In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Hudson Valley communities implemented programs to expand the use of sidewalks and streets, creating new spaces for business and socially-distanced public gatherings. Two years removed from the onset of the pandemic, communities throughout the region are considering the future of these programs now that the threat of the pandemic is mostly behind us.

In this webinar, you will hear about the case for reimagining how streets and sidewalks can be elevated to a higher and better use. You will learn about examples of successful initiatives, and how similar programs and policies can be implemented in your own community.

Register now for the first webinar in the Main Street: Hudson Valley Sidewalk Talks series!

Mike Lydon is a Principal and Co-Founder of Street Plans, an urban planning, design, and research-advocacy firm. He leads the firm’s New York City office. Mike is the creator and primary author of the The Open Streets Project and the globally acclaimed digital Tactical Urbanism handbook series. With his Street Plans partner Tony Garcia, Mike is the recipient of the 2017 Seaside Prize and co-author of the full-length book Tactical Urbanism: Short-term Action for Long-term Change, which was honored by Planetizen, an urban planning news website, as one of the top planning books of the past decade. In 2018, Planetizen also named Mike as one of the 100 most influential urbanists of all-time. Most recently he co-authored NACTO’s Streets for Pandemic Response and Recovery and partnered with the Center for Tech and Civic Life to develop the Streets for Voting Guide, which helps cities and boards of election use streets and other public spaces for the delivery of safe and inclusive election activities. Mike graduated from Bates College in 2004 with a B.A. in American Cultural Studies, and the University of Michigan in 2008 with a Masters in Urban Planning. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and two sons and encourages you to trade four wheels for two.

Frank A. Filiciotto is an Associate of Creighton Manning, a transportation planning and engineering firm with a 60-plus-year history in New York. He leads Creighton Manning’s Westchester and Hudson Valley office and is a licensed professional engineer in New York and several other eastern US states. He has a passion for transportation that is rooted in his early childhood and has been fascinated by the movement of people through networks ever since. Over the course of nearly 20 years in the profession, Frank has served an array of public and private clients with an eye towards multi-modal design wherever possible. An Executive Board Member of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation and a member of the City of Peekskill Planning Commission, Frank’s interests include complete streets, walkability, land development, road diets, and shared parking. Frank graduated from Union College in 2003 with a BS in Civil Engineering and from NYU in 2007 with an MS in Transportation Planning and Engineering. He lives in Peekskill and is an avid runner.