On October 23, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC) held its inaugural “Celebration of Excellence in Planning” awards ceremony at Iacocca Hall in Bethlehem, Pa. LVPC Director Becky Bradley presented awards in nine different planning categories to 25 honorees and winners from engineering and planning groups across the Lehigh Valley region. These awards celebrate projects, plans, policies, and people who exhibit exemplary scholarship, leadership, and inspiration in planning and implementation for their communities. Planning award categories included environmental, transportation, open space, revitalization, comprehensive plan, and land development planning.
RKR Hess took home the Community Plan award for its work on a Comprehensive Plan for the Borough of Portland. RKR Hess engineers drafted the plan for the Borough to assist with guiding the future development of its rapidly growing Northampton County community. The Comprehensive Plan features an in-depth background study and analysis of the Borough’s current conditions, and identifies planning implications for future years. The plan also details the community’s developmental needs, plans, and goals as envisioned by its residents and officials.
Municipal planning work, such as that of RKR and other LVPC award winners, often goes unnoticed and can take several years to complete, which is why the inauguration of these awards is extremely important to the Lehigh Valley engineering community. RKR’s Director of Engineering Services, Sam D’Alessandro, was honored to attend and accept the Community Plan award on behalf of all those who worked to make the project a success for the Borough of Portland.
For details, maps, and a draft of the Comprehensive Plan for the Borough of Portland, please visit our project page.
To view a list of all of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Awards winners and their projects, visit http://www.lvpc.org/lehigh-valley-awards.html.
