Last week, one of our former Board members Tanya Seaman passed away from cancer. Tanya served on the Bicycle Coalition’s board in the early 2010s for three years during which she brought her dedication and passion for the environment and a safe city for active transportation to her role as a board member.
Research Director John Boyle first met Tanya when she worked at the Central Philadelphia TMA in 2000. She went on to co-found PhillyCarShare, which was one of the first successful non-profit mobility sharing companies in the country. She was an active community member in the South of South Neighborhood Association, volunteering for SOSNA transportation safety committee and renaming it the Vision Zero committee a few years later. Her tenacity and perseverance is why the 22nd Street bike lane ultimately got protected. She also provided leadership on the Safe Pathways to our Schools project to bring street murals to several neighborhood elementary schools. She authored a Climate Action Platform for Philadelphia, a bold vision for the city to address the climate crisis.
Our former Policy Director Randy LoBasso remembered her with this tweet: “She was an incredible advocate and instrumental in making Philly streets safer, and more livable. I’ll always remember her knitting in a chair at community meetings while people stood on every side of her screaming at each other.”
Tanya wrote this piece about Washington Avenue for 5th Square. She nailed it. While on the BCGP board, she encouraged the staff to create a tracking methodology to account for progress being made toward strategic plan goals. We still use it today.