NYBC Board Member Ivan Vamos recently sent the following letter to long-time CDTC Staff Director John Poorman

Dear John;

I was happy to have the opportunity to spend a few minutes with you yesterday to congratulate you on your well earned retirement from guiding CDTC and its contribution to the growth and improvement of the region. As another retiree, I can well understand the wish to spend more time with family and on fun, and to fully rise to other challenges such as the complicated post flood recovery of your beloved Scoharie Valley.

But our best wishes aside, we will miss you at the helm of a most important, leading metropolitan planning organization. Through your understanding of the need for safer, more attractive bicycle and pedestrian elements of comprehensive transportation systems these concepts and many others, have become important components of regional and statewide programs. I can attest to your contributions since we found you to be a proponent of these important perspectives during the many decades of my involvement with this issue.

Other “old hands” who are members of the CDTC Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force which was the first such advisory group in the State, established two decades ago under your leadership, note the many innovations that we can thank you for include the cost effective and popular “linkage” program, Capital Coexists, adopting a “complete streets” perspective well before it became State Law, and fine trail maps and policies to name a few.

The New Your Bicycling Coalition and the many bicyclists and pedestrians in the region will miss you, but trust that the well oriented staff and the policies you are leaving behind will serve the Capital Region well for decades to come. I also send my personal thanks and good wishes for your retirement.

NYBC would like to thank John Poorman for his commitment to bicycling and wish him a bright future and enjoyable retirement.