I was honored to attend the 2013 North Carolina Planning Conference in Winston-Salem, along with Morrisville Mayor Pro Tem Johnson. At the conference, the Town of Morrisville received the Comprehensive Planning Award for the McCrimmon Small Area Transit Plan.

Kudos to Ben Hitchings, who presided over the awards ceremony as the President of the organization and to all of our staff, who attended, including Courtney Tanner,  Brad West, Tim Guass, Tony Chiotakis, and Martha Wheelock, our new Town Manager.

One of my observations from this event was the exciting work which is being done around our state to revitalize main streets, and to focus on how we can create vibrant Town Centers and other areas. This adds to the aesthetic appearance of our North Carolina cities and towns  while fostering a real sense of community. Some cities are even focusing on how they can promote healthy living, and I am also very excited to see Charlotte continue to focus on transit-oriented development.

Details of this award appeared in  The Cary News last month: http://www.carynews.com/2013/08/08/3092086/morrisvilles-mccrimmon-parkway.html

Other awards included:  

Great Main streets:   Blowing Rock, Davidson, Fayetteville, Raleigh (Fayetteville Street)

Charlotte Mecklenberg Blue Line extension transit station 

Winston Salem/Forsyth County Comprehensive Plan 

Imagine 2040:   Triangle Region Scenario Planning Initiative 

North Carolina State Community Parthership:  Town of Cary  Stream Restoration and Environmenatal Park Improvements (Higgins Greenway Trail)

Congrats to the Town and pictures are coming!