How Transportation and Community Partnerships Are Shaping America

How Transportation and Community Partnerships are Shaping America

Project for Public Spaces, Inc.

Contents

2 Introduction

4 Rebuilding Neighborhoods, One Bus Stop at a Time Los Angeles, California Leimert Park Village North Hollywood

6 Merchants and Transit Agency Link Commuters and Commerce Woodbridge and Maplewood, New Jersey Woodbridge Station Maplewood Station

8 The Little Buses That Can — Shuttles Fight Sprawl and Congestion With Service Boulder and Durango, CO GO Boulder Durango LIFT

10 New Light Rail Stations Reveal Potential in Neglected Neighborhoods St. Louis, Missouri Wellston Station Delmar Station

12 Doing Development Differently as Light Rail Expands Portland, Oregon Jefferson Street Station “TileLink” community tile project, Delmar MetroLink Station, St. Louis: Orenco Station Artwork by Catharine Magel 14 Five Steps to Getting Started

Leimert Park Village landscapers with Bev Cashan, Executive Director, Leimert Park Village Community Development Corporation Introduction

Transit facilities… Concerns about livability are shared by A New Era for Transportation: every type of community, in inner cities, Partnerships Around Place and transporations small towns and rural areas. This booklet The case studies included in this booklet corridors… are explores how people in these communi- address how transportation partnerships ties are working in partnership with natural focal points are re-shaping America. Each of these transportation agencies on locally- partnerships relies upon the input of for communities. initiated projects and programs to create those who use and experience a place on transportation systems that enhance a places. While this booklet emphasizes regular basis. The focus is not only upon the direct relationship between communi- the bus stop, street, or station itself, but ty reinvigoration and community- on how these facilities connect to the supportive transit facilities, case studies surrounding districts and public spaces also demonstrate how the sympathetic and make these areas more economically design of roadways strengthens the stable, safe, and productive. connection between the two. Although these projects occur at Transit facilities, whether a simple the micro level, they are combating bus stop or a major train station, and macro-level problems by: transportation corridors, whether a main • Creating strong town and neighbor street or a boulevard, are natural focal hood centers that act as an antidote points for communities. To view them to sprawl; as catalysts for strengthening community life necessitates a shift from the way • Increasing transit ridership to reduce transportation has traditionally been con- dependency on driving and its ceived. In this more holistic, “place-mak- negative environmental impacts; ing” partnership approach, transit opera- • Reducing the need for costly tors, traffic engineers, residents, mer- investments in new public infra- In Somerville, Massachusetts, chants, property owners, city agencies, structure, such as highway subway construction was fol- planners, architects, and developers, as construction and roadway widening; lowed by streetscape improve- well as community and faith-based organ- ments, traffic calming measures • Guiding private sector development and an influx izations are demonstrating that through in a more sustainable, transit- of new businesses which has these partnerships, they can bring togeth- supportive way. revived Davis Square and made er the goals of transportation agencies and the livability goals of communities. it a livability community. Transportation partnerships, therefore, not only provide an opportunity to pool resources and share responsibility for implementation, but create a mechanism to address broader “quality of life” issues. This place-making process is unlike the more typical approach to planning, whereby separate design profes- sionals and city agencies carry out their own isolated schemes, with little aware- ness about where these projects may lead.

Working Incrementally Place-making is rarely accomplished through a single, large-scale construction project. In fact, many places are successfully improved in a very short period of time with low- cost design changes. The short-term projects featured in this book- 2 let took between two and twelve months to implement, yet they are not interim partnerships established to help maintain Place-making calls solutions. Rather they are stepping and manage a facility, the extent of its stones within the context of a larger plan, impact on the economic vitality of its adja- for new ways of serving as catalysts for productive cent commercial districts, and the degree measuring the success change, while providing immediate to which a facility functions as a commu- enhancement for communities. nity gateway. of transportation The successes achieved by the case facilities. Measuring Success studies presented in this booklet are Place-making also calls for new ways directly attributable to the skill and of measuring the success of transporta- effectiveness of the partnerships tion facilities. In the case of streets, suc- established to carry them out. These case cess studies highlight specific projects that is measured based upon how well addressed different transportation and pedestrians, bicycles, autos, and transit livability concerns in a variety of are accommodated and the extent to communities and among different which a street reflects, preserves, and constituencies. Reading about these real enhances a community’s unique personali- success stories will inspire transportation ty and is supportive of local businesses officials and their many existing and and residents. Transit service itself should potential partners to pursue, with fresh not be evaluated only in terms of system conviction, the true potential that our ridership and on-time performance, but nation’s transportation systems and according to the number of community facilities offer to the communities they serve.

