G R E A T P L A C E S W I T H T R A N S I T

DELAWARE VALLEY Winter 2000 – 2001 REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

We will propose solutions. We will present In This Issue About This Newsletter case studies of success. We will also report on what is happening in this region and About This Newsletter across the nation. Communities have been clustered around Station Area Study for Schuylkill transportation since the beginning of time. One thing is certain: Creating great places Valley Metro Stage coach stops, train stations and trolley with transit as a real estate trend is building stops all inspired town building. Many of the momentum in unlikely places – Salt Lake City, Phoenixville: area ’ s greatest places were UT; Denver, CO; Houston, TX – areas that Model Transit-Oriented Development co n s t r ucted around transit: the Main Line, have been known to be rife with sprawling, Chestnut Hill, Swarthmore, Doylestown and out-of-control development for decades. But Rail-Volution 2000: Center City, just to name a few. it’s no accident. In places such as these, A Four-Day Conference on Building transit-oriented development (TOD) is a matter Livable Communities with Transit This newsletter, Great Places with Transit, of regional and local policy. Specific prog r a m s is intended to feature local and regional have been established, and funds are flowing efforts to revive the lost art of creating these to facilitate new development in support of places. Society has experimented for more transit and vice versa. than 50 years with neglecting transit and investing overwhelmingly in auto-dependent Will the Philadelphia region join the pack? Stay tuned. ––– Patrick Starr What is Transit-Oriented communities. The consequence is sprawl, the symptom is congestion and the legacy is PEC Regional Director Development? places that Americans love to hate, as poll after poll has confirmed. Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Station Area Study for is mixed-use development consisting Americans love vibrant towns with sidewalks of homes, offices, shops, parks or Schuylkill Valley Metro filled with people to watch, stores to browse community facilities that have in and lots going on. We love to vacation convenient access to a transit line. in places that have these qualities, such as The agencies and stakeholders behind a Cape May, NJ; New Hope, PA; Annapolis, st a t i o n - a r ea planning and zoning study for the MD; and Celebration, FL. So, why doesn’t Schuylkill Valley Metro (SVM) – the prop o s e d the “marketplace” build more communities like fast train line that would carry 50,000 these? passengers a day between Reading and Philadelphia by 2007 – have begun a key Building great places isn’t easy. Building planning phase that emphasizes the input of great places with transit can be even trickier. community rep r esentatives in developing area s There are several institutional and perceptual of transit-oriented development (TOD). barriers: restrictive zoning, lack of financing, conflicting inter-governmental regulation and The Delaware Valley Regional Planning citizen hostility based on erroneous notions Commission, SEPTA and BARTA, Berks, about aspects of transit-friendly development Chester and Montgomery Counties, the City and what is good for the environment. of Philadelphia, the Environ m e n t a l Council and the Reinvestment Fund are G R E AT PLACES W I T H This newsletter will focus on these issues and pa r tners in a two-year study that will explore set the record straight. We will examine the how the 62-mile SVM would best serve TRANSIT barriers. We will report on research findings. municipalities along its rou t e . (Continued on page 2) 2

SE P T A Adopts MetroRail for Schuylkill Valley Metro

After much debate over the various options available for the prop o s e d Schuylkill Valley Metro line, SEPTA has selected "MetroRail", a system that combines some of the features of traditional commuter rail with fe a t u r es of light rail. The MetroR a i l system was chosen over six other plans for the new train line, which was recently approved by SEPTA’s bo a r d; construction is slated to begin in 2003.

