Ryan Russo from New York Department of Transportation has accepted the position of Director of Oakland’s Department of Transportation. He starts work in Oaktown on May 8 (three days before Bike to Work Day May 11). Russo is NYDOT’s Deputy Commissioner of Transportation and oversaw many of the innovative street redesigns New York is now famous for. Here is OakDOT’s press release on Russo’s hire.
Russo visited Oakland in 2014 as part of the NACTO Cities for Cycling Road Show, joining experts from around the country to help Oakland redesign streets such as Telegraph Avenue and 14th Street, among others. You may recall us telling the story of one of the experts from the NACTO Road Show saying, after bicycling down Telegraph Avenue, “why did Oakland choose such a difficult street for its first protected bike lane.” That was Ryan. He was comparing Telegraph Avenue to the many wide one-way streets Manhattan has, which are technically easier to add a protected bike lane to. In hindsight, his perspective was not far off, but we will put him right to work on Telegraph Avenue, getting that project finished and right.
Here’s a pictureless recap of Oakland’s 2014 NACTO Road Show (from our old website).
We look forward Ryan starting work on many of Oakland’s street redesigns, bringing them up to modern standards as Oakland implements projects funded by Measure B, Measure BB, Vehicle License Fee, and Measure KK (iBond).
Oh, and did we mention he’s an A’s fan, and hates the Giants?