Portions of this booklet were excerpted and adapted from the following publication: The Role of Transit In Creating Livable Metropolitan Communities (TCRP Report 22), Transit Cooperative Research Program, National Academy Press, Washington, DC (1997). It contains more information about the following case studies: Woodbridge, NJ; the NJ Transit Station Renewal Program; GOBoulder, Boulder, CO; LANI, Los Angeles, CA; Wellston Station, Wellston, MO; and the “place-making” approach to transportation planning.

3 Los Angeles, California Rebuilding Neighborhoods, One Bus Stop at a Time

hung colorful banners, redesigned their Project Partners n the wake of the civil unrest that streets to be more pedestrian-friendly, Federal Agencies gripped Los Angeles in April 1992, and revitalized vacant lots as parks and Transit Agencies Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan I community gathering places. As these County Governments launched the Los Angeles Neighborhood groups have matured, most have suc- Initiative (LANI), a grassroots program City Governments cessfully leveraged additional funding to designed to restore people’s sense of Mayors make longer-term improvements and ownership over their neighborhood Downtown Associations and become permanent organizations for commercial districts. LANI focuses on Chambers of Commerce community revitalization. developing community plans for Local Businesses LANI also helps put community plans neighborhood main streets, beginning into action by streamlining the govern- Community and Non-Profit with pragmatic improvements to areas Organizations mental approval process to reduce delay adjacent to bus stops and rail stations. and bureaucratic frustration. As a result, They realized that transit stops can LANI groups have been able to work as also function as focal points for partners with city, state and county agen- shopping, community, economic, cies to make these projects a reality. In and social activities. addition, LANI staff uses their knowledge “What makes LANI In each of the twelve LANI neighbor- and influence to assemble resources from hoods, a local organization is given a work is the fact that, to multiple federal, state, city, and private grant to develop a bus stop area plan, sources and pass them through to proj- the greatest extent and responsibility for the grant’s ects planned by local communities. possible, we give con- administration. LANI then helps these organizations to evolve a trol and funding to the shared vision for their community to actually neighborhood. The members of these realize its vision. It’s organizations, which not just a plan that sits include local residents, businesses, and communi- on a shelf.” ty groups, have planted —Joyce Perkins, trees, installed and paint- LANI Executive Director ed new streetlights,

Locally owned businesses sport new flower

“Without LANI, we would not have gone as far or as fast as we have. LANI was the wheel that started everything turning — not only at the beginning, but on an ongoing basis.”

—Beverly Cashen, Executive Director of the Leimert Park Village Community Development Corporation Leimert Park Village with new bus shelter 4 North Hollywood Transit Art Park - after with Pitfire Pizza