Me t r oRail uses environ m e n t a l l y friendly electric cars that can run on The proposed route and station stops of the Schuylkill Valley Metro, a new train line that would the same tracks as freight, Regional run from Philadelphia to Berks County. Rail and trains and thus use the existing Center City Regional Rail (Station Area Study, continued from page 1) tunnel, allowing access to 30th Five station areas were selected for the study, St r eet, Suburban and Market East and a consultant team has been retained to Phoenixville: Stations. The cars are heavy and work with these communities to adopt zoning cr a s h - r esistant and have high that supports TODs around the stations. These Model Transit-Oriented pl a t f o r ms to make boarding easier economically vibrant areas would Development and wheelchair-accessible. Faster radiate from five Metro stations: 52nd Street and cleaner than traditional in Philadelphia; Port Kennedy and Pottstown di e s e l - p o w e r ed trains, the MetroR a i l in Montgomery County; Phoenixville in Chester The borough of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, in system also has the highest estimated County; and Douglassville in Berks County. Chester County may be the new “hot” ridership of the seven types of development site of the 21st century. The train service that were considered Community task forces will play a crucial rol e fu t u r e locations of new homes, retail and for the SVM. in planning and implementing TODs around of fice spaces lie not on the outskirts of the the SVM stations. Comprised of local elected bo r ough, but downtown. On the site of the The SVM, which will extend from of ficials, planners, business people and fo r mer Phoenix Iron and Steel Works, the Philadelphia to Reading in Berks rep r esentatives of economic development Fr ench Creek Center is planned to be a large Co u n t y , would replace SEPTA’s R6 agencies and neighborhood groups, the task mixed-use infill development adjacent to a line between Center City and fo r ces will brainstorm ideas about station area pr oposed train station on the SVM and No r ristown, running every 15 design and function, discuss transit-related issues bo rd e r ed by the French Creek — a model minutes during peak hours and and formally review developing plans. The goal TO D . ev e r y 30 minutes off- p e a k . of this collaborative effo r t is to educate ta s k Commuters would be able to travel fo r ce members so that they, rather than planners In the late 1980s, Phoenixville exemplified to from Reading and developers, can advocate for the prop o s e d the post-industrial age of the Rust Belt. The mill, in 83 minutes, from Phoenixville to zoning amendments in their communities. situated at the center of town, had sat dorma n t Manayunk in 29 minutes, and from since 1991. As downtown retail was faltering King of Prussia to Market East With input from communities and guidance and prop e r ty values were falling, neglect Station in 43 minutes. ■ fr om experts involved in the station-area planning began to mar some of the attractive residential and zoning study, it is hoped that the SVM may districts — especially the North Side. G R E AT PLACES W I T H one day serve as a prototype for transit systems Meanwhile, other development had boomed th r oughout both the region and the state that all around the borough. Pharma c e u t i c a l TRANSIT will facilitate TODs and help battle sprawl. ■ he a d q u a r ters had been built nearby at US (Continued on page 3) As the real estate market heated up in the The January 2000 presentation was a grea t 1990s, rumors of likely redevelopment on success, as borough officials saw their desires the Iron Works site began to circulate. The incorporated and concerns addressed. Central 3 Phoenix Prop e r ty Group, a new owner in to the new plan was the integration of the 1999, proposed a suburban-style corporate development with an attractive transit station, (Phoenixville, continued from page 2) of fice park, a long-stay apartment complex the dedication of 39 acres of parkland along Route 422 and PA Route 29, and suburban-style townhouses on 120 acres . the French Creek, and careful connection to while large, national retail stores Bo r ough leadership felt that the plan did not the downtown and newly res t o r ed Phoenix we r e built in adjacent Schuylkill match their vision for downtown Phoenixville’s Ir on Works Foundry Building. Tow n s h i p . reb i r th, and tensions began to rise. At a special planning commission meeting, Ho w e v e r , a burst of civic energy , Late in 1999, the Chester County 2020 the developer proposed a unified development sparked in part by Chester County’s Trust, an organization that is committed master plan and a zoning ordinance. This Landscapes 2020 Compreh e n s i v e to managing growth and sprawl in pr oposal illustrated the needed changes to Plan, brought about the Vis i o n Chester County, brought Klaus Phillipsen, the present ordinance that will allow the Pa r tnership Task Force. The mission a renowned town planner from Baltimore, pr oject to be realized. According to John of the Task Force was to plan the to Chester County. Dave Davis, Executive Messina, the chair of Phoenixville’s planning revitalization of Phoenixville. Di r ector of the Trust, arranged for Phillipsen commission, “Throughout the planning proc e s s , With help from the Chester County to meet with the developer and we had public meetings, and the pres e n t a t i o n Planning Commission and energe t i c members of Phoenixville’s Vision Partn e r s h i p of the master plan was televised, so the community leadership, the Task Force Task Force. Davis convinced the developer community has been very involved. All of developed a vision of how to hire Phillipsen to revise the proposal to the feedback I’ve received has been grea t . the Iron Works site could link the incorporate traditional town planning Ev e r yone in the borough is excited about this old downtown and the North principles and to present the revised plan lo n g - o v e r due redevelopment, which has been Side and attract new jobs and in f o r mally to borough officials and key in the works for the past 12 years.” The businesses that would earn the stakeholders before seeking official bo r ough will also seek support from govern- bo r ough tax dollars. ap p ro v a l s . ment agencies to fund necessary infrastruc t u re ,

