Transit oriented development (TOD) promotes building, developing and redeveloping community resources and employment centers around transit centers, whether those are bus or train. We don’t have that here in the Lehigh Valley.
Here’s the official definition:
“Development concentrated around and oriented to transit stations in a manner
that promotes transit riding or passenger rail use. The term does not refer to a
single real estate project, but represents a collection of projects, usually mixed use,
at a neighborhood scale that are oriented to a transit node.”
TOD doesn’t mean the construction of a bus stop near an office park, but a holistic approach to making communities accessible for those who don’t have or choose not to use a personal vehicle. This promotes equitable access to resources and employment, but also has positive environmental consequences. If fewer individuals are taking personal cars and opting to take the bus or train, carbon emissions will decrease.
In their 2012 report, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission outlines the requirements for TODs:
The Planning Commission even produced a map of potential TODs in the Lehigh Valley:
Making it easier for people to get where they want to go is an idea that’s hard to argue with, but new development and providing the infrastructure and support for public transit can become expensive. DC Streets Blog examines this problem and offers suggestions for convincing developers to invest in TOD. These recommendations include:
- Public subsidies, like transit oriented development promotional grants or tax incentives
- Educating developers about the costs to them in automobile dominated communities
- Reform land use policies, for example loosening or eliminating single-use designations
- Educate and engage employers
- A new approach to looking at costs. While a building in a TOD community may cost more, it may also provide more affordable housing and increase the efficiency of workers.
- Walkability is also TOD. Land use policies that encourage walkability are also likely to improve TOD in communities.
- Connect the suburbs to TOD. This increases the size of the potential workforce for any given company, which increases the value of TOD to them.
It takes Lehigh Valley residents an average of 25 minutes to get to work and The Lehigh Valley Transportation Study (LVTS) long range plan estimates a $1.7 billion shortfall for funding needed through 2030. As part of the Envision Lehigh Valley project, LANta is producing a study on Transit Oriented Development and Bus Rapid Transit. Stay tuned for more information on that report as it is expected to be unveiled very soon!