Leimert Park Village North Hollywood “What LANI Leimert Park Village, built in the 1920s as For years, the old downtown of North taught us was that a planned community, is emerging as one Hollywood had been reinventing itself as of Los Angeles’ premier African-American an arts and theater district, but progress if you make small cultural centers and commercial districts, was slow. Leave it to a creative communi- demonstrative and and is home to over 125 businesses. The ty to jump-start the process by transform- park at the center of the village holds ing a bus stop on a vacant lot into a quick improvements more festivals than any other in the city “Transit Art Park.” in an area, it unites of Los Angeles. However, since the once- The North Hollywood Community charming village center had deteriorated Forum (NHCF), which grew out of the the community and throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, North Hollywood LANI community group, generates the kind of Leimert Park Village was selected as one has: of LANI”s initial demonstration projects. • Transformed a city-owned vacant lot spirit you need to Under the LANI initiative, the that only had a “stick in the ground” move further.” community has: with a sign identifying it as a bus • Planted trees and flowers; stop, by adding grass, trees, an art- — Ken Banks, poster-adorned information kiosk, Director of the North Hollywood • Installed banners and decorative trash Community Forum receptacles throughout the village; and a new bus shelter; • Added three bus shelters with • Sublet the park from the Community matching benches and a transit Redevelopment Agency to a new information center; restaurant that moved into a building facing the Transit Art Park; • Received a $250,000 grant from the Community Redevelopment Agency • Received $60,000 in additional park (CRA) for facade restoration; landscaping and design improve ments for the park from the restau • Attracted $285,000 from the CRA rant, which also maintains the park. for streetscape improvements, including a “Jazz Walk of Fame;” As a result of the ongoing efforts of • Enacted an assessment of property the NHCF, the number of commercial owners to pay for additional street vacancies in the area adjacent to the park lighting throughout the village; has fallen by 30 percent, eight new busi- Contact • Worked with the Los Angeles nesses have been attracted to the imme- Joyce Perkins Department of Recreation and Parks diate vicinity, and over $500,000 has Los Angeles Neighborhood on a $600,000 restoration of Leimert been invested in the properties adjacent Initiative Park. to Transit Art Park. 818 West Seventh Street Suite 930 The Leimert Park Village Community Los Angeles, CA 90017- Development Corporation, a permanent 3432 non-profit organization that evolved out of Ph: (213) 922-9151 the original LANI group, is now spear- Fax: (213) 922-9152 heading continuing revitalization efforts.

5 Woodbridge and Merchants and Transit Agency Link Commuters and Commerce Maplewood, New Jersey

Project Partners ly—the management of these commuter all it an epiphany, or just a good rail Transit Agencies idea, but it came upon the state stations; to serve passengers more State/County Transportation transportation organization all at C effectively; and to promote both public Officials once, and with great force. Fifteen years transit and economic development in the City Governments ago, officials at New Jersey Transit communities in which the stations are (NJT) and the New Jersey Department Mayors located. NJT is in the process of expand- of Transportation made the connection Downtown Associations and ing this program into the Model Stations between healthy transit systems and Chambers of Commerce and Shelters Initiative, which will target 50 healthy downtowns. Local Businesses stations and bus facilities for renewal and Although many towns in New Jersey Community and Non-Profit upgrade in its first year. are graced with centrally-located 19th Organizations The place-making approach, as century train stations, after years of developed with Project for Public Spaces, neglect, many of these station buildings is now a common practice at NJT. were no longer lovely, and their It consists of: decay was not only hurting transit ridership, but was prov- J Meetings with NJT management; ing detrimental to New Jersey’s J Detailed observations of passenger downtowns as well. In partner- use of rail stations; ship with Project for Public J Surveys of train passengers; Spaces, Inc., NJT has been J Interviews with nearby retailers; experimenting successfully with a place-making approach, based J Studies of passenger waiting and upon the belief that circulation; stations function as community J Community meetings with local places as well as transportation residents, merchants, and city facilities. representatives. Five train stations of Through this process, a clear picture of varying size, ridership levels, how each station is used and perceived and rider demographics were evolves; participants identify their most selected for the first phase of pressing needs and concerns and make Before - Pearl Street Entrance, the suggestions for improvements to station NJ Transit Woodbridge Train Station Renewal Program. Station buildings and adjacent area; and commu- Its goals were to improve the condition, nities share responsibility for designing appearance, use, and—most important-

“This train station is about the public, about our citizens; it is about using our train sation to attract people to our downtown community.” —James McGreevey, Mayor, Woodbridge Township

6 After, NJ Transit Woodbridge Train Station “What we did differently with this project was to look at these stations as a part of their communities.” —Rick Richmond, Assistant Executive Director, New Jersey Transit Department of Engineering

