Archive for the ‘TOD’ Category

Houston To Require Better Walkability Around Transit Stations

Thursday, August 27th, 2009
Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority

Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority

21 August 2009 - 6:00am

City officials in Houston have unanimously approved zoning and policy changes that will encourage walkable development around the city’s expanding light rail network.

Among other changes, sidewalks in transit areas will now have a minimum width of 6 feet, 2 feet wider than current standards.

“The council unanimously approved changes in development codes intended to promote dense, urban-style development along the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Main Street rail line and five planned extensions. The pedestrian zone requirements and incentives were developed through more than three years of work by city officials, consultants, development experts and others.

…The measures take effect immediately.”

Full Story: City moves to encourage pedestrian zones
Source: The Houston Chronicle, August 20, 2009 via Planetizen

Posted in Houston, Metropolitan Transit Authority, TOD, Uncategorized, light-rail, pedestrian, urban | No Comments »

Off the TOD Path

Thursday, August 27th, 2009
York Boulevard in the Highland Park district in Los Angeles

York Boulevard in the Highland Park district in Los Angeles

20 August 2009 - 12:00pm

Bill Fulton consults on a boulevard in Los Angeles, and concludes that sometimes the dense, mixed-use approach is too heavy-handed, particularly when transit is lacking.

Los Angeles’s York Boulevard is a village-scale commercial strip near Occidental College.

Bill Fulton: “I was there, along with several other planners, at the invitation of Councilmember Jose Huizar, who’s thinking about doing a new plan. The trick is to maintain the eclectic character of the street – and yet upgrade it at the same time. Striking this balance won’t be easy, but we planners had better figure out how to do streets like York really well. There are lots of emerging places in California that could be as good as York’s going to be, and in many ways they represent the future of the state.”

Full Story: Precision Required to Make California’s Great Places via Planetizen

Source: California Planning & Development Report, August 18, 2009

Posted in California, Los Angeles, TOD, Uncategorized | No Comments »