His energetic commitment to progressive transportation planning on a regional, national and local level includes work on the following projects: The Multi-State Transportation Corridor, a 1,200-mile corridor from Kansas City, MO, to Brunswick, GA, on which he was responsible for the coordination of traffic projections and preliminary alignment studies in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia; the Piedmont Triad Regional Transportation Study in North Carolina on which he served as managing principal; and many regional transportation plans, including Augusta, GA; Birmingham, AL; Baton Rouge, LA; Cincinnati, OH; Floyd County, GA; Gainesville-Hall County, GA; Han-cock Region (Findlay), OH; and Greene County, OH.  

John is most proud of his accomplishments on downtown revitalization in conjunction with many Main Street programs, including the National Main Street Center. He has taught many seminars for state Main Street Programs, including Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin as well as for the National Main Street Center in Washington, DC. He has also consulted on downtown revitalization in over 75 communities across the United States, including Anniston, AL; Athol, MA; Findlay, OH; Greenville, SC; Ipswich, MA; Medford, OR; Salisbury, NC; Sturgeon Bay, WI; and many others. 

He has served with many associations and on many boards, including the Atlanta Urban Design Commission, the Metropolitan Atlanta Transportation Improvements Council, the Georgia Scenic Highway Program, the Georgia Main Street Advisory Board and the Georgia Downtown Development Program. Some of John’s honors and awards include the Burton W. Marsh Distinguished Service Award; the Karl Bevins Distinguished Service Award; the Transportation Professional of the Year (1998); the Herman Hoose Distinguished Service Award; and the Marble Hensley Individual Activity Award. In 1999 the Georgia Section named an award—the John D. Edwards Individual Activity Award—in his honor. 

John has been active in ITE for a long time. His service includes: author of two chapters of the Traffic and Transportation Engineering Handbook (1976, 1982); editor of the Transportation Planning Handbook (1992); editor of the Transportation Planning Handbook (1999); Technical Council–Department 6–Transportation Planning (1970–1973); District 5 International Director (1973–1976); Chair of the Policy Committee (1983); International President (1985); and member of the Parking Task Force (1999).