Maplewood Station and implementing station improvements rated the same design features into the as well as for ongoing maintenance and station. Now that the station is rebuilt, management of stations and adjacent the merchants association collects park- public spaces. ing fees and oversees maintenance of the Woodbridge Station station area to make sure it stays clean Sorely in need of work, the train station in and attractive. Woodbridge was little more than a graffiti- filled, dimly lit tunnel through the side of a Maplewood Station railroad viaduct at the edge of downtown. When NJT seeks to attract vendors and Design improvements focused on ele- businesses to locate inside its stations, it ments that would enhance the looks first to businesses in the immediate presence of the station and link it to the vicinity or to small vendors who are given surrounding area: the opportunity to market goods and serv- • Clear directional signage; ices, or try out new product lines. At the Maplewood Station, the Maplewood • New entrance canopies; Concierge Company offers the services • Dedicated “kiss n’ ride” drop-off and products of nearly 70 local business- areas; es — everything from car repair to take • Two retail kiosks flanking the main home dinners — to the 2,000 commuters entrance; who leave before and return after busi- • An artist-created station map showing ness hours everyday. NJT worked with transit, business, and cultural informa- the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce to tion. convince area merchants to buy shares in the for-profit concierge company. NJT painted “Welcome to Customers place orders in the morning, Maplewood Concierge Company Woodbridge” on the trestle over Main in person or by fax, and pick up their orders Street, in colors and typeface matching in the evening at the train station, for retail those used by the Downtown Woodbridge cost plus a 10% surcharge. Service Merchants Association; the sign also providers, such as accountants, insurance directs people to the station and its park- agents, and housing contractors, advertise through the concierge service. ing lots. Contact Transit agencies from other parts of While planning work was underway, L. Richard Mariani New Jersey, as well as Chicago, the merchants association was creating a New Jersey Transit Baltimore, and even Tokyo and Berlin, special improvement district to implement Headquarters streetscape enhancements. NJT incorpo- have expressed interest in starting their One Penn Plaza own version of the Maplewood Concierge Newark, NJ 07105-2246 Company. Ph: (973) 491-7208 Fax: (973) 491-7352 E-mail: [email protected]

7 Boulder and Durango, The Little Buses That Can: Colorado Shuttles Fight Sprawl and Congestion with Service

Project Partners ot since the Gold Rush has with a “transit- Federal Agencies Colorado faced an influx of forward” strategy. Transit Agencies Nprospectors as large as the tens GO Boulder City Governments of thousands of families who are moving In order to maintain its reputation as one Downtown Associations and to the Rocky Mountain State to take of America’s most livable communities in Chambers of Commerce advantage of its combination of jobs, the face of intense development, the Traffic Engineers scenery, open space, and recreational Boulder City Council created GO Boulder, a city agency devoted specifically to pro- Local Businesses opportunities. But Colorado towns are learning that growth has a price in moting transportation alternatives. In Community and Non-Profit terms of congestion, sprawl, and pollu- 1994, the new agency began developing Organizations tion, a price that can best be combated a master plan aimed at shifting, by the year 2010, 15 percent of automobile trips that people make alone to transit, bikes and foot. However, the plan required a tax to fund it; an unpopular ref- erendum that failed the same year. The city regrouped and, in 1996, developed a new strategy that relied only upon its regularly appropriated budget. The strategy ensured that transit routes served the most popular destinations city- wide; improved the design and comfort of the buses; and made service more direct and frequent. An additional goal was to maintain automobile traffic at 1994 levels. These revamped services are called the HOP, SKIP and JUMP: • The HOP is a bus that follows a route connecting the town’s three major activity centers: the downtown business district, the University of

HOP Shuttle

“After the failure of the transit tax incentive in 1994, citizens and staff realized that the only way to achieve our transit goal and raise the money necessary to implement it was to increase ridership purely on the basis of innovation.” — Penny Puskarich, GO Boulder’s Transit Projects Coordinator

