Streetfilms: D.C. DOT Director Talks “Transportation Freedom”

Meet Gabe Klein, who was appointed to direct Washington D.C.’s Department of Transportation (DDOT) in December 2008. With a background including four years working for Zipcar, Klein was brought in to look at the city’s mobility problems from a fresh perspective. As he says:

Cars are a part of our daily life here in D.C., but what we want to do is try to equalize the playing field. Encourage people to walk, to bike, to bike share; or instead of owning a car — car share.

D.C. already has one of the lowest household car-ownership rates of any major U.S. city, so actively promoting these modes is essential — as Klein points out — to helping people move about with freedom.

  • ZA

    I’m very pleased to see this progress. For all the difficulties we confront trying to organize regionally in the Bay Area, I don’t envy DC in the slightest, having to integrate the needs of:
    One non-state, 3 states, a federal board, a catchment extending the entire Eastern Seaboard and Appalachia, at least 18 counties, at least 6 cities, nearly 600 senators & congressmen, and a constellation of national security splotches across the landscape. Good luck!

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