OGDEN -- A national expert on transit-oriented development has offered the Ogden City Council some principles for planning.
Cities can either plan transit with community in mind or plan community with transit in mind, GB Arrington, a consultant with PB Placemaking in Portland, Ore., said at a work session last week.
"It's not about the transit, it's about creating great places. Transit is just one of the tools. TOD (transit-oriented development) is really about the fundamentals of good neighborhoods," Arrington said.
"Transit becomes the means to an end in creating a liveable community."
Several transit alternatives are being explored in Ogden, including options for streetcar routes connecting the Intermodal Hub at 23rd Street and Wall Avenue with McKay-Dee Hospital and Weber State University, both on Harrison Boulevard, as well as a downtown circulator looping from Historic 25th Street to 20th Street.
Arrington outlined his principles for successful transit-oriented development.
There is a political equation where allowing developers higher-density projects near transit can equal lower density in surrounding neighborhoods, Arrington told the council and planning commission members in attendance as observers.
"The big payoff is, if you change land use, you change transportation behavior," he said.
TOD zones are often medium- to higher-density areas, and residents tend to be people without children living at home: empty nesters or young urban professionals.
TOD-zone residents also earn greater-than-average incomes, but are also twice as likely to not own a car as the average U.S. household.
Political leadership and strong partnerships with the community and agencies like Utah Transit Authority and Utah Department of Transportation are also important.
"My admonition to you would be to remember that, in the 21st century, building transit is about community building, and it's about people moving. It's those two things, it's not one or the other," Arrington said.
Council Chairwoman Caitlin Gochnour asked Arrington how to weigh the need for streetcar speed versus the advantage of increasing the frequency of stops.
"From my perspective, frequency is as important as speed," Arrington said.
"Part of your travel budget is how long you have to spend from the time you leave your door until the time you get to the next door. If you have to wait a long time for it and it goes really fast, it still took a long time."
But transit can move quickly through some areas while stopping more frequently in others designed for the use, Arrington said.
"We have a wonderful opportunity here in Ogden to create a really good, diverse community," said Councilwoman Susan Van Hooser.
"It's kind of a once-in-my-lifetime to see that this is done and done correctly. I don't want to see us take what (developers) want to give us. I want us to see that we decide what we want."
Arrington suggested the council be transparent about what it wants, look at adopting plans and policies, and have its planning staff create a checklist for developers.
But with more cities lining up to create transit-oriented development, when it comes to seeking federal funding, it's to Ogden's advantage to be as close to the front of the line as possible, he said.
That doesn't mean the city has to wait to start planning and making policy, Arrington said.
"The important thing is, you don't have to wait for the transit," he said.
"Transit-oriented development is pedestrian-oriented. You have pedestrians today, so if you can raise the quality of the pedestrian route and the use of bicycles as a way to get around in your community, then the result is, when the enhanced transit arrives, on whatever street it's on, whatever mode it is, it will work better."
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