From: "Friends of Transit" To: Subject: Fourth Annual Friends of Transit Conference Date: Thursday, September 29, 2005 4:33 PM Friends, While it is still a ways off, it is also "just around the corner" - the Fourth Annual Friends of Transit Conference. This year's theme will be "Maximizing Our Transit Investment." As you all know, our Light Rail system is under construction. With construction brings some challenges to existing neighborhoods, businesses and the motoring public. But once it is finished and operational, this project will forever change the face of the Region. The development opportunity that a project like this brings is phenomenal. This year's conference will take an up close look at "Transit Oriented Development" (TOD) and what it all means. For those of you who follow TOD projects across the country, you know they are exciting, but not without challenges. We will have prominent speakers from across the country to discuss some of the opportunities other cities have seized upon - as well as some of the challenges. We will also highlight and showcase some exciting projects here locally that are still on the drawing boards and well underway. If you have any friends in the land use and development community, this is one half-day conference they won't want to miss. Please help us spread the word. You can visit our website www.friendsoftransit.org and click on the "Save the Date" image to send us a note of your interest and we will follow-up with you direct as it gets closer. If you have any ideas on topics or projects you would like to hear about, please let us know. Thank you for your continued interest in Friends of Transit. David Schwartz Executive Director david@friendsoftransit.org