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In the last decade, three important new bridges in the Portland area were the subject of intense discussion and analysis: the Tilikum Crossing, the Sellwood Bridge and the Columbia River Crossing. One of those bridges is completed, the second is under construction and the third one was canceled.

As a Metro Councilor, Robert Liberty was involved in the decision making process for all three projects. The way in which those projects were analyzed and presented to the public revealed to him a great deal about the many weaknesses in the way we make major transportation investment decisions. Those insights are the topic of his seminar presentation.

Robert Liberty has more than a third of a century's experience with the implementation, enforcement and improvement of Oregon's land use and transportation planning laws and goals. He has been a Staff Attorney and Director of 1000 Friends of Oregon, Senior Counsel to Congressman Earl Blumenauer, and was elected to the Metro Council in 2004 and re-elected in 2008. He is the Director of the Urban Sustainability Accelerator at Portland State University. He has degrees from the University of Oregon, Oxford University and Harvard Law School.