GO Boulder Poster 8 Colorado’s (CU) main campus, and a major retail area. The shuttle is dramatically different than anything Boulder residents had seen before. Instead of traditional 40-foot diesel buses, the HOP is a small, brightly- colored shuttle, which comes every six minutes, not every fifteen, and burns clean, low-sulfur, diesel fuel. • SKIP is a high-frequency bus route that serves the Broadway corridor, a busy artery connecting Boulder’s northern- and southern-most neighborhoods and the commercial centers A Durango LIFT shuttle in between. A partnership between the university and the city keeps the P.O. Box 791 “My hope is that LIFT buses running until 3 a.m. when Boulder, CO 80306 school is in session; the university Ph: (303) 441-3266 will spur the creation covers the cost of the night service. Fax: (303) 441-4271 of a regional transit E-Mail: [email protected] • JUMP, a high-frequency, high-volume Durango LIFT system for bus service slated to commence operation in 2000, will connect the Although it serves only the 17,000 western Colorado.” cities of Boulder and Lafayette with residents and students of Durango, the —Jan Choti, high-frequency transit for the first Durango LIFT logged an astonishing Durango LIFT’s Executive Director time. 220,000 transit trips in 1998. Incredibly, passengers paying the 50 cent fare enjoy GO Boulder also developed unlimited- “route deviation service,” meaning buses access transit passes that are purchased will drop off or pick up passengers at a discount by employers (the “ECO anywhere along designated bus routes. Pass”) and student organizations (the CU The LIFT is a small “feeder and loop” bus pass) on an annual basis for all system, comprised of seven mini-buses employees and students. Their price was and three trolleys. Like GO Boulder’s HOP based on a “revenue-neutral” goal in and SKIP services, a college pays for which revenue from the group pass pro- evening service during the school year. gram equals Other partnerships with organizations and previous farebox revenue from the same businesses have contributed dramatically market. to LIFT’s ridership. For example, down- The results of the program have town businesses buy transit tokens from been substantial: studies have revealed banks at a discount and give them out to an increase of up to 300% in ridership their customers to ride the trolley, or feed among groups using the bus passes; parking meters. officials estimate that HOP and SKIP The disabled and senior communities provide service to well over two million also partner with LIFT to ensure that bus riders a year, making them the most routes serve the destinations these riders productive routes in Boulder. Three- need to access most — senior apartment and-a-half years after it began, HOP complexes, hospitals, grocery stores, etc. welcomed its three-millionth rider. The LIFT also operates an Opportunity According to GO Boulder’s Penny Bus, which provides door-to-door service Puskarich, “From traffic counts over the Durango LIFT brochure to those who are physically incapable of past three years, trends indicate that we using the regular service. are beginning to achieve our goals, with Because LIFT generates only 10-12 vehicle miles traveled leveling off.” percent of its $600,000 annual budge Contact: Contact: from fares and advertising, the city coun- Jan Choti cil covers the balance. This commitment Durango LIFT Penny Puskarich alone demonstrates how much the city 949 Second Avenue City of Boulder values the service that LIFT provides to Durango, CO 81301-5109 Department of Public Works, its many transit dependent citizens. Transportation Ph: (970) 385-2889 1739 Broadway, 2nd Floor Fax: (970) 385-7547 E-Mail: [email protected] 9 St. Louis, Missouri New Light Rail Stations Reveal Potential in Neglected Neighborhoods

