Harriet Parcells, AICP, Lancaster County Planning Commission

1. Incorporating Heritage Resources into the
Lancaster County Long Range Transportation Plan
A Presentation by
Harriet Parcells,
Lancaster County Planning Commission
2012 Statewide Preservation Conference
July 17, 2012

2. Connections 2040
Transportation Element
June 2012
Connections 2040 is the long range transportation plan
for Lancaster County. It contains a vision of where the
region would like its transportation system to be in 28
years and presents the actions, strategies and funding
needed to get there.
To read the plan : www.co.lancaster.pa.us/planning
The Comprehensive Plan for Lancaster County

3. The LRTP is an element of the Lancaster County Comprehensive Plan and it complements and
supports the other elements such as the Growth Management element, cultural heritage
element, green infrastructure element and others.

4. The LRTP Update Task Force
The LRTP update process was guided by a 38-member LRTP Update Task Force
For Connections 2040, Lancaster County’s MPO entered into a new partnership
with the PHMC to bring consideration of the potential impacts of
transportation projects on historic and cultural resources into the planning
process early on and throughout the process. Representatives of the PHMC,
PennDOT District 8 Environmental Review Staff
and Lancaster County Planning Commission (LCPC)
heritage and cultural planning staff were part
of the task force for the first time.
A Historic and Cultural Resources Task Force was
formed that met throughout the process and
did most of the work on this issue which was
then brought to the larger Task Force for approval.

5. Historic Preservation in Connections 2040
A new section on historic and cultural resources was added to the LRTP
Historic and Cultural Resources
Background
Lancaster County is known for its scenic The county has played a significant role in
agricultural landscapes, small towns and villages, transportation history. The Conestoga wagon
vibrant urban neighborhoods, and diverse was invented here, and the steamboat was
invented by a Lancaster County native, Robert
cultures that include
Fulton. One of the nation’s first turnpikes, the
large Amish and
Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, passed
Mennonite comm-
through Lancaster County. Later known as U.S.
unities. Native
30, the Lincoln Highway extended from NewYork
peoples have lived in to San Francisco. The railroad came to Lancaster
this area for thou- County in the 1830s.
sands of years, and
the legacy of that
settlement is evident
in the county’s archeological heritage.
European settlers began arriving in the early
18th century.

6. Types of Historic and Cultural Resources
Lancaster County’s most significant historic and cultural resources can be categorized
into several broad areas:
1. Agricultural Landscapes- an essential part of Lancaster County’s identity
2. Historic Villages-importance of preserving these villages with their
traditional pedestrian-friendly design
3. Urban Neighborhoods-historic architecture, pedestrian-friendly design
4. Historic Bridges, including covered bridges- 29 covered bridges
5. Heritage Byways-LCPC has identified several; working on plans for them
6. Tourism Destination Areas-LCPC has designated/mapped these locations
7. High Priority Resource Types that exist countywide-forges, other

7. Goals and Strategies of the LRTP
The Task Force reviewed the goals and strategies of the LRTP, especially GOAL E, and
added new language on protection of historic and cultural resources.
A. Target transportation investments to support the Envision Lancaster
County Vision, Goals, and Strategies and the county’s Smart Growth
Program.
B. Maintain and improve the County’s multimodal infrastructure and
services to provide an acceptable level of service.
C. Improve safety and security for all users of the transportation
system.
D. Manage and operate the transportation system to reduce
congestion.
E. Ensure that transportation investments address protection of
the County’s agricultural, natural, historic, and cultural
resources and environmental quality.

