Brian Van Sweden and Andrea L. MacDonald, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

1. Long Range Transportation
Planning Partnership
Bryan Van Sweden
Andrea MacDonald
Bureau for Historic Preservation

2. Transportation Planning is Not New
Bureau for Historic Preservation
LR 1 Sycamore Allee, Dauphin Co.

3. How We Got to Here: Long story, short
2004 Worked with agency partners (DCED & DCNR) to develop guidance
on historic preservation planning
2005 Published the Bureau for Historic Preservation’s Guidance for
Historic Preservation Planning
2006 PHMC’s Regional Preservation Plan Pilot: Northern Tier Regional
Planning & Development Commission
2010 Developed Long Range Planning Partnership for MPOs and
RPOs in partnership with FHWA and PennDOT
Bureau for Historic Preservation

4. Pilot Survey/Planning Project
Northern Tier Regional Planning
& Development Commission
Land Use, Transportation and
Economic Development (LUTED) Plan
Bureau for Historic Preservation

5. Built on Past Planning Initiatives
Themes of Living with the Land
Cultivating Agriculture Rich in Resources Building Community Over Hill, Over Dale Handcrafted Heritage
Agricultural Development Era (1820 to 1870)
Small-scale production Gristmills and Wood frame housing, one and Turnpike routes Agricultural events:
farms: sawmills a half or two stories, sometimes - Milford and Owego - County fairs
- Operating cattle, dairy Dairy industries: with an “ell”: - Bridgewater and - Fruit Festivals
swine and sheep farms - Icehouses - Stephen Foster House, Athens Wilkes-Barre - Livestock Auctions
- Various Century - Leraysville Cheese - Baldwin House, Laporte - Berwick and Elmira - Horse and Antique Tractor
Farms (noted only in Factory, Leraysville - Wheaton Homestead, Covered Bridges in Luthers Pulls
Bradford County) -Various surviving Salt Springs State Park Mills, Hillsgrove, Forksville, - Maple Sugar Festivals
- Granaries of tight creameries, butter - Mitchell House, Sonestown, and Echo - Fall and Harvest Festivals
construction factories, and cheese Bradford County farm Hollow Cultural sites:
Commercial orchards factories Museum in Troy North Branch Canal and - Joseph Smith, Great bend
producing small fruits: Maple syrup Village Greens and Greek adjoining railroad situated Vicinity
-Various “Pick Your operations Revival Architecture: along the canal’s towpath - Stephen Foster (Folk
Own” Orchards Montrose, New Milford, (was the Pennsylvania and Composer)
Lime kilns Tunkhannock, and East New York Railroad, but - David Wilmot (Free-Soil
Feed mills Smithfield changed to the Lehigh Politician), Towanda
Public schools Valley Railroad later) Museums:
General stores in Hillsgrove, - Surviving canal segment, - Bradford County Farm
Sources: Endless Mountains Heritage Region Management Action
Estella, Sylvania, Warren Tunkhannock to Vosburg Museum, Troy
Center, Forkston, and Forksville Starrucca Viaduct - Susquehanna Co Firemans
Plan, 1998; Historical Resources of Pennsylvania (c1700-1960), 2002
Municipal buildings: Museum, Montrose
- Harford Post Office
Sources: Endless Mountains Heritage Region Management Action Plan, 1998; Historical Resources of Pennsylvania (c1700-1960), 2002
Bureau for Historic Preservation

6. Recognized Resources as Assets
Mansfield
 Project focused on assets
along significant highway
corridors in the region
 Historic resources
 Visitor amenities
• Restaurants
• Gas stations
 Scenic views and
landscapes
Bureau for Historic Preservation

7. Long Range Planning Partnership with
MPOs and RPOs
 Based on the Northern Tier model
 Developed in collaboration with FHWA and PennDOT (and
coordinated under their funding agreement with PHMC)
 PHMC-BHP can provide direct training and technical
assistance to MPOs and RPOs:
 Incorporate historic and archaeological resources more
effectively throughout the LRTP process
 Streamline the project review process by anticipating
effects on resources before the design phase
Bureau for Historic Preservation