Project Partners ho’s going to ride the train Community development opportuni- Federal Agencies from East St. Louis to ties became more visible once MetroLink Transit Agencies “W Lambert Airport?” was prob- was up and running: people noticed a ably the most frequently heard question lack of clear and convenient linkages State/County Transportation Officials throughout the planning, design and between the light rail stations and the construction of St. Louis’ $353 million communities immediately adjacent. MPOs MetroLink light rail system. However, Although successful as a transportation County Governments three short days after its opening on July entity, this brand City Governments 31, 1993, over 180,000 St. Louisans had new system needed to become more already done just that. community- friendly. As people discov- Mayors Like many transit agencies in the late ered the potential for local revitalization Developers and Homebuilders 1980s, the Bi-State Development Agency and redevelopment, a second level of Downtown Associations and (BSDA), St. Louis’s regional transit partnerships, aimed at retrofitting the Chambers of Commerce authority, was fighting declining market stations, began to take shape. Traffic Engineers share and declining revenues. The Local Businesses agency decided to take a new tack, and crafted a 25-year transportation plan to Community and Non-Profit Organizations link the entire metropolitan area. The keys to this re-direction were partnerships and a new way of seeing its passengers “MetroLink is the — as clients and customers. The agency began by forging reason all of this alliances with businesses, both large and change is happening small, civic associations, the university community, media, and all levels of in our community. government. A key partner at the start It is not only helping of the MetroLink project was Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT), a grassroots to bring development organization which instituted a speaker’s to this area, it is bureau to educate future passengers about light rail; met with communities making it an absolutely along the route; obtained railroad rights- beautiful place.” of-way and money to fund planning studies; and worked with BSDA to raise over Wagner Electric Factory reborn as —Emma Warren, $750,000 in private funds to support the Wellston resident and The Cornerstone Partnership community leader MetroLink marketing effort. BSDA also established the Arts in Transit program which facilitated artist involvement in the design of MetroLink and supported collaboration to enhance the transit system through public art and community development initiatives.

Wagner Electric Factory - Before Wellston MetroLink Platform 10 “Everything came together on Delmar Boulevard to try things a new way.” —Joe Ebert, Traffic engineer with the City of St. Louis

Wellston Station Delmar Station 5800 Block of Delmar Boulevard Proposed design (above) and Existing The MetroLink station in Wellston, a Residents of the Skinker-DeBaliviere streets (below) small, primarily African-American neighborhood were concerned municipality surrounded by the City about their main street, Delmar of St. Louis, was adjacent to a 24-acre Boulevard, long before MetroLink decaying industrial site where an 11-year appeared, and had taken several old child had been murdered only months steps to lure desired businesses after the station opened. This combina- to the area. However, the wide tion of events focused public attention commercial street and fast-mov- on the site, which had been deeded to ing traffic continued to be dan- St. Louis County in 1983. The county gerous to pedestrians. responded by: In 1996, the community partici- • Devising a redevelopment plan for pated in a visioning charrette in this area that would be initiated by conjunction with BSDA, Arts in the transformation of a factory build- Transit, and nearby Washington ing into a state-of-the-art industrial University, to develop a training and education center, as well cohesive plan for the Delmar MetroLink as a job placement center; station. Funded by pooling grants from BSDA, the City of St. Louis and a • Co-funding the design and construc- bordering municipality, University City, a tion of a childcare center adjacent to comprehensive plan for the boulevard the station, funded in part by the and station was developed. Federal Transit Administration (FTA); Joe Ebert, traffic engineer with the • Providing support to the newly City of St. Louis, found that there was formed Wellston Redevelopment excess capacity on the roadway, and that Corporation, which plans to facilitate it could be narrowed to one lane in each major industrial and residential devel- direction with on-street parking, without opment—including new housing con- creating congestion. This created the struction—and land assembly to opportunity to attract new businesses and attract developers. pedestrian activity by adding streetscape features, including: BSDA and the Arts in Transit pro- • Bricked crosswalks, planted medians, gram continue to work with the communi- and neckdowns at intersections to ty to implement a wide range of site improve pedestrian safety and improvements, public art, and streetscape access; enhancements surrounding the station to create safer, more attractive pedestrian • Widened sidewalks with improved Contact: connections, and to facilitate improved lighting, landscaping and public art to vehicle access to the area. attract new businesses and shoppers; Sarah Smith • Construction of a transit plaza at the Arts in Transit Delmar MetroLink station to serve 707 North Street passengers transferring between rail St.Louis, MO 63102 and bus. Ph: (314) 982-1413 Fax: (314) 982-1470 Construction is scheduled to begin in E-Mail: [email protected] the fall of 1999. 11 Portland, Oregon Doing Development Differently as Light Rail Expands