8. Implementation Partner Timing Notes
Actions to Carry out Goal E
MPO Penn DOT RRTA Amtrak Muni Other
Strategy E-1: Apply transportation design
standards that consider community and
environmental impacts through incorporation
of context sensitive solutions into projects.
Actions:
A. Develop Lancaster County specific context- ● ○ Short-term
Include minimum safety
sensitive design guidelines. Apply these to any
and other standards as
transportation project undertaken within heritage
necessary to comply with
conservation and tourism investment areas
PennDOT criteria
highlighted in the Lancaster County
Comprehensive Plan and to any projects that
affect high-priority types of heritage resources that
occur countywide. Outside these areas, apply
these guidelines wherever prudent and feasible.
B. Use the new Linking Planning and NEPA forms ● ○ Short-term
to develop a “checklist” of questions to be asked /
issues to be addressed to ensure that
transportation project planning and design is
sensitive to the local context and resources.
C. “Streamline” the decision making process for ● ● Short-term
projects that incorporate context sensitive
solutions to ensure that time and funding are not
lost
D In all transportation projects, consider the ● ○ ○ Ongoing
potential impact on archeological resources and
avoid, minimize or mitigate potential negative
impacts to these resources.

9. Strategy E-3: Further integrate the Implementation Partner Timing Notes
planning and NEPA processes for early MPO Penn DOT RRTA Amtrak Munic Other
awareness and understanding of potential
project issues among resource agencies.
Actions:
A. Implement the use of the Linking Planning and ● ○ Short-term
NEPA Forms for solicitation and evaluation of
projects for the TIP and LRTP.
B. Expand the partners involved in the ● ○ Ongoing Partners include PHMC,
environmental review process of LRTP projects the Historic Preservation
to evaluate impact on heritage resources (natural, Trust of Lancaster
historic, cultural). County, Lancaster
Farmland Trust, Main
Street org.
C. Use the Linking Planning and NEPA Forms ● ○ ○ Ongoing
and Agency Coordination Meetings (ACM) to
review issues in the early stages of project
development.
D. Right-size projects early in the process to ● ● ○ Ongoing
control costs and potential impacts.
E. Use the County’s GIS- capability to update ● ○ Short-term
maps of heritage resources (natural, cultural and
historic)
F. Develop and implement a process for review ● ○ ○ ○ Mid-term Partners include PHMC
of transportation projects that are expected to
have an effect on critical resources, particularly
cultural heritage resources. Working with
appropriate consulting parties, the process would
involve Actions A-D, define potential alternatives
for avoiding and mitigating the impacts of
these projects and seek to meet county and local
planning goals.

10. Strategy E-4: Coordinate transportation Implementation Partner Timing Notes
planning and investment with the preservation, MPO Penn DOT RRTA Amtrak Muni Other
conservation, and promotion of heritage
resources highlighted in the Lancaster County
Comprehensive Plan.
Actions:
A. Designate roads with exceptional and distinctive
intrinsic qualities to the Lancaster County Heritage
○ ○ 2009+
The Lancaster County Heritage
Byways Program is a tool that gives
Byways Program and , as appropriate, to state or ● ○ municipalities an opportunity protect
the character of roads that highlight
national byways programs. the county’s natural, cultural and
heritage and share that heritage with
visitors.
B. Create a bridge protection program for historic
bridges including covered bridges. designed to retain
● ○ ○ ○ 2010+ The Historic Preservation Trust of
Lancaster is a potential partner
these bridges, maintain them in a manner consistent
with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for
Rehabilitation and provide appropriate interpretation.
C. Avoid, minimize, or mitigate potential negative
impacts of transportation projects undertaken in the
● ○ ● Ongoing
heritage conservation and tourism investment areas
highlighted in the Lancaster County Comprehensive
Plan.
D. Direct transportation investments such as
streetscape, transit, sidewalk and parking
● ○ ○ ● ● Ongoing
The Cultural Heritage Element
suggests the Lancaster County
Housing and Redevelopment
improvements to facilitate private sector investment Authority as a potential partner.
in historic rehabilitation and reinvestment within
heritage conservation and tourism investment areas
highlighted in the Lancaster County Comprehensive
Plan.
E. Expand the countywide greenway trail system as
part of Lancaster County’s transportation system.
● ○ Proposed trails are identified in the
Green Infrastructure Element of the
Lancaster County Comprehensive
Plan.
F. Support the development of vehicular and
pedestrian wayfinding systems to facilitate
● ○ ● 2008+
transportation between heritage conservation and
tourism investment areas highlighted in the
Lancaster County Comprehensive Plan and within
each of these areas. .