Helping Our Nation’s Growing Communities Plan for Transit-Oriented Development

With one of the nation’s busiest transit systems and extensive walkable neighborhoods, San Francisco is a fitting place for a gathering of professionals who are dedicated to building livable, vibrant communities around public transit.

Today, I visited San Francisco to participate in the 2016 Rail~VolutionConference, where I was proud to announce the award of grants to 16 organizations across the country through the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning Pilot Program.

_{Market Street, San Francisco, near Montgomery BART station. Photo credit: Sharon Hahn Darlin[external link] under a Creative Commons license[external link].}

These grants will help our nation’s growing metropolitan areas plan for development along new transit lines, giving residents convenient access to jobs, education, medical care, and other vital services.

During my trip to the Bay Area, I was able to see the benefits of TOD firsthand in one of the communities that is receiving a 2016 TOD grant, the Santa Clara Valley.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is helping traffic-choked Silicon Valley embrace transit solutions by managing an extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) rail system[external link] into Santa Clara County.

Phase I – from Fremont to San Jose – is already underway, and the development around the new rail stations is striking. By encouraging people to  live, work, and visit amenities near transit, TOD around the BART to Silicon Valley extension is helping this highly in-demand area grow in a sustainable way.

Going forward, VTA will receive $1.5 million in TOD grant funding to help maximize the development potential of Phase II of the BART to Silicon Valley project, a 6.5-mile continuation of the rail system from San Jose to Santa Clara.

This funding will support the comprehensive planning efforts of VTA and its partners, the cities of San Jose and Santa Clara, including an analysis of how people will access the new stations, an assessment of TOD opportunities in the corridor, and the development of plans for station areas.

_{Acting Administrator Flowers at the future site of the Milpitas BART station, part of the BART to Silicon Valley Phase II extension project that received a 2016 TOD grant. Photo courtesy FTA.}

Among the other planning projects selected nationwide:

• The Regional Transportation District and City and County of Denver will receive $1.35 million to help alleviate barriers to TOD in the East Colfax Avenue corridor, the location of a proposed bus rapid transit project. The TOD planning effort includes urban design guidelines for the corridor, an affordable housing strategy, a business retention and development strategy, and a financing plan for implementation of TOD.
• The City of Phoenix will receive $2 million to plan for additional development and improved pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure in the South Central Light Rail Transit Extension corridor while preserving nearby affordable housing and established small businesses.
• The City of Milwaukee will receive $750,000 to conduct comprehensive TOD planning along the proposed King Drive and Walker’s Point extensions of the Milwaukee Streetcar from downtown into surrounding neighborhoods. The city will work with stakeholders along the proposed extensions to evaluate how to use transit-supportive development to revitalize the two corridors and better connect residents to downtown jobs.

As these projects and others demonstrate, FTA’s TOD program incorporates Ladders of Opportunity principles, aiming to connect people – especially from disadvantaged communities – to opportunities and essential services.

In addition, by encouraging inclusive communities and creative planning solutions, we can work together to reduce the residential and commercial displacement that can result from development.

In the Bay Area and across the country, communities are embracing public transit – and want to make the most of their investment in new transit lines. Our TOD Planning grants help them to harness the benefits of transit for all of their citizens.

This article retrieved from: transportation.gov