Jefferson Avenue Apartments, Buffalo, NY (top left); The James, Park Ridge, NJ (top right); San Leandro Station Map, BART (bottom left); Bayview Rendering, Bayonne, NJ (bottom right)
Article of the Week
ILLINOIS—A Closer Look at CDOT’s Plan to Close Chicago’s Transportation Equity Gap
Sharon Hoyer, Streetsblog Chicago, August 3, 2021
Last week, the Chicago Department of Transportation released its Strategic Plan for Transportation, which outlines how the department can use its resources to address safety, health, accessibility and environmental concerns for parts of the city most in need. The plan prioritizes neighborhoods on Chicago’s south, west, and northwest sides, areas affected by disinvestment, limited transportation options, higher crash rates, long commute times, and higher levels of pollution. One highlighted strategy is working with the Chicago Department of Planning and Development on an Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (eTOD) ordinance. The plan, created with Transportation Equity Network, a coalition of 30 civic, community and transportation advocacy organizations, sets one- and three-year benchmarks on the plans goals.
COVID-19 TOD News
CANADA—GO Transit Converts 2 Buses into Mobile COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics that Will Tour Province
Nick Westoll, Global News, August 6, 2021
The Ontario government will use two GO Transit buses for its “last mile strategy” to encourage residents to receive their COVID-19 vaccines. The provincial government is working with public health officials and transit staff to reach the remaining eligible population and reports that 80.8 percent of all eligible Ontario residents 12 and over have already had at least one dose while 70.8 percent have had both doses. As public health agencies across the province ramp down mass vaccination clinics, officials have shifted focus to “more direct, face-to-face conversations with individuals.”
WASHINGTON, D.C.—More workers are returning to the office. The pandemic-era commute might be changed forever.
Katherine Shaver and Justin George, The Washington Post, July 30, 2021
Commute patterns remain in flux in the nation’s capital. At play is extended work from home policies that allow employees to opt into office settings one or a few days a week coupled with increased drive-alone commutes, spurred by the Delta variant and whatever may come next. To encourage ridership, WMATA has promoted a new air-filtration system in subway cars and frequent cleanings of stations, trains and buses.
NJ TOD News
LITTLE FALLS—Firm Wants to Build Mixed-Use Development near Little Falls Train Station
Jared Kofsky, Jersey Digs, August 4, 2021
The development firm The Manor at Little Falls, LLC has proposed construction of a mixed-use project within a half-mile of the NJ TRANSIT Little Falls Station on the Montclair Boonton Line. The project would comprise 56 residential units, retail space that could include a bank branch, and 104 parking spaces. The proposed site is located within Little Falls Township’s “Transit Village Central Business District.”
PARK RIDGE—Gandolfini Family Helps Open The James, Upscale Multifamily Development in Park Ridge
Tom Bergeron, ROI-NJ.com, August 4, 2021
Claremont Development recently completed work on The James, named for James Gandolfini, who grew up in the community. The five-story mixed-use building comprises 240 residential units, 17,000 sq. ft. of retail space, 432-spot parking garage, and bicycle storage. The James is located one block from the Park Ridge Station on the NJ TRANSIT Pascack Valley Line.
BAYONNE—Massive 1,100-Unit ‘Bayview’ Development Heads to Bayonne’s Planning Board
Chris Fry, Jersey Digs, August 2, 2021
Larken Associates and Gallium Real Estate have proposed development of a large-scale project that would redevelop 17 acres along Newark Bay on Bayonne’s west side. Plans call for four buildings—two eight-story structures and two twelve-story structures—comprising a total of 1,100 units and 55,000 sq. ft. of retail space as well as new parks and public waterfront amenities. Last year, the Bayonne City Council approved the Bayview Redevelopment Plan and new zoning for property at 175 Avenue A.
Transit and Equity News
How Data Can Help Reduce Transportation Inequity
Shourjya Mookerjee, GCN.com, August 4, 2021
The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) recommends that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) improve and expand its data collection efforts. While race, income, gender and similar data are necessary for understanding patterns of inequity, crash data could be improved by “additional data points and granularity … to fully understand the equity dimensions of road safety.” The organization proposes that the USDOT “fund and support the creation of datasets that evaluate physical access to transit such as prevalence of sidewalks, safe crossing points, and bike lanes, stop accessibility and lighting, sign and information clarity, and presence of shelter and seating.”
Regional and National TOD News
MASSACHUSETTS—BPDA Approves New Developments in Four Boston Neighborhoods
Liz Hughes, Boston Agent Magazine, August 5, 2021
The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) recently approved five new transit-oriented development projects. When completed these projects will add 544 residential units to four Boston neighborhoods: Dorchester, Roxbury, Fenway and Hyde Park. The largest of five, Jan Karski Way Extension Project in Dorchester, will include 403 residential units, of which 60 will be affordable enhanced streetscapes as well as the construction of new streets and sidewalks, 14,665 sq. ft. of retail space, storage for 488 bicycles and 47,786 sq. ft. of new publicly accessible open space. The developer also agreed to increase affordable housing contributions in the future.
NEW YORK—Governor Cuomo Announces Completion of $31 Million Mixed-Use Housing Development in Buffalo
Press Release, Office of the Governor, August 3, 2021
Supported through the Buffalo Billion initiative to revitalize neighborhoods and improve transportation, the Jefferson Avenue Apartments feature 90 affordable apartments, including 16 units reserved for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities, and more than 16,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. The development is served by three bus routes and is located adjacent to a park, a grocery store, and a small shopping center. The Jefferson Avenue Apartments were designed to meet Enterprise Green Communities criteria and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Low Rise New Construction Program.
CALIFORNIA—CVS – 196 Apartments and Retail Project Approved in San Leandro
James Albert, Fintech Zoom, August 3, 2021
The San Leandro City Council has approved Centro Callan, a five-story mixed-use building to be located near the BART station. Led by The Martin Group, the project will comprise 196 apartments including 10 affordable units, 28,849 sq. ft. of grocery and retail spaces, and 286 parking spaces including 29 electric vehicle charging stations. In addition, it will offer a 2,400 sq. ft. pedestrian public plaza and two high-capacity locker rooms for bike parking. Plans for transit-oriented development at the site were first conceived in the city’s 2007 Downtown Transit-Oriented Development Strategy.
Can Americans Learn to Love – and Ride – Bus Transit?
Jake Blumgart, Governing, July 29, 2021
A Q&A with Steven Higashide, director of research at TransitCenter and author of Better Buses, Better Cities (2019) that discusses how transit agencies can initiate a virtuous cycle with small wins that prove to riders and political leaders that improvements in service can result in more people using bus transit.
International TOD News
MALAYSIA—OCR to Launch Largest-Ever Project of at Least RM750m GDV in 2022
The Sun Daily, August 5, 2021
The OCR Group Bhd plans to build the largest-ever property development in Shah Alam, the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia. If completed, the future Jalan Alor development will bring nearly 2900 affordable units to a site within a Transit Planning Zone. The entire project is due to be completed by 2026.
AUSTRALIA—Mirvac, John Holland Win Approval for $900m Waterloo Quarter
Ted Tabet, The Urban Developer, August 2, 2021
The government of New South Wales approved plans for a $900 million mixed use project to be built over the future Waterloo Station. The station is one of more than a dozen planned stations on the Sydney Metro, a line that began operations in 2019. Plans for over-the-station development call for a 17-story office building, a 24-story apartment building, and a 25-story building for student housing. These structures will sit above a podium housing shops, community services, public plazas and the transit facility.