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: Philadelphia 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 Pennsylvania 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 Amtrak 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 30th Street Station 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.