Pace Development Guidelines

C. BENEFITS

The Development Guidelines support Pace's charter to promote "...public health, safety and welfare, economic well being, maintenance of full employment, conservation of sources of energy and land for open space, reduction of traffic congestion and to provide and maintain a healthful environment for the benefit of present and future generations in the metropolitan region." Pace therefore encourages the coordination of development with transit service and feels that it offers broad-based benefits to municipalities, developers, businesses and transit users. These benefits are detailed below.

Municipalities

• Enhanced quality of life and development of a pedestrian oriented environment.
• Decreased automobile trips and traffic congestion, leading to reduced travel times for commuters and improved access for emergency and municipal services.
• Increased appeal of municipalities and their developments to the residential and business communities since access to transit is enhanced, passenger convenience and comfort are improved and needed services and workplaces are more accessible by public transportation.
• Reduced environmental impacts from air pollution, roadway expansions into open space and excessive energy consumption.

Developers

• Increased compatibility between transit service and the development's internal roads, walkways and transit facilities.
• Decreased need for parking facilities which, in turn, decreases the construction and maintenance costs related to parking.
• Increases developable land as parking space needs decrease.
• Increased attractiveness of the site to prospective buyers or tenants because the site is accessible to a broad population.

Businesses

• Increased potential to expand business labor pools to a greater number of locations and to those individuals who do not own private vehicles.
• Enhanced access to customers.
• Increased travel alternatives for employees which can result in a reduced number of on-site vehicles and vehicle congestion.
• Increased access by employees that can improve employee punctuality and attendance.
• Decreased need for parking facilities which, in turn, decreases construction and maintenance costs related to parking.

Transit Users

• Enhanced access to transit by the pedestrian and mobility limited population.
• Improved passenger convenience and comfort.
• Increased accessibility to needed services and work places by public transportation.
• Increased travel alternatives.

While benefits can be gained from public transportation, they can only occur through the cooperative efforts of transportation agencies, municipalities and the development and business communities. The following sections of this document provide specific techniques that can be applied to increase mobility and reduce congestion in suburban northeastern Illinois.

Revised: November, 1999.

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