Interest in connecting land use and transportation seen as key as communities plan for future growth
A
workshop
on local land-use
planning for regional transit was held
in
West
Chicago, a city that has begun to employ planning practices that
connect land use and transportation. The one-day workshop sponsored by the
American Planning Association was geared toward helping participants understand
the principles, options, and opportunities of transit-oriented development
(TOD). Three presenters were on-hand and provided participants with background,
examples and innovative uses of transit.
Steve Friedman, the lead
consultant for Metra’s STAR Line, provided background on TOD as a planning
concept, explaining that it consists of compact development within one-quarter
to one mile of a commuter rail station and includes mixed-use residential areas,
moderate density, and retail and service support. According to Friedman, the
market is supportive, and developers are vying to build near commuter stations.
Elburn Mayor James Wiley noted
that TOD boasts numerous public benefits: a convenient lifestyle, reduced
congestion, and an enhanced sense of community. Given the extension of Metra’s
Union Pacific West Line to Elburn, Mayor Wiley outlined the steps his community
is taking to foster this new development approach. Wiley noted that existing
zoning laws need revision for the incorporation of TOD principles.
Transit-oriented development will
become a major talking point as the Chicagoland region expands westward. In
small towns across
America
, there are shared concerns
that growth brings the loss of small town charm and values, traffic congestion,
overcrowding of schools, and over-taxation. This holds particularly true for
places like Elburn where growth is inevitable. The village’s embrace of TOD is
an effort to maintain the shared values of a volunteer-spirited,
hometown-atmosphere community.
Applying TOD principles may
nonetheless present challenges; change is a scary idea for many people. Yet any
changes proposed by TOD, ironically, serve to prevent the type of change people
do not want: sprawl, overcrowding and traffic congestion.
Following presentations by Mayor
Wiley and Steve Friedman, Victor Austin, of the Federal Transit Administration,
discussed the future of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and its connection to
TOD.
BRT is a complete
rapid transit system similar to light rail, which serves as a fast and
efficient transit option that is easy to implement
and
expand. Austin detailed examples
within
the U.S. where BRT is already in place,
such
as
Pittsburgh,
Penn.
and
Honolulu,
Hawaii
. This system can work either in
exclusive lanes or in general traffic. BRT vehicles are high-capacity, large
buses with easy boarding, and use environmentally-friendly fuels. In the case of
general traffic use, travel is expedited by a mechanism on the top of the bus
that communicates with traffic signals; a green light will stay green if a bus
is close enough. At BRT stations, intelligent transit systems (ITS) provide
real-time information about the location of buses, delays, and expected arrival.
Each
presenter emphasized the value of integrating transit and land-use planning,
contending that clustered development around transit stations will lead to
tremendous benefits for communities and the environment.