Transit Oriented Development

If Hollywood were to make a movie entitled "Hollywood & Vine - Transit Oriented Development" they'd have to hire professionals to manage the streets, control the traffic, move the trucks and make sure the entire environment was safe. There would be a 1st Assistant Director on set, legally responsible for the safety of all cast and crew, a commitment that would include a safety meeting each day. It's been this way for a long time, ever since the tragic incident on the set of "Twilight Zone" that took the lives of Vic Morrow and two child actors, Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen.

(Earlier this week, Gloria Ohland reviewed what happend at last week's T.O.D. Conference hosted by the Urban Land Institute.  Today, Stephen Box takes a different look, and examines what was missing. - DN)

Robust Attendance at ULI Event Indicates Developers, Investors and Feds On Board

The Urban Land Institute, a national organization that looks at Transit Oriented Development, has stepped up its working in Los Angeles recently.  In addition to releasing reports on the state of T.O.D. in the city, they've also sponsored workshops and discussions on some particular developments.  Streetsblog and the ULI don't always agree, (for example: they proposed more car parking as a cure for the problems with the Blue Line Slausson Station area), but there's no doubting the group's reach and expertise.

The Ford Foundation, created seven decades ago by a U.S. car industry scion, notably diverged from its past today by announcing a new, $200 million grant program aimed at promoting the local integration of transportation and land use planning and a movement beyond auto-based development. A “transit village” in the San Francisco area, cited by … Continued

(editor's note: NBC Universal is holding a community meeting next Tuesday, May 18 at 4:00 P.M. at the Universal Studio's lot. You have to RSVP by this Friday, May 14 to get past security. Call 818-700-3583 to reserve a spot.  If you have trouble reserving a spot, please leave me a note in the comments section, as we're not certain if they're going to let in everyone interested in the project or just "supporters.")

(Editors note: Gloria Ohland was on the team that completed the LA TOD study for LA Metro and the City of LA, and was also involved in the U.S. DOT study that compared the GHG emissions of TOD to other development.)

Yesterday, Curbed picked up a recent story in the Los Angeles Business Journal about planned "Transit Oriented Development" near the Venice and Robertson stop for the Expo Line that is expected to open in 2012.  They're still in the planning phases for the developments that will occur in three of the corners around the station, so it's too early for a "T.A.D. OR T.O.D." article, but the early information sounds good.  The developers are planning on a strong pedestrian component, mixed use, higher than normal density for the residential development and even a grocery store.  You can't underestimate the importance of having a grocery store near a T.O.D. project to really encourage people to ditch the car.  All that being said, there is one paragraph in the L.A.B.J. article that concerns:

New construction projects that are within a half-mile of transit stations and exceeding national energy-efficiency standards would be eligible for a tax credit under legislation introduced today by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), the senior member of the Banking Committee's transit panel.