Walkability and bikeability are key components for making communities great and healthy places to live, work and play. But how do you make sure your community is safe and fun for pedestrians and cyclists? Join RideWise and the Somerset County Green Leadership Hub for our webinars on Walkability & Bikeability in Somerset County.
In Part 2 of this two-part installment, we’ll have speakers from Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, Somerset County Planning and local planning boards to discuss Pedestrian & Cyclist Travel Plans and their importance in promoting community health, safety, and livability in your community. Come join us to hear about current pedestrian plans and initiatives in Somerset County and how you can get started on your own projects!
Meet our speakers:
Leigh Ann Von Hagen, AICP/PP, Senior Research Specialist, Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center
Leigh Ann Von Hagen, AICP, PP is a Senior Researcher and Adjunct Professor with the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center and a founder of the Planning Healthy Communities Initiative at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She has worked in the transportation-planning field for over twenty years with a focus on developing sustainable and equitable transportation and land use solutions for communities. Leigh Ann manages the NJ Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School Resource Center (saferoutesnj.org) and the statewide School Crossing Guard Training program (njcrossingguards.org.) She specializes in initiatives that address pedestrian and bicycle safety, health, equity, and access through research, training, education, community engagement, and best practice in policy and design.
Leigh Ann will be presenting on how plans that address safety and health for people walking and bicycling create opportunities for bold initiatives and sustainable transportation and how we can take the next steps in creating streets that put people first.
Angela Knowles, PP/AICP, LEED AP, Director of Planning Service, Van Cleef Engineering Associates, Inc.
Angela Knowles has a Bachelor of Science from Keene State College (NH) and a Masters of Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia. She is a licensed professional planner in the State of New Jersey, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a LEED-AP. She has over 15 years of diversified experience in all aspects of planning at the state, regional, and local levels and in the non-profit, public, and private sectors. Ms. Knowles approaches planning and community development with the community’s vision at the forefront and incorporates the public’s input, to the greatest extent possible.
As the Director of Planning Services with Van Cleef Engineering, Ms. Knowles currently provides planning services to the Town of Phillipsburg, the Boroughs of Alpha, Glen Gardner, Manville, Ogdensburg, Raritan, and South Toms River, and the Township of Stafford. In all planning projects, Ms. Knowles is mindful of a town’s historic, cultural, social and natural resources and aims to provide the community with a product that advances its goals.
She currently volunteers her time with Sustainable Jersey as a member of the Land Use & Transportation Task Force, and as the Vice President of Conference Services for the NJ Chapter of the American Planning Association.
Walter C. Lane, AICP/PP, Director of Somerset County Planning
Walter C. Lane serves as the Director of Planning at the Somerset County Planning Division where he oversees a staff of 18 employees. He is responsible for all of the County’s planning efforts, the Agriculture Development Board, the County’s Cultural and Heritage Commission and the Somerset County Energy Council.
Walter Lane has over twenty years of land use, regional planning and transportation planning experience and has managed numerous award winning projects. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the NJ County Planners Association and the Somerset County Business Partnership. He has served on the APA-NJ Executive Committee and is a past chair of the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee at the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.
