Obviously, former District Department of Transportation director Gabe Klein was doing something right — today, Transportation Nation is reporting that he has been chosen by new Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to run the Windy City’s Department of Transportation. Klein, who left the D.C. government in early December during a sea change in agency leadership after Mayor Vince Gray defeated Adrian Fenty for the city’s mayoralty, will reportedly start next month.
Klein, who didn’t rule out a return to public sector work during his departure press conference (and admitted that working at DDOT made him “about as happy as I’ve ever been”), sounds like he’ll be a good fit in the Emanuel administration, based on the Transportation Nation report:
…Rahm Emanuel, the former White House chief of staff, is largely supportive of public transit, is a cyclist himself, and has said he wants to build 100 miles of new bike lanes during his first term.
His transportation plan when running for mayor was, in essence, a transit plan. Emanuel also impressed local transit and transportation activists with his interest in the topic and detailed knowledge of the issues including having a specific favorite bike-lane design.
Now Chicago has a pro-bike, pro-transit pair in charge of transportation policy.
During Klein’s tenure under a similarly results-oriented executive, the District installed several new bike lanes, established a regional bike-sharing system, got several high-profile streetscape projects underway, pushed hard for the installation of a streetcar system and dramatically improved the way DDOT communicated with the public.
At his personal website, Klein called the move “an opportunity to continue public service in the 5th largest urban economy in the world, for a leader every bit as reform-minded and results oriented as former DC Mayor Adrian Fenty; to make Chicago an example nationally for innovation in transportation and public space, and most importantly, to positively impact quality of life for the 2.6 million residents of Chi-town.”
