ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Residents will have another opportunity to weigh in on the Lehigh Valley’s plans to reduce carbon emissions regionwide.
“Please join us for the next installment of this series, where we will provide a brief recap of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program and the Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) process as well as discuss the preliminary emission reduction policy strategies that we have started to develop for this climate action plan,” said Corinne Ruggiero, an environmental planner with the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.
“We are seeking your input to help inform these strategies intended to reduce transportation emissions in the region.”
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission at 11 a.m. Wednesday will hold a meeting to brainstorm and prioritize ways to decarbonize transportation across the region.
Called “WorkshopLV: Environment + Transportation” and held at the commission’s city office, 961 Marcon Blvd., Suite 310, it’s the latest in a series of public engagement sessions aimed at creating a Priority Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stem the effects of climate change.
Commission officials announced this year they had received a $1 million infusion of federal funds after officials opted into the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, part of the federal Inflation ReductionAct.
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission must create a Priority Climate Action Plan, as well as a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan. The former is due March 1, while the latter is expected to be adopted in August 2025.Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
With the funding, the LVPC must create a Priority Climate Action Plan, focused on industrial decarbonization, as well as a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan. The former is due March 1, while the latter is expected to be adopted in August 2025.
More than two dozen participated during an October workshop, during which participants were asked to choose which policies were most important to them.
There was no consensus, but one of the most-noted policies was “Develop mixed-transportation network that supports more compact development pattern, alternative travel options and greater transit connections” by “enhanc[ing] transit serve and pedestrian bicycle facilities along corridors” and “improv[ing] connections between mass transit and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.”
For more information, go to the LVPC’s website.