Project Partners espite its international reputation Federal Agencies as a livable city, when Portland, Transit Agencies DOregon built its first “MAX” State/County Transportation (Metropolitan Area Express) light rail line, Officials transit stops were often located in MPOs unfriendly territory, such as on highway County Governments medians and below underpasses, hardly City Governments the best way to build a new community or nurture a sense of place. With the new Mayors 18-mile MAX on the city’s west side, Developers and Homebuilders Portland is doing things differently. Jefferson Street Station Traffic Engineers The Westside MAX connects several Community and Non-Profit outlying suburbs with downtown Portland, Jefferson Street Station Organizations and is located along some The site of the Jefferson Street light rail relatively undeveloped areas — creating station in Portland’s Goose Hollow laboratories, in effect, for the dense, neighborhood is owned by Tri-Met and pedestrian-focused development that was home to two treasured historic trees. fulfills Metro’s transit-supportive livability Saving the trees was a prerequisite for goals, while adding more main streets to the neighborhood to accept more dense the Portland landscape. But there is a housing adjacent to the light rail station. catch: Tri-Met does not have land-use But the grassroots group in Goose Hollow authority over most sites that adjoin its pushed for more. Tri-Met convened a light rail stations— local municipalities Local Development Committee comprised control station-area development. Even of representatives from the city of when Tri-Met owns the occasional parcel Portland Planning Bureau, the neighbor- next to a station, they undertake develop- hood, and the transit agency, which Arbor Vista Condos ment based upon the community’s vision. designed the entire plan for all three Success, therefore, depends upon local parcels next to the station before a support for regional goals. developer was even chosen for the project. “We see our role Each of the seven communities along To determine whom potential as staying in the the Westside line received support from a homebuyers might be, the committee pool of funds contributed by Metro (the hired consultants to conduct in-depth background, while the regional government), Tri-Met, Oregon’s interviews as part of the market research community figures out Department of Transportation, and the for the project. Then they hired an communities themselves, to hire or fund architect to design the buildings for the what will work given planners to create station-area plans that site, based on the community’s plan, and its specific situation. balance local needs and goals with obtained design approval and unanimous regional objectives. By accepting these endorsement by the neighborhood Then we can modify funds, the communities agree to share association. Only then were the results our plans to reinforce information and adopt transit-supportive incorporated into a bid package used to zoning on a negotiated schedule. select the developer. This made it community objectives possible for the developer to focus on as needed.” implementing the best possible product, rather than struggling to obtain communi- —G.B. Arrrington, Jr., Director of Strategic Planning, ty consensus on the plan itself. Tri-Met This committee process proved so successful that Tri-Met is now using it for the development of other building projects.

12 Arbor Vista rendering “We needed leeway to produce a community with a strong enough sense of place to entice people out of their cars. The city agreed, allowing us to use ‘design, not formula.’” —Mike Mehaffy, Project Manager, PacTrust

Orenco

Orenco Station The residents of a historic 24-block neigh- who worked on the station area plan “was borhood in the city of Hillsboro feared a community with a rail stop as the focus negative traffic impacts on their communi- of pedestrian routes, services and public ty from the proposed Orenco MAX activities.” Mike Mehaffy of PacTrust Station. Tri-Met agreed to move the sta- credits the plan’s richness in part to the tion 600 feet, adjacent to a vacant 190- city’s willingness, even eagerness, to acre industrial site owned by the develop- allow for innovations such as setting er PacTrust. In order to justify homes close to the street, and having two the provision of transit service, Tri-Met smaller parks rather than one central one. required that the site be densely devel- Construction began in 1997, and oped with pedestrian-oriented uses. PacTrust reports that sales and leasing The city of Hillsboro stepped in and are very strong. established a one-half mile special over- The final plan for the town center lay district to allow for residential and incorporates: commercial uses on the site. • 80,000 square feet of retail with Familiar with and in support of second floor residential and live-work Metro’s Region 2040 Plan, which requires units along a pedestrian-friendly, that development taking place within tree-lined street just up from the MAX Portland’s Urban Growth Boundary be station; transit-supportive, PacTrust (in collaboration with a residential developer, Costa • 400 single-family townhomes and View of Orenco from Station Platform Pacific Homes) agreed to develop the cottages; parcel according to Tri-Met’s objectives, • 1400 apartments; even though it was a significant deviation • Two public parks; Contact: from their traditional commercial • Public artworks. Kim Knox development strategy. To plan this proj- Tri-Met ect, PacTrust joined with local residents When Orenco Station won the 1999 710 NE Holladay Street and representatives of various city, Master Planned Community of the Year Portland, OR 97232 regional and county public agencies, Award from the National Association of Ph: (503) 962-2160 including Tri-Met and Metro. “What Home Builders, PacTrust asked that the Fax: (503) 239-2281 emerged,” explains planner Rajiv Batra, city be named co-recipient of the award. E-Mail: [email protected]

