Capacity Building Issue Brief Implementation Team When your organization received technical assistance (TA) or a grant from the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities through EPA or HUD, it became eligible to participate in capacity building services. These services will help you gain access to technical experts and additional resources to support the successful implementation of your grant. Reconnecting America is leading the team that will focus on the implementation of planning activities. Other team members are Strategic Economics, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Enterprise Community Partners, the Center for Creative Land Recycling and Kim Burnett Consulting. Team Implementation will be providing a range of targeted, collective and one-on-one activities, best practices, case studies and resources to support all Sustainable Communities grantees with implementation efforts. The following issue brief is the first in the implementation series. The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding under an award with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government. Developing Corridor Plans for Implementation Introduction Transportation planning commonly occurs along corridors, and the corridor is the natural home of transit, including both buses and fixed-guideway lines like light rail, subways, streetcars, and BRT. However, land use planning and planning for smart growth and TOD is more often accomplished at the station area or city scale. Using the corridor to link transit planning with land use and TOD planning can be a game changer in terms of implementing successful transportation and land use implementation. Why Do TOD Planning At The Corridor Scale? Regions that have made and maintained this link over time have seen transit become an organizing principle for development, with local jurisdictions identifying the areas around transit stations as their own development nodes. Because transit and transportation investments can change market dynamics along a corridor by providing new access to neighborhoods and centers, the corridor is a useful place to begin thinking about the market potential of different nodes. Corridor planning can also be cost-effective for cities and regions, especially when multiple stations along a corridor face similar challenges and opportunities. Corridor planning presents an enormous opportunity to engage stakeholders early in the process. The excitement surrounding a new transit investment can attract a diverse group of stakeholders, and decision-making about the best alignments is achieved when a broad group of stakeholders is involved early on. Corridor scale planning is easily married to phased implementation and investment plans, which identify when and where public dollars should be invested to support local TOD goals, whether the intent is to facilitate market-driven projects or to direct the velocity and trajectory of neighborhood change. 1 DISCLAIMER: The information presented on this page are those of the author and do not reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the U.S. Government. Inclusion of these reports on the HUD USER web site does not mean an endorsement of these institutions or their viewpoints. Capacity Building Issue Brief // Implementation // Developing Corridor Plans for Implementation September 2012 / Page 2 of 8 With the continued demand for and build out of new transit projects, understanding the benefits that corridor planning for land use and TOD can provide is even more critical. In 2011, Reconnecting America identified 643 transit projects that were being planned, proposed, or were under construction in 106 regions in the US. While many of those projects may not ultimately be constructed, the sheer number of places demanding more transit options in their communities points to the potential for accompanying land use transformation. However, that potential comes with a need to understand how corridor planning can facilitate not only successful transportation outcomes but also successful land use and TOD. Further, corridor planning for land use and TOD can: Clarify the corridor type and its function within the regional network; Enhance an understanding about the roles of different station areas along the corridor, and how increased connectivity and transportation choices can benefit residents of all incomes; Enable planners to understand how development along the corridor should be phased, and the land uses and development intensity that is most appropriate at each station; Provide regions that are planning or extending transit corridors with a better sense of what to expect in terms of development; Prioritize high-potential stations for development and investment; and Broaden the perspective on both regional needs and local needs. Defining a Corridor for Land Use and TOD Planning Defining a corridor for land use and TOD implementation is a little different than defining one for transit or transportation. Instead of focusing on the street or railway, the corridor should be defined as a series of nodes. The image to the left shows the half-mile circles around stations along a light rail line. Together, these nodes make up the corridor that should be considered for planning and implementation purposes. Any transit technology can serve as the basis for planning at the corridor scale – heavy or light rail, streetcar, trolley or bus. Different transit technologies will define different areas of influence. For example, the area of influence along light and heavy rail corridors is typically a half-mile radius around stations. Because streetcars can stop as often as every street corner they tend to have a stronger influence on development all along the line and a few blocks on either side. Planning for nodes along bus corridors might be a ¼ mile from bus stops, depending on the frequency and number of stops the route makes. However, the overall TOD potential at nodes along a corridor depends more on the design and quality of service than it does on the transit technology. High-quality service for all transit technologies should be defined as high-frequency service along dedicated lanes or rights of way that serve to “fix” the line and provide certainty for developers and investors that transit service will not be moved to another corridor. TOD potential is also determined by the walkability and bikeability of nodes, the presence of retail amenities, and the local and regional housing market. 2 DISCLAIMER: The information presented on this page are those of the author and do not reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the U.S. Government. Inclusion of these reports on the HUD USER web site does not mean an endorsement of these institutions or their viewpoints. Capacity Building Issue Brief // Implementation // Developing Corridor Plans for Implementation September 2012 / Page 3 of 8 Corridor Destinations Impact Land Use and TOD Potential This brief discusses three corridor types that are useful for understanding the potential for land use and TOD at nodes along a corridor. Each corridor type is defined by what it connects and how these connections influence the overall potential for land use and TOD. Different corridor types create different land use and TOD opportunities. While this categorization of types serves to advance corridor analysis and planning, real transit corridors cannot be so easily categorized and tend to be a mix of types. Destination Connectors: Destination connectors link residential neighborhoods to multiple activity centers, including employment, medical and commercial centers and academic campuses. Because they make these connections, these transit corridors consistently result in high ridership, creating a “win” for transit agencies while building regional support for future transit investments. Destination connectors encourage ridership in both directions throughout the day because they serve 9-to-5 employment centers as well as other destinations. Examples: The Health Line BRT in Cleveland is one example of a destination connector. The Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor connects a series of job centers in Arlington County, Virginia, to the urban core of Washington D.C. Phoenix’s light rail line connects the city’s downtown to Arizona State University, and Houston’s Red Line connects the downtown to the Medical Center and Rice University. Implications for Land Use and TOD: The demand for new development will likely be highest in station areas identified as “destinations,” especially if they are walkable, higher-intensity activity centers with good connections to surrounding neighborhoods. Higher-density development is more likely to occur along destination connector corridors due to increased market demand for locations with access to job and activity centers.1 Auto-oriented job centers or malls along the corridor may require new pedestrian-oriented street and building design before they become truly transit-accessible, even if they are very close to stations. Providing easy pedestrian and bicycle access to stations will encourage higher transit ridership, especially at employment centers where people are less inclined to walk long