The seminar begins at 11:00 AM and goes until noon.
Friday Transportation Seminars at Portland State University have been a tradition since 2000. We've opened up PSU Transportation Seminars to other days of the week, but the format is the same: Feel free to bring your lunch! If you can't join us in person, you can always watch online via Zoom: Register Here.
THE TOPIC
Walk Portland, a partnership between the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) and Travel Portland, seeks to make it easier than ever for pedestrians to explore the city.
In 2024, PBOT and Travel Portland, in partnership with sparks+sullivan, teamed up to develop a wayfinding strategic plan. In 2025, with grant funding from Travel Oregon, the team launched a short-term pilot wayfinding system to help people explore Portland as a pedestrian: the Downtown Portland Walking Route.
The pilot, up from August-October 2025, is designed to see what works and what doesn’t in helping people navigate downtown.
The long-term goal of this project is to create and implement a cohesive, user-friendly wayfinding system that helps pedestrians navigate Portland, enhances the pedestrian experience for visitors and locals alike, and promotes a sense of place. The team will apply lessons learned from this pilot project to a more permanent system in the future.
KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES
The audience will gain:
- An understanding of the Walk Portland Strategy and how it was developed;
- An understanding of what goes into planning a pilot wayfinding program;
- An understanding of graphic and design elements for pedestrian wayfinding.
SPEAKERS
Gena Gastaldi, Pedestrian Realm Coordinator, Portland Bureau of Transportation
Gena Gastaldi is the Pedestrian Realm Coordinator at the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). As a member of the Complete Streets team, she focuses on incorporating multimodal design and policy into all aspects of transportation planning, with a particular focus on the pedestrian experience. She is the Project Manager for Walk Portland.
Gwen Sullivan and Ryan Sullivan, sparks+sullivan
Ryan and Gwen Sullivan are sparks+sullivan, a design consultancy based in Portland, Oregon. They design innovative, human-centered brands and strategies to connect people with places and products. They are the consultant on Walk Portland.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
This 60-minute seminar is eligible for 1 hour of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.
ADD IT TO YOUR CALENDAR
Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is a multidisciplinary hub for all things transportation. We are home to the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), the data programs PORTAL and BikePed Portal, the Better Block PSU program, and PSU's membership in PacTrans, the Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium. Our continuing goal is to produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education, seminars, and participation in research. To get updates about what's happening at TREC, sign up for our monthly newsletter or follow us on social media.