French Creek Center Concept Plan Approved February 2000

Townhomes and Apartment Units

SEPTA Light 300 Corporate Apartments Rail Station

Town Center and Retail Plaza

800,000 SF Office Space

G R E AT PLACES W I T H The plan for the French Creek Center, a mixed-use, transit-friendly development to be built on TRANSIT the former Iron and Steel Works site in Phoenixville. (Plan courtesy of the Delta Orga n i z a t i o n . ) (Continued on page 4) Denver’s problems with sprawl and the Rail-Volution 2000: measures it is taking to address them made it an ideal location for the Rail-Volution 4 A Four-Day Conferen c e conference this past fall, an annual national livable communities/transit event that attracted (Phoenixville, continued from page 3) on Building Livable about 1,200 attendees from the transit, urban including transit, roads and parks, to Communities Wit h planning, government and conservation enable the full realization of the plan. fields. With a combination of lectures and Tra n s i t workshops on transit- and livable communities- While it appears that the develop- related topics and field trips around the ment will proceed whether or not the Denver area, conventioneers got a taste of SVM is built, the development design Nestled within the Rocky Mountains, how sprawl and livability issues are being is transit-oriented and pedestrian- Denver, Colorado, is enjoying a boom. It’s addressed in Colorado and across the fr i e n d l y . It is also truly multi-use in a city with a newly thriving downtown, a country. ch a r a c t e r , with 800,000 square feet strong economy and easy access to the of commercial space to prov i d e great outdoors. But with the arrival of new There are a number of successful new TOD roughly 5,000 new jobs, 500 units businesses and outdoor enthusiasts to the projects in the Denver suburbs. One example of corporate apartments and town- region has come the all-too-common prob l e m is CityCenter Englewood, a complex along homes, and 50,000 square feet of of sprawling suburbs eating up open space Denver’s new light rail line in which new retail space that may include live- and taxing already overcrowded highways. construction is being combined with a section work units on the upper floors. The of a former shopping center in a blue-collar pr oposed Metro station will be no Like many western cities, Denver has taken a community that has been on the decline. mo r e than a half-mile from all parts serious look at the troubles its popularity has With its civic center and city hall, library of the development. caused, and perhaps more than other cities of and shops, CityCenter Englewood is creating its kind, Denver has made great strides toward a new community focus. When complete, Lest skeptics wonder about the addressing these problems. For example, a the development will also contain a health economic prospects of such an successful new light rail line zips from city to club, apartments and homes to ensure that ambitious and unusual infill develop- suburbs, alleviating some of the heavy car the area is active 24 hours a day. ment, res e a r ch perfo r med by traffic in the region, and close to 20 TOD Zi m m e r man & Volk Associates on and livable community projects have recently Several projects are underway in Boulder, behalf of the GreenSpace Alliance (a been completed or are in the works. Colorado, which is about 25 miles northwest pr oject of the Pennsylvania (Continued on page 5) En v i r onmental Council) and 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania pred i c t e d brisk sales of “New Urbanist”-style residential units at the site. (New Urbanist principles encourage mixed- use, compact, pedestrian-friendly development, including TOD.) “By pr oviding a range of newly co n s t r ucted housing alternatives, a traditional neighborhood develop- ment on the site will not only ret a i n existing Phoenixville households but also attract new households that might otherwise have settled in gr eenfield locations,” said Tod d Zi m m e r man of Zimmerman & Vol k . “Y ounger families will be the most common household type, but some empty-nesters and ret i r ees will also be attracted to the new neighbor- hood.” ■

G R E AT PLACES W I T H This mixed-use development at a light rail station in the Denver suburb of Englewood contains a library, civic center, government offices and an art gallery. The area to the left of the plaza TRANSIT will contain residences and retail, once the project is complete. 5

Rail Fever Sweeps the Country

Commuter and light rail development is catching on across the United States, as TODs spring up in city after city.

Wh e r eas Rail-Volution 2000 celebrated the anti-sprawl effo r ts occurring in and ar ound Denver, it also highlighted nu m e r ous transit and TOD projects ac r oss the country. Rail-Volution speakers described TOD projects such as Orenco Station in Po r tland, OR; mixed-use urban developments in Dallas and a TOD in the suburb of Richards o n , TX; an urban village that will eventually have light rail in Pasadena, CA; and a The buildings of the Eighth and Pearl mixed-use development in Boulder, Colorado, echo the redevelopment project in Hollywood, CA, character of the surrounding neighborhood. Retail and office space occupy the front of the that will include a theater, retail outlets complex, attractive townhomes and hidden parking are attached and transit is nearby. and a hotel.

