Improving Walkability A Goal For Vienna's New Planning Director

VIENNA, VA—The Town of Vienna has announced Cindy Petkaca as the new planning and zoning director as of Jan. 29. She will replace Patrick Mulhern, who retired earlier this month.

Aside from more than 20 years of experience in community development and long-range planning, she understands what makes up a small town and what can improve. Namely, walkability. Now a resident of Herndon, she grew up in a Cleveland suburb and was able to walk and bike to school and other local places.

“[Vienna] has a small-town atmosphere and yet all the benefits of being in a larger region with access to good jobs, shopping, schools. It’s the best of both worlds," she said in a statement. "Vienna has a lot of great places, and I’m excited to work with Town Council and residents to make it be just a little bit…more. What could we do to make Vienna a little more walkable, to improve on the community slightly?”

A certified planner with the American Planning Association, Petkac has been planning division chief of the City of Fairfax since March 2015. She also has worked as principal planner with the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, planning manager for the City of Duluth, Minnesota, neighborhood planning coordinator for the District of Columbia, and transportation planner with the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission. Among the highlights of her career have been working as a neighborhood planner in the area that's now Nationals Park and rewriting the City of Duluth’s zoning regulations.

Petkac received a bachelor's degree in geography at Bowling Green State University and a master's in urban planning, design and development from Cleveland State University. “I like geography, maps, and places,” she says. “That’s how I ended up in planning. Planning is all about placemaking and what makes a community great," she said.

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Image via Town of Vienna