THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 10, 1996 TAG: 9609100243
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 77 lines
Commuter rail systems, like the one proposed for South Hampton Roads, can do a lot more than move people.
They can spark business and residential growth and give communities a sense of place.
In fact, some light-rail experts believe that if areas surrounding rail stations are not developed into business and neighborhood hubs, rail ridership suffers.
That was a common theme this week at the second annual Rail-Volution conference sponsored by some of the nation's leading transit authorities.
``Rail stops have to go from place to place, not from parking lot to parking lot, to be successful,'' said Fred Kent, president of the Project for Public Spaces, which just completed a study called ``The Role of Transit in Creating Livable Metropolitan Communities.''
``It's absurd if they don't go into communities. Otherwise, they don't work. They're a waste of money.''
Kent advocates using transit to build ``a sense of place.''
Tidewater Regional Transit's proposed 18-mile, $376 million light rail line linking the Virginia Beach Oceanfront and downtown Norfolk includes some stations in active areas that already have distinct identities, like the resort area, Pembroke or the Central Business District, and Norfolk's urban hub.
Some other stations are in less-defined areas.
``Transit can be an amazing catalyst for creating economic opportunities,'' Kent said.
Since highly acclaimed light rail system opened in Portland, Ore., 10 years ago, there has been more than $1.3 billion worth of development next to the line.
And in the next 45 years, Portland officials anticipate that 40 percent of households and two-thirds of new jobs will be located along rail stations and major bus corridors.
Consultant Richard Chong, principal of Richard Chong and Associates of Salt Lake City, Utah, said rail stations should almost be like town centers that are pedestrian-oriented and offer a variety of shopping, services and housing.
``You can turn predominantly car-oriented areas into mixed-use, higher-density activity centers,'' Chong said.
He suggested locating dry cleaners and day care centers near rail stations for the convenience of commuters. Businesses and services should be concentrated within a quarter-mile of the rail station for ease of walking, he said.
``You have to decrease the number of trips people have to take to and from work,'' Chong said. ``If riders have to make several trips, you decrease the viability of transit use.''
``Stations must be located where market forces encourage development,'' he added.
Planners in the Portland metropolitan area refer to these areas as ``Main Streets.''
Their research shows that residents of areas with good transportation service and a good pedestrian environment walk four times more, use transit five times more often and drive half as many miles per capita than residents of other areas in the region.
``We are trying to grow in a more compact form,'' said Susan McLain, a member of the Metro Council for the Portland metropolitan area. ``There has to be a marriage and a mixture of transportation needs and activity needs.
``But it has to feel good, has to be a pleasant place and has to be safe, or people won't come.''
Tony Hiss, of the Taub Urban Research Center at New York University, describes the relationship between rail and communities as synergy.
``Transit and neighborhoods help reinvent each other,'' he said. ``We can create not just livable communities, but lovable communities.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Since the Portland, Ore., light-rail system, above, opened 10 years
ago, there has been more than $1.3 billion worth of development next
to the line.
KEYWORDS: TRT LIGHT-RAIL SYSTEM NORFOLK
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