Mo r e than 75 cities across the country (Rail-Volution 2000, continued from page 4) ar e in the process of trying to build or of downtown Denver. Boulder has already The Commons, with easy access to commuter expand light rail systems, and TODs are and light rail, buses and the 16th Street un d e r way along some of these transit begun to address sprawl by creating a lines. A few of these “new start” rail 30,000-acre greenbelt that surrounds the shuttle, will include ap a r tment buildings, pr ojects are close to home. In addition city and acts as a growth boundary. Two wa r ehouse lofts, brownstones and office to the proposed Schuylkill Valley Metro of Boulder’s projects, “Eighth and Pearl” and retail space. in Southeastern Pennsylvania, there and “Ninth and Pearl,” are small, mixed-use, ar e new rail lines or improvements to infill developments. Both are steps from bus While Denver may seem geographically existing transit systems in the works transit stops and Boulder’s Pearl Street and culturally distant from Southeastern for Wilmington, DE; Newark, NJ; pedestrian mall. The Eighth and Pearl Pennsylvania, many of its problems with Ha rr i s b u r g and Pittsburgh, PA; and project, completed in 1999, combines ret a i l sprawl and concerns about planning for New York City. on the ground floor, office space on the future development are similar to problems second floor, a hidden parking garage and and concerns here. The time has come for So u t h e a s t e r n Pennsylvania has been slow to join the TOD bandwagon. With its five residential townhomes with front porches us to think about the direction in which we’re extensive commuter rail system and and small gardens. One of the reasons this heading. We as a region can consciously nu m e r ous brownfields and other infill development has been successful is that its plan what we want Southeastern Pennsylvania op p o r tunities, the region is ideal for this design and scale are compatible with those to look like, or continue to allow haphazard so r t of development. of the surrounding neighborhoods. growth to swallow up the remaining countryside and take resources away from The proposed SVM project rep r esents an After a boom in the early 1980s, central existing cities and towns. Change is op p o r tunity for the region to expand its Denver suffered during the recession that inevitable — therefore, we must act now al r eady wide-reaching transit system and occurred later in that decade. However, the to ensure that the region evolves in a transit- to incorporate TOD. Perhaps Southeastern past ten years have seen the downtown friendly way. ■ Pennsylvania will rediscover how transit can be the anchor for a new generation become vibrant again. A free bus shuttles of the sort of walkable, vibrant locals and tourists up and down the 16th communities that many have grown Street pedestrian mall; bars, restaurants and to love. ■ galleries line the streets of the revitalized historic LoDo (Lower Downtown) district; and G R E AT PLACES W I T H shoppers fill the stores of Larimer Square. Adjacent to LoDo, a mixed-use development TRANSIT called The Commons is under construction. Pennsylvania Environmental Council Place 117 S. 17th Street, Suite 2300 Postage Philadelphia, PA 19103 Here

The DVRPC’s TOD project is partially Managing Editor funded by a grant from the Federal Richard Bickel 6 Highway Administration’s Transportation Delaware Valley Regional Planning and Community and System Preservation Commission Great Places With Transit is Pilot Program. 215-238-2830 produced by the Pennsylvania Editor Environmental Council (PEC) under DVRPC is an interstate, inter-county and Patrick Starr contract with the Delaware Valley inter-city agency that provides continuing, Pennsylvania Environmental Council Regional Planning Commission comprehensive and coordinated planning Regional Director (DVRPC) and is a component of for the orderly growth and development of the DVRPC’s project “Implementing the Delaware Valley region. It serves the Assistant Editor Transit-Oriented Development in southeastern Pennsylvania counties of Blair Davis the Philadelphia Metropolitan Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery Pennsylvania Environmental Council Area,” which is being advanced and Philadelphia and the southern New Communications Specialist through a partnership of Berks, Jersey counties of Burlington, Camden, Chester and Montgomery Gloucester and Mercer. Design/Layout Counties, the City of Philadelphia, ChunHsiung Chen Southeastern Pennsylvania PEC is a statewide membership-based McCormick, Taylor & Associates, Inc. Transportation Authority (SEPTA), educational nonprofit organization Berks Area Reading Transportation dedicated to the enhancement of the To comment, suggest article topics or be Authority (BARTA), PEC and the environment in Pennsylvania, with a added to the mailing list, please contact: Reinvestment Fund. regional office in Philadelphia. Blair Davis G R E AT PLACES W I T H 215-563-0250, ext. 106 TRANSIT [email protected]