Massachusetts Planners Salute Rep. Olver at Planner's Day in the District

As part of Planner's Day in the District 2003, a delegation from the Massachusetts Chapter of APA met with Rep. John Olver in his Holyoke office and presented him with a special award recognizing his leadership in saving the Transportation Enhancements program.

Olver, along with Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), authored an amendment to transportation spending legislation that restored the Enhancements program as a mandatory 10 percent set aside. The Enhancements program funds a variety of projects essential to a balanced transportation system that promotes community quality of life, including trails, bike paths, and pedestrian access improvements.

Attending the meeting were, in photo from left, Robert Mitchell, AICP (Amherst Town Planner), Sabine Dietrich (newsletter editor), U.S. Rep. John Olver, Peter Lowitt, AICP (Chapter President), and Linda Petrella (Springfield Planning Director). Lowitt said that Olver was grateful to be honored and expressed strong support for APA's TEA-21 agenda.

The delegation also spent time with Olver promoting a broad planning agenda for the reauthorization of TEA-21. Among the issues highlighted was funding for MPO planning, maintaining a commitment to transit, improving the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program, supporting the integration of land use and transportation planning, and social equity programs.

Planner's Day in the District was a nationwide program that brought together local planners and their congressional representatives on December 10, 2003, to discuss important planning issues in TEA-21 reauthorization. The program was particularly strong in Massachusetts, where meetings between planners and members of Congress were held in each of the Bay State's 10 congressional districts.

APA will continue its grassroots advocacy on transportation issues during the upcoming National Planning Conference in Washington, D.C. Those attending the annual conference may sign up to participate in visits to Capitol Hill on April 27 or 28, 2004. There's no fee to participate, but attendees should register in advance.

Click here for more information about Planner's Day on Capitol Hill.

Questions about the program may be directed to APA's government affairs staff at govtaffairs@planning.org.