13 What Next? Five Steps to Getting Started

ere are a few ideas to get you 3. Develop a shared vision for the started on a place-making trans- project. Address the future needs of portation program and to help the community and of the transporta- H tion agency; and specify short- and you generate your own transportation and community partnerships: longer-term goals, immediate actions steps, and additional partners. Seek 1. Go out “into the field.” Take a walk ways to solve problems, overcome around the community. Visit transit and obstacles, and innovate and identify a transportation facilities and observe range of funding sources that may be what kinds of activities occur there. available to the community or to the Talk to people, and ask them what transportation agency. works and what doesn’t work about 4. Get started. Implement some the place. Listen to their suggestions. short-term projects by experimenting Through this process, you will develop with low-cost improvements. a better understanding about how a Collaboratively plan special events, place operates and how it can be cleanups, and beautification projects, improved. and make simple physical improve- 2. Seek out partners. If you are with a ments to transportation facilities, transportation agency, reach out to streets, and the areas adjacent to community organizations, businesses, them. Invite the public to help. and local officials to elicit their ideas 5. Keep the big picture in mind. Make and opinions - and support. If you are more major changes using short-term with a community organization, get in projects as stepping stones. Use the touch with the staff of your transporta- partnership as a mechanism for tion or transit agency. Invite them for a addressing the broader livability tour or site visit of an existing or pro- and environmental concerns of the posed project. Discuss ways of work- community. ing together to plan, design, and implement a project.

E Street Before

A traffic calming demon- stra†ion project on E Street transformed the southern edge of a new central square into a more lively commercial street. San Bernardino, CA

14 E Street with angled parking Jazz Festival and Market NJ Transit Station East Orange,NJ

15 For More Information

Credits The following reports are available through: The Role of Transit In Creating American Public Transit Association Livable Metropolitan Communities (TCRP 1201 New York Avenue, NW Report 22), Transit Cooperative Research Washington, DC 20005 Program, National Academy Press, Ph: (202) 898-4000 Washington, DC (1997). Fax: (202) 898-4070 www.apta.com About the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) TCRP serves as one of the principal means by which the transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet demands placed on it. TCRP was established in 1992 and is a cooperative program among the Federal Transit Administration, the Transportation Research Board, and the Transit Development Corporation, Inc.

About Project for Public Spaces, Inc. Project for Public Spaces, Inc. (PPS) is a non-profit corporation specializing in the planning, design and management of public spaces. Founded in 1975, PPS has completed projects in over 850 communities throughout the United States and Project for Public Spaces, Inc.: abroad and has become widely known for The Role of Transit In Creating its innovative approach to public space Livable Metropolitan Communities planning and community revitalization that (TCRP Report 22), Transit Cooperative focuses on the behavior, expressed Research Program, National Academy needs and collaborative envisioning of Press, Washington, DC (1997). community members. The Role of Transit in Creating Livable Project for Public Spaces, Inc. Metropolitan Communities, a nine-minute 153 Waverly Place companion video to the book. New York, NY 10014 Ph: (212) 620-5660 Transit-Friendly Streets: Design and Fax: (212) 620-3821 Traffic Management Strategies to Support E-Mail: [email protected] Livable Communities (TCRP Report 33), www.pps.org Transit Cooperative Research Program, National Academy Press, Washington, All photos @Project for Public Space, Inc. DC (1998). unless otherwise noted The Transit Amenity Handbook and The Transit Design Game Workbook (TCRP Report 46), Transit Cooperative Research Program, National Academy Press, Washington, DC (available Fall 1999).