Projects
Main Streets Program & LTPAP Plans
HOCTC/Oneida County, NY
Planning4Places, LLC is leading a team of 4 firms to provide the Main Street Program and Local Transportation Planning Assistance Program (LTPAP) support to the Oneida County Department of Planning and the Herkimer-Oneida Counties Transportation Council (HOCTC) MPO. Our 2022 work includes assisting 11 communities through the Main Street Program to aid in recovery of the local economy through planning and design assistance for each community’s Main Street. Our work within this program will be to enhance the Main Street areas to be equitable, safe, and accessible for all users utilizing all modes of travel. Our Transportation Planning Assistance Program work, which is part of the HOCTC UPWP Program, will be to assist two communities with direct technical planning assistance to ensure transportation investments are consistently planned, programmed, designed, operated, and maintained for all users. We are very excited to have been selected for these projects and look forward to working with Oneida County, HOCTC staff, and their local municipalities to help improve their communities.
On-Call Planning Consultant
Town of Rhinebeck, NY
Planning4Places was hired by the Town in 2018 to provide planning services and assistance to the Planning Board. Planning4Places is proud to continue into our fourth year working as the on-call planning consultant for the Town. Our work has spanned the spectrum of work that would be expected in a growing community that is under constant development pressure. Since we began working with the Town, we have reviewed several hundred development projects, drafted and had adopted several zoning regulation changes, and undertaken studies for specific areas of concern or need related to land use and transportation. We are currently working with the Planning Board, Town Board, Historic and Archaeological Preservation Advisory Committee, Conservation Advisory Board/Waterfront Advisory Committee. We recently finished working with the Zoning and Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee to make recommendations related to sustainability and protection of rural roads. We are thrilled to continue to work with the Town to provide professional on-call planning services.
NYS Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (NYSAMPO)
Planning4Places, as a subconsultant, was retained to continue working with the NYSAMPO through 2023. For the last 5 years, Planning4Places has served as a subconsultant assisting the Bicycle & Pedestrian Working Group, Safety Working Group, and Transit Working Group. We have also maintained, and in 2020 rebuilt, the NYSAMPO website, manage the training initiative, and recently kicked-off a new MPO staff discussion group focused on public engagement. We are excited to have been selected to continue working with the Association.
Flood Resiliency, Risk Assessment & Mitigation
Planning4Places continues to assist as a subconsultant, in undertaking flood resiliency assessments across eastern New York State as part of the Resilient NY program. We completed a land use and transportation assessment work in Clinton County within the Great Chazy and Little Chazy watersheds, an assessment in Rockland County to assess land use and zoning regulations that pertain to flooding along the Blind Brook, and recently began work on the Catskill Creek in Greene County. We look forward to continuing to work on these and other vital assessments as part of a larger flood study contract.
Village of Ballston Spa, NY Pedestrian & Bicycle Master Plan
Planning4Places was a part of a team providing public engagement and plan development assistance for the Pedestrian & Bicycle Master Plan. Our public engagement work included developing outreach materials, focus group facilitation, and presenting and facilitation at public meetings and committee meetings. We also developed and installed a Bicycle Demonstration Project and created concept renderings showing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
Town of Minerva, NY LWRP
We are assisting with the development of an LWRP for the Town of Minerva in conjunction with the Essex County Office of Community Resources and the NYSDOS. Our work includes assisting with all aspects of developing an LWRP that meets the NYSDOS requirements but that also provides conceptual design plans, recommendations and alternatives to improving access to, and the use of, Minerva Lake and the surrounding watershed for both local residents and visitors to the area.
Stockade Association On-Call Assistance
Soon after completion of the Stockade Association Comprehensive Streetscape Design Plan, the Association requested assistance in developing a package for submission to the City of Schenectady prioritizing improvements for consideration in a portion of the Historic Stockade. Using the recently completed and well-received Streetscape Plan, Planning4Places staff created a graphically-focused prioritization summary which is being considered for design and construction by the City.
Stockade Association Comprehensive Streetscape Design Plan
Planning4Places led this project to assist the Stockade Association in developing a plan to help guide prioritization of infrastructure improvements throughout the Historic Stockade neighborhood. This project assessed and provided recommendations for sidewalk improvements, street tree retention and replacement, streetlighting, signage and wayfinding, and pedestrian infrastructure and bicycle (Complete Streets) improvements.
City of New Rochelle Downtown
Revitalization Initiative (DRI)
Planning4Places was a subconsultant brought onto the team to assist with developing the public outreach program and develop a Complete Streets Concept Plan. Our public engagement work resulted in the execution of several very successful engagement efforts and the use of some non-traditional input efforts. Our Complete Streets work initially focused on the the Lincoln Avenue Corridor and the concept ideas were so well received by the Local Planning Committee that we had to expand the effort to include the adjacent neighborhood. The concepts we developed resulted in $2.0M of the $10M DRI allocation being targeted to Complete Streets work. Our concepts are also being implemented in an expanded study area as part of a separate $1.7M grant effort.
Short-Term Rental Assessment
Planning4Places provided assistance to the Northern Dutchess Alliance to develop an assessment of short-term rental issues, opportunities, needs, and concerns among all Alliance members. Our work included assessing existing conditions, surveying member communities, utilizing data provided by the Dutchess County Planning and Development Department for Alliance communities, and incorporating other data sources to provide a comprehensive, non-biased report on the facts related to short-term rental use in Northern Dutchess County, NY. Our work culminated in the professional printing of which have been widely distributed and a presentation to attendees at the 2020 annual Alliance breakfast meeting.
Municipal Smart City Street Light Conversion & Evolving Technology Guidebook
Planning4Places led a team of lighting professionals in the development of this regional guidebook focused on implementation through the lens of the City of Saratoga Springs, NY. Commissioned by the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC), as part of their Smart Communities Program, this guidebook provides information to enable initial discussions among municipal stakeholders as steps are taken to assess existing conditions, needs, and options.
Freemans Bridge Road Complete Streets Concept Plan
As lead consultant, Planning4Places, LLC assisted the Town of Glenville and the CDTC on development of public input focused Complete Streets Concept Plan for the 1.5 mile auto-oriented, mixed-use, suburban corridor. The Concept Plan proposes a sidepath on one side of the road and sidewalk on the other with connections to the existing Freemans Bridge sidewalk (which is being upgraded to a sidepath as a result of this project), the trail to the Village of Scotia (which recently received improvement funds), the Route 50 corridor and Town Center to the North. Within one year of project completion, the Town was able to use the plan to secure $1.7M in the 2019-2024 TIP, one of only seven Bike & Ped. beyond Preservation projects funded in the region.