8. Long Range Planning Partnership with
MPOs and RPOs
 How we can tailor our assistance to the MPO/RPO
to facilitate the transportation planning process
 Identify local stakeholders and consulting parties
 Help them define local and regional priorities
 Show them how to predict resource types in a project area
 Educate the staff about the standard review process
 Offer alternatives for managing important resources on a
regional basis
 Discuss possible mitigation strategies as part of the LRTP
action plan
Bureau for Historic Preservation

9. Transportation
PHMC has consulted with Planning Organizations
these MPOs & RPOs:
Centre
Pittsburgh/SPC
Lancaster (2011-12)
Southern Alleghenies (ACM)
Lebanon
Erie (ACM)
SEDA COG
North Central (ACM)
DVRPC (2012-13)
Berks
Coming Up: Franklin and York
Bureau for Historic Preservation

10. Bureau for Historic Preservation

11. Lancaster County
Heritage and Tourism Priorities
 Agricultural Landscapes  High Priority Resource Types
 Historic Villages  Designated historic districts and
buildings
 Urban Neighborhoods
 Mills
 Historic Bridges  Cemeteries
 Heritage Byways  Archaeological sites
 Tourism Destination Areas
Bureau for Historic Preservation

12. Bureau for Historic Preservation

13. Goal E: Ensure that transportation investments
address protection of Lancaster County’s
agricultural, natural, and cultural resources.
 Develop context-sensitive design guidelines for any transportation
project in heritage conservation and tourism investment areas.
 Use the LPN screening forms to identify potential issues.
 Coordinate transportation planning and investment with the heritage
resources as highlighted in the County Comprehensive Plan.
 Lancaster County Heritage Byways Program
 Create a bridge protection program for historic bridges.
 Develop a system of wayfinding signs to facilitate transportation between
heritage conservation and tourism investment areas.
Bureau for Historic Preservation

14. Other Goals and Strategies
 Target transportation investments to support the
Envision Lancaster County Goals, and Strategies
 In Heritage Conservation and Tourism Investment Areas
• Identify gaps in the transportation network to enhance mobility
• Focus bicycle and pedestrian improvements
• Study parking supply and demand
 Maintain and improve the county’s infrastructure
 Establish a dialogue with PennDOT on historic bridges
 Improve and maintain shoulders on the County’s
roadway network in a context sensitive manner
Bureau for Historic Preservation

15. Long Range Planning Partnership
with MPOs and RPOs NEXT STEPS
DVRPC - LRTP Partnership’s proposal… “Ground Truthing” in Delaware County
** focused on:
local preservation priorities, engaging citizens & determining advanced mitigation strategies
Bureau for Historic Preservation

16. Proposed process:
−identify projects on TIP, 12 year Program & Long-Range Transportation Plan likely to impact historic
resources in Delaware Co. (prior to any preliminary engineering)
−work with Delaware County Preservation Services to identify 3-5 projects on a sub-region to pilot the
approach, outreach and mitigation strategies. Projects could be representative of a typology (i.e. train
stations, bridges) and/or aid County staff in an ongoing effort
−develop an outreach approach for each project
o meet with County staff, meet with Stakeholders, meet with general public
−Discuss community’s historic preservation priorities
−Identify possible mitigation strategies tied to proposed transportation projects
−produce addendum to Long Range Plan on advanced historic preservation mitigation strategies applicable to
the entire DVRPC region. Addendum could contain: methodology for addressing community historic
preservation priorities in transportation project development; advanced mitigation strategies; and/or regional
preservation banking proposal.
Bureau for Historic Preservation

17. What we are learning &
Why this initiative is important
- regional partners are struggling with defining the level of effort for LRTPs knowing
budget constraints in upcoming years; most don’t foresee any new projects
- circumstances are directing resources (staff and financial) and planning efforts to
priority corridors and core transportation systems; the majority of projects are bridges
- most plans do not identify unfunded problems/projects; the life of the plans are
generally 30 years (Lancaster County MPO is an exception)
- regional understanding of environmental and cultural resources have been remiss in
making connections between those resources ; planning solutions aren’t always
considering these resources as assets but rather obstacles
- use of PHMC’s GIS data has been limited; primarily used in simple maps showing all
National Register properties; it hasn’t been clear now GIS data is being used to direct
planning decisions
Bureau for Historic Preservation