Janette Sadik-Khan (and Seth Solomonow) is an amazing speaker. Sadik Khan’s presentation was full of data that effectively communicated her point, and she also had images. Most of her presentation consisted of before and after pictures, and similarly with the data, they effectively showed how her improvements were for the betterment of NYC, and other cities that she drew inspiration from or who were inspired by her.
I thought it was so interesting that doing most of these improvements was cheap, just using paint or leftover bricks from buildings, and yet there is a huge debate on how this will impact NYC’s economy. In fact, adding more pedestrian walkways resulted in a 3x increase in sales revenue! And yet, Sadik-Khan was still facing criticism, in the news and on the streets themselves with protests.
Despite the naysayers, it was inspiring to see how Sadik-Khan and her team (including Seth Solomonow) are so passionate about their cause. Sadik-Khan even said “backlash is a sign you are doing something right, that you are changing the status quo.” Sadik-Khan continued to remain steadfast in her belief that got her into this job in the first place – what she and her team are doing will impact people’s lives for the better. And according to data, they have! Deaths from traffic conditions have gone down about 35%. Overall, I really enjoyed Janette Sadik-Khan’s time with us and I am grateful she took the time to speak with us.
JS-K did endure such backlash…it’s a pity that public servants have to navigate our polarized environment, in which even well-meaning, data-driven decisions and decision-makers are subjected to harsh criticism. Hard not to take all that personally, but she proved that with a strong moral compass and a boss who always had her back, she got it done!