TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT

FACTORS DRIVING THE TREND TOWARD TOD

-Rapidly growing, mind-numbing traffic congestion nation-wide
-Growing distaste for suburbia and fry-pit strip development
-Growing desire for quality urban lifestyle
-Growing desire for more walkable lifestyles away from traffic
-Changes in family structures: more singles, empty-nesters, etc
-Growing national support for Smart Growth
-New focus of Federal policy

"Traffic congestion has increased so much in virtually every metropolitan area that two-hour commutes now are routine.  Attempts to alleviate the problem by constructing more highways almost always have led to more sprawl and, eventually, more congestion."  -Jim Miara

COMPONENTS OF TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT

-Walkable design with pedestrian as the highest priority
-Train station as prominent feature of town center
-Public square fronting train station
-A regional node containing a mixture of uses in close proximity (office, residential, retail, civic)
-High density, walkable district within 10-minute walk circle surrounding train station
-Collector support transit systems including streetcar, light rail, and buses, etc
-Designed to include the easy use of bicycles and scooters as daily support transport
-Large ride-in bicycle parking areas within stations
-Bikeshare rental system and bikeway network integrated into stations
-Reduced and managed parking inside 10-minute walk circle around town center / train station
-Specialized retail at stations serving commuters and locals including cafes, grocery, dry cleaners

BENEFITS OF TOD

-Higher quality of life with better places to live, work, and play
-Greater mobility with ease of moving around
-Increased transit ridership
-Reduced traffic congestion, car accidents and injuries
-Reduced household spending on transportation, resulting in more affordable housing
-Healthier lifestyle with more walking, and less stress
-Higher, more stable property values
-Increased foot traffic and customers for area businesses
-Greatly reduced dependence on foreign oil, reduced pollution and environmental damage
-Reduced incentive to sprawl, increased incentive for compact development
-Less expensive than building roads and sprawl
-Enhanced ability to maintain economic competitiveness

-Transit investment has double the economic benefit to a city than does highway investment.

-Transit can enable a city to use market forces to increase densities near stations, where most services are located, thus creating more efficient subcenters and minimizing sprawl.

-Transit enables a city to be more corridor-oriented, making it easier to provide infrastructure.

-Transit enhances the overall economic efficiency of a city; denser cities with less car use and more transit use spend a lower proportion of their gross regional product or wealth on passenger transportation.  - From Sustainability and Cities, by Newman & Kenworthy