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Pace Development Guidelines |
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Pace Development Guidelines |
II. INTRODUCTION
Recent suburban growth has ushered in a new era of traffic problems and raised additional transportation issues. Many of the amenities that have attracted business and individuals to the suburbs are being lost or overshadowed by traffic inconveniences. It has become apparent that with growth comes the need to adopt transportation policies and plans to help maintain the quality of life and aesthetics of suburban communities. Coordinated efforts between transit service providers, municipalities, businesses and the development community are necessary to find effective solutions to traffic congestion and to improve suburban mobility.
Recently enacted legislation has further increased the need for a cooperative effort between businesses and transit agencies. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 define national air quality standards that non-attainment areas must achieve. This legislation is a bold effort to improve the nation's air quality by reducing harmful emissions. Northeastern Illinois is classified as a severe non-attainment area for ozone and must meet prescribed requirements outlined in the CAAA. The public and private sectors must work together to reduce vehicle emissions and improve the region's transportation system, including public transit service provision.
In addition, the Americans With Disabilities Act mandates equal access to all public transportation services. While fixed route buses must be wheelchair accessible, Pace must also provide curb-to-curb services to disabled persons who cannot use accessible fixed route vehicles. This service must be scheduled and provided in the same geographic areas as fixed route systems. Development design that accomodates Pace dial-a-ride vehicles and provides easy access to this service is vital for serving the suburban population.
Public transportation, as a means for improving mobility, maintaining employment, conserving natural resources as well as reducing traffic congestion and associated emissions, can be--and should be-- coordinated with land use planning. Consideration of public transportation during initial development planning stages can increase a community's success as an attractive and vital location for business and residence. Site design techniques for buildings, roadways, walkways and waiting facilities can be applied to reduce obstacles to public transportation use. These design measures allow transit to reach its markets and offer convenient and more effective pedestrian access to and through developments.
In conjunction with site design techniques, corporate transportation policies can be adopted to alleviate traffic congestion problems in suburban locations. These policies can encourage employee use of public transportation and other shared-ride options as an alternative to single occupant vehicles. They also can promote additional demand management strategies--like variable work hours--to reduce rush hour traffic congestion.
Site design and management policies alone cannot encourage the use of public transportation; transit service providers must offer service that is comfortable, efficient and effective. To achieve this goal, transit service must be designed to meet the needs of the suburban traveler. Transit providers, businesses and municipalities must work together to develop innovative service options targeted to traveler needs.
Pace, the suburban bus division of the RTA, recognizes the need to coordinate efforts to identify transit service needs, promote land use planning techniques that provide transit and pedestrian access, and develop management policies that reduce rush hour traffic congestion. Design considerations, management policies and transportation alternatives can provide a workable solution to traffic problems.
The Development Guidelines have been established in Pace's effort to work with suburban communities, developers, planners and businesses to reduce congestion and resulting emissions. These guidelines are designed to promote the incorporation of public transportation considerations into development plans and demand management techniques into management policies. While not regulations or specifications, the guidelines in this manual are designed to create a more transit and pedestrian oriented environment in an effort to promote transit use and reduce traffic congestion. These guidelines can be applied wherever roadway or structure improvements--both public and private--are contemplated. They are recommended for suburban settings that generally have employment and population densities less than 8000 people per square mile. However, there will be circumstances under which these recommendations do not apply; their application is dependent on site and traffic characteristics. And, as with all transportation control measures, these guidelines should be used judiciously.
This manual identifies the design and operating specifications, transit design recommendations for roadways, bus stop areas and pedestrian facilities have been developed and are presented here. Also described are site design considerations for residential, retail, office and industrial developments. These considerations are offered to enhance a site's transit serviceability and improve pedestrian access to service as well as help relieve traffic congestion in suburban areas. To further enhance understanding of the transit recommendations, appropriate drawings have been produced and incorporated in this manual. They are for illustrative purposes only; however, developers and others wishing to incorporate Pace recommendations should encourage involved architectural and engineering professionals to design similar transit elements into their projects in order to meet existing and future requirements.
Demand management techniques are presented in this document as a means of reducing traffic congestion and addressing transit issues. These techniques can be promoted by businesses, developers, municipalities and other interested organizations to encourage employee use of public transportation, shared-ride programs and employee participation in other programs designed to reduce rush hour traffic.
Pace will provide further assistance to municipalities and developers who wish to incorporate transit design elements into their development plans. A no-cost service providing technical assistance and transit information has been established by Pace to answer transit related design questions and to conduct development plan reviews. Pace recommendations are for general suburban application; interested individuals are directed to CTA and Metra for questions specific to those systems.
To promote the coordination of transit facilities with private and/or public sector development, Pace is pursuing joint-venture development opportunities. Joint projects can support economic growth and transit use while providing investment opportunities to the development community. Pace encourages the joint use of transit properties for high density residential, office, commercial or industrial development to reduce tripmaking and alleviate congestion in suburban areas, particularly those that are experiencing population and employment growth. Pace is committed to giving careful consideration to joint development proposals and encourages the private and public sectors to propose development projects that are linked to transit operations.
Pace's Joint Development Policy can be found in Appendix D. Those who are interested in pursuing joint partnerships with Pace should contact the Capital Planning and Construction Manager at (847)228-4260.
A. Background
B. Purpose
C. Benefits
Revised: November, 1999.