Planning Transit-Oriented Development Around High-Speed Rail Stations in Fresno and Bakerseld Best Practices, Current Planning Eorts, and Recommendations Image by Joe Walser By Daniel Krause December 2010 Image by Author (2010) Image by Author (2010) Planning Transit-Oriented Development Around High-Speed Rail Stations in Fresno and Bakersfield Best Practices, Current Planning Efforts, and Recommendations A Planning Report Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning San José State University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Urban Planning By Daniel Krause December 13, 2010 This page intentionally left blank. Approved by the Department of Urban and Regional Planning _____________________________ _____________________________ Planning Transit-Oriented Development Around High-Speed Rail Stations in Fresno and Bakersfield iii This page intentionally left blank. iv Planning Transit-Oriented Development Around High-Speed Rail Stations in Fresno and Bakersfield Acknowledgments Acknowledgments I would like express my deep gratitude to the following people, who help to make this report a reality. My faculty advisor, Dr. Hilary Nixon, Associate Professor, whose support and feedback was invaluable throughout the project. The generous interviewees, who provided valuable information: Bob Bell, Chairman, Downtown Business and Property Owner’s Association (Bakersfield) Donna L. Kunz, Economic Development Director, City of Bakersfield Economic and Community Development Department Gary Lasky, Chapter Chair, Tehipite Chapter of the Sierra Club Jan Minami, Executive Director, Downtown Association of Fresno Jim Eggert, Planning Director, Development Services Department – Planning Division, City of Bakersfield John M. Dugan, AICP, Development and Resource Management Director, Planning and Development Department, City of Fresno Lupe Perez, Project Manager, Redevelopment Agency of the City of Fresno Fellow students and former students, who were an invaluable support network: Brian Stanke, whose research on high-speed rail inspired me to pursue the topic of high- speed rail and transit-oriented development. Guido Persicone, whose incessant text messages reminded me to stay on track and finish. Jim Frank, who was always getting his drafts done before me, helping to motivate to get my own drafts completed before it was too late. Special thanks to my wife Sharon, who was gracious and supportive during all the weekends I was chained to the computer. Planning Transit-Oriented Development Around High-Speed Rail Stations in Fresno and Bakersfield v Acknowledgments This page intentionally left blank. vi Planning Transit-Oriented Development Around High-Speed Rail Stations in Fresno and Bakersfield Table of Conents Table of Contents Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................. v Table of Contents ................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ xi Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 1.1 Purpose of Research...................................................................................................................1 1.2 Research Question .....................................................................................................................2 1.3 California High-Speed Rail Project...........................................................................................2 1.4 Study Areas.................................................................................................................................5 1.4 Methodology ..............................................................................................................................6 1.5 Structure of Report ....................................................................................................................7 PART ONE – High-Speed Rail and Transit-Oriented Development: Literature Review, Case Studies, and Guidelines.................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2: Literature Review................................................................................................ 11 2.1 Unique Ridership Market of High-Speed Rail .......................................................................11 2.2 General Economic Conclusions..............................................................................................12 2.3 Location of High-Speed Rail Stations.....................................................................................16 2.4 Land Uses .................................................................................................................................17 2.5 Connecting Transportation Infrastructure ............................................................................21 2.6 Design Attributes of Development Around High-Speed Rail Stations.................................24 2.7 Public-Sector Involvement......................................................................................................26 2.6 Literature Review Conclusion.................................................................................................29 Chapter 3: Case Studies........................................................................................................ 31 3.1 Lille, France (Lille Europe and Lille Flandres Stations).........................................................31 3.2 Zaragoza, Spain (The Zaragoza-Delights Intermodal Station) .............................................37 3.3 Kyoto, Japan (Kyoto Station)..................................................................................................44 Planning Transit-Oriented Development Around High-Speed Rail Stations in Fresno and Bakersfield vii Table of Contents Chapter 4: Transit-Oriented Development Guidelines........................................................ 51 4.1 Land Use Guidelines................................................................................................................51 4.2 Transportation Guidelines ......................................................................................................52 4.3 Urban Design Guidelines ........................................................................................................53 4.4 Public-Sector Involvement Guidelines...................................................................................53 PART TWO – Fresno: Study Area Characteristics, Planning Profile, and Recommendations................................................................................................................ 55 Chapter 5: Fresno Study Area Characteristics...................................................................... 57 5.1 Fresno Study Area Overview ...................................................................................................57 5.2 Opportunities...........................................................................................................................59 5.3 Constraints ...............................................................................................................................62 Chapter 6: Fresno Planning Profile...................................................................................... 67 6.1 Existing Plans and Studies.......................................................................................................67 6.2 Current Planning Efforts .........................................................................................................74 6.3 General Conclusions................................................................................................................76 Chapter 7: Recommendations for Fresno ........................................................................... 79 7.1 Land Use...................................................................................................................................79 7.2 Transportation .........................................................................................................................81 7.3 Urban Design ...........................................................................................................................84 7.4 Public-Sector Involvement......................................................................................................85 PART THREE – Bakersfield: Study Area Characteristics, Planning Profile, And Recommendations................................................................................................................ 87 Chapter 8: Bakersfield Study Area Characteristics............................................................... 89 8.1 Bakersfield Study Area Overview ............................................................................................89 8.2 Opportunties............................................................................................................................93 8.3 Constraints ...............................................................................................................................97 viii Planning Transit-Oriented Development Around High-Speed Rail Stations in Fresno and