas.

Thank you to our event sponsors: Pocrass & De Los Reyes, Tern and Sierra Nevada.

The tickets are on a sliding scale donation and support Santa Monica Spoke and the California Bicycle Coalition. Nobody turned away for lack of funds.

Despacio, is an NGO based in Bogota, Colombia that advances sustainable mobility internationally via research, advocacy, and training; its recent publications include robust studies of bicycle and motorcycle use in Latin America. Chris helps Despacio with organizational structure, program development, and outreach. He will regale you with tales of Ciclovia, TransMilenio, and more while carefully avoiding any bragging regarding his much-improved salsa dancing.