TOD 205: Families And Transit-Oriented Development - Creating Complete Communities For All
June 21, 2012
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Why This Book?
Transit-oriented development can be used as a tool to support family-friendly communities and high-quality education. Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a mix of housing, retail and/or commercial development, and amenities in a walkable neighborhood with high-quality public transportation. Interest in TOD has grown across the country to achieve multiple goals, including:
Reduced automobile trips and greenhouse gas emissions;
Increased transit ridership and transit agency revenues;
The potential for increased and/or sustained property values near transit;
Improved access to jobs for households of all incomes;
Reduced infrastructure costs, compared to what is required to support sprawling growth;
Reduced transportation costs for residents;
Improved public health due to increased walking and biking;
Creation of a sense of community and place.
Recent TOD projects have often catered more to young professionals, empty nesters or other households without children, as these…
The Urban Future of Work
January 3, 2012|SPUR
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High unemployment rates and slow employment growth continue to threaten our economy. Once-successful sectors are in decline. Even the workplace itself is in transition. New technologies and ways of working have disrupted everything from the speed of a typical product cycle to the amount of real estate a company needs.
A Parking Utilization Survey of Transit-Oriented Development Residential Properties in Santa Clara County
November 1, 2010|Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
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This technical report is the outcome of a collaborative research effort between a transportation agency, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), and a graduate student research team at San José State University’s (SJSU) Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP). The focus of this research project is on parking utilization at transit‐oriented development (TOD) residential projects in the southern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area. The intent of this research is to determine actual parking utilization for residents of 12 housing developments near VTA light rail and Caltrain stations, and to compare usage to parking supply and local requirements at these locations. The project has yielded information useful to planning practitioners and academia alike. The study follows recent research within the Bay Area that demonstrates many TOD residential properties are “over‐parked” (Cervero 2009). Locally, the study provides evidence to VTA to help inform…
From Buses to BRT: Case Studies of Incremental BRT Projects in North America
June 1, 2010|Mineta Transportation Institute
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Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) uses different combinations of techniques to improve service, such as bus-only lanes and roads, pre-boarding fare collection, transit priority at traffic signals, stylish vehicles with extra doors, bus stops that are more like light rail stations, and high frequency service. This study examines five approaches to BRT systems as implemented by public transit agencies in California, Oregon, and Ontario.
Effect of Suburban Transit Oriented Developments on Residential Property Values
January 1, 2009|Mineta Transportation Institute
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The development of successful TODs often encounters several barriers. These barriers include: a lack of inter-jurisdictional cooperation, auto-oriented design that favors park and ride lot over ridership generating uses, and community opposition. The community opposition may be more vocal in suburban areas where residents of predominately single-family neighborhoods may feel that the proposed high-density, mixed-use TOD will bring noise, air pollution, increased congestion and crime into their area. Community opposition has been instrumental in stopping many TOD projects in the San Francisco Bay Area. While community opposition to TODs has been pronounced, very little empirical research exists that indicates whether this opposition is well-founded. Economic theory suggests that if a TOD has a negative effect on the surrounding residential neighborhoods, then that effect should lower land prices and in turn, the housing prices in these neighborhoods. Similarly, an increase in the…
Light Rail Transit Construction Impact Mitigation Strategies: Case Studies and Recommendations for the Central Corridor
December 21, 2007
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Introduction
The proposed Central Corridor Light Rail Transit (LRT) line stretching from downtown Minneapolis to downtown Saint Paul has the potential to revitalize the neighborhoods it passes through. Projected to carry nearly 43,270 passengers daily by the year 2030, the line is an opportunity for significant investment in the local economy through transportation infrastructure improvements. When completed, the increased mobility and accessibility along the corridor will provide opportunities for increased economic activity and provide existing businesses with the ability to reach new markets.
Many of the business owners along the corridor, however, are concerned about the negative impacts the construction process may bring. The proposed transit line is scheduled to begin a three year construction phase in 2010. Construction of light rail, like any large construction process, can significantly disrupt the normal business operations along a corridor. Potential impacts include the…
New Places, NewChoices: Transit-Oriented Development in the San Francisco Bay Area
November 1, 2006|Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)/ Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG)
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In this publication, we feature 10 representative transit-oriented developments that were recently built or are in the process of taking shape. We selected these to convey a sense of the diversity and appeal of this style of community-building enterprise, and to give an idea of why someone might choose to live or work in one of these locations. And, make no mistake, it’s the choosing that is most important. Notwithstanding all the substantial merits from a public policy point of view — transit- and land-use efficiency, air quality benefits, health advantages, energy savings and the like — TODs will succeed only when people freely choose to live in them. The urban and suburban dwellers who opt for TODs do so because the developments offer a practical, preferable, more environmentally friendly — and often more affordable — way to live and travel in our increasingly complex Bay Area.
Parking Policy For Transit-Oriented Development: Lessons for Cities, Transit Agencies, And Developers
January 1, 2005|Journal of Public Transportation, Vol. 8, No. 5, 2005
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Parking policy is an important element of transit-oriented development (TOD). It shapes travel behavior, community design, and development economics; it can improve the performance of both rail transit and TOD. This article is based on the study of residential TODs, office TODs, and joint development of transit agency station parking in California. The research includes surveys of travel behavior, stationarea characteristics, parking supply, interviews with real estate developers, and studies of replacement parking issues at joint development sites. Research results show that TOD parking supply and pricing policy seldom are structured to support transit ridership goals. Policy recommendations for improving parking policy for TODs are offered to transit agencies, cities, and developers.
TOD in the United States: The Experience with Light Rail
January 1, 2005|Parsons Brinkerhoff Planning and Transport Research Centre
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Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) has increasingly moved from a planning theory to built projects. Over 100 TODs and an additional 100 joint development projects currently exist in the United States. Over the past two decades an important trend has been occurring with TOD as a growing number of communities have married Light Rail Transit (LRT) and TOD as part of an integrated strategy to revitalize American cities. Along the way LRT has evolved to become both
a people moving and a community building strategy. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has come to recognize that link in elevating land use as an important consideration for New Starts recommendations. With the competition for federal funding at an all time high, land use can make a difference in which projects are recommended for federal funding. Yet transit adjacent, not transit-oriented development remains the norm in most communities.
a people moving and a community building strategy. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has come to recognize that link in elevating land use as an important consideration for New Starts recommendations. With the competition for federal funding at an all time high, land use can make a difference in which projects are recommended for federal funding. Yet transit adjacent, not transit-oriented development remains the norm in most communities.
Travel Characteristics of Transit-Oriented Development in California
January 1, 2004|Caltrans Transportation Grant "Statewide Planning Studies"
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This study provides a 2003 measurement of travel behavior in California TODs. It supports recent efforts to develop information and policy recommendations that enhance the effectiveness of TOD development. It builds upon previous studies conducted in the early 1990s, and examines a range of potential rail users—residents, office workers, hotel employees and patrons, and retail patrons. Survey sites are all located in non-CBD locations, are within walking distance of a transit station with rail service headways of 15 minutes or less, and were intentionally developed as TODs. Surveys were conducted along each of California’s major urban rail systems, including the San Diego Trolley, San Diego Coaster, Los Angeles Blue and Red Lines, Los Angeles Metrolink commuter rail, San Jose VTA light rail, Caltrain commuter rail, the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, and Sacramento Light Rail.
