2005 News

August 29, 2005
Bucks Planning Director To Speak At National Transportation Conference

Lynn T. Bush, executive director of the Bucks County Planning Commission, was selected to represent Pennsylvania at a three-day transportation planning conference in Irving CA, beginning Sept. 6.

Bush, who will represent the land use planning perspective at the conference, is part of an eight-member Pennsylvania team led by PennDOT Secretary Allen D. Biehler.

Bucks County was chosen from among the Commonwealth's 67 counties because of its continued effort to coordinate land use and transportation planning, according to Bush. The executive director said her comments will focus on the county planning commission's work in the Central Bucks area, the Route 202 corridor, and recent efforts toward revitalizing the Delaware River waterfront.

"It's an honor for Bucks County to be selected for this important national conference," said Bush. "I am pleased to speak for our county and its good work in coordinating land use and transportation planning."

The conference, "Coordinating Transportation and Land Use," is sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, representing highway and transportation departments in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

AASHTO invited six of the leading transportation planning states - Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, Michigan, Idaho and Utah - to share their experiences and lessons learned at the national conference.

The conference provides a platform for the representatives of the six states to convey their unique experiences in planning and transportation. Bush said the relationship between land use and transportation planning is a significant one because land use decisions often are made based on goals such as increasing tax revenue, without consideration for the "transportation" aspect, or how people will travel to a new office complex or shopping mall.

As a matter of policy, Bush said Bucks County officials have favored transportation improvements that will help revitalize older communities and correct safety and mobility problems.

Other topics included on the conference agenda are: Statewide policies on transportation, regional cooperation, controlling sprawl, and tension between local governments and state agencies when planning transportation improvements.

Bush's travel and participation costs are being paid by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program.