Join us for an Evening for Networking and Discussion!

DVRPC has scheduled a series of public workshops to help shape Connections, our long-range plan for 2035. Offering food, networking, and an opportunity for your voice to be heard, the workshops will examine the issues that we face today as well as those that will be with us in the coming years.

The schedule is as follows: networking and refreshments from 5:30-6:15 p.m.; welcome and remarks by your county officials at 6:15 p.m.; orientation by DVRPC staff at 6:30 p.m.; and brainstorming session from 7:00-8:15 p.m. Bring the family; special activities will be available for all ages.

Please RSVP to plan@dvrpc.org or 215-592-1800.

Mark your calendar:
Thursday, November 6: Mercer County Workshop Marriott Trenton at Lafayette Yard, 1 West Lafayette Street, Trenton, NJ

Wednesday, November 12: Burlington County Workshop Enterprise Center at Burlington County College, 3331 Route 38, Mount Laurel, NJ

Thursday, November 13: Delaware County Workshop County Council Meeting Room (Room 100), Government Center Building, 201 West Front Street, Media, PA

Monday, November 17: Bucks County Workshop The James A. Michener Museum, 138 S. Pine Street, Doylestown, PA

Tuesday, November 18: Chester County Workshop Chester County Historical Society, 225 N. High Street, West Chester, PA

Thursday, November 20: Montgomery County Workshop Crowne Plaza Valley Forge, 260 Mall Boulevard, King of Prussia, PA

Regional Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Nears Completion

DVRPC is nearing completion of an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions for the nine counties of the Greater Philadelphia region for 2005. The completed inventory will help inform decisions in a regional climate change action planning process regarding regional and local policies to reduce these emissions that DVRPC expects to kick off early in 2009.

The inventory and forecast will be allocated to each county and municipality in order to assist municipal and county inventory efforts, allowing those efforts to focus on inventorying emissions due to government operation. The inventory is on track for completion by the end of November 2008, and will be available on the DVRPC Web site via www.dvrpc.org/climate.htm when it is completed.

This work is being carried out in close coordination with municipal, county, state, and federal-level inventory and forecasting efforts, as well as with national organizations such as ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability and the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

To learn more about this work, please contact Rob Graff, Manager, Office of Economic Analysis and Coordination, at (215) 238-2826 or rgraff@dvrpc.org.

DVRPC Data on Land Use Now Available

Analytical Data Report #16: Land Use in the Delaware Valley, 2005, is now available. This study looks at land use data in 2005 and how it compares to land use in 2000. Using digital orthophotography, created from aerial surveillance, DVRPC staff was able to view changes in land use patterns. By comparing photographs between 2000 and 2005, it was estimated that approximately one acre of land was developed every 65 minutes. This report and all other data bulletins can be found at www.dvrpc.org/Data/.

Join us for DVRPC LUHC Meeting on Urban Anchors and Revitalization

On November 20th beginning at 10:00 a.m., DVRPC’s Land Use and Housing Committee will host a meeting focused on the role educational and medical institutions are playing in local revitalization and redevelopment. The meeting will provide national, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey perspectives, and will feature an exciting panel of speakers including Omar Blaik, who worked as a Senior Vice President at the University of Pennsylvania during their redevelopment efforts and is now a nationally-recognized consultant on university planning. Other speakers will include representatives from Temple University in Philadelphia and Cooper University Hospital in Camden. For more information, contact Mary Bell, Principal Planning Analyst, at 215-238-2841 or mbell@dvrpc.org.

Online TIP Mapping Tool Updated

The new feature on the DVRPC website which allows you to search for, and view, TIP projects using the Google Maps interface, has been updated to include the FY 2009 TIP and Project Milestones for PA and NJ.

The database of TIP projects can be searched by county or operator, municipality, keyword, or project ID. The application also allows users to zoom in to specific areas of the map. Each project is clearly marked with a color-coded “pushpin,” that indicates the type of project (highway, transit, bicycle/pedestrian, streetscape, etc.). By clicking on the “pushpin,” you are able to view more details about that specific project, including the full description and programming details.

The website is updated each month, following Board approval of TIP amendments. To view the new DVRPC TIP website, visit www.dvrpc.org/transportation/capital/tip.htm and scroll down to “Current TIPS.”