De-Politicking the Implementation of Rapid Transit and Moving Forward

As a city, we have discussed Rapid Transit (RT) for decades but its implementation has been held up due to political disconnect. And a recent action of the city to increase transit costs by 25 cents to fund the first leg of RT is a step in the wrong direction.

Implementing RT has an incredible potential to positively impact our future and the downtown and its time we move things forward under a different paradigm of thinking.

User fees seldom solely fund RT as there are many other benefactors to RT other than existing users, from developers and businesses to future residents and transit users.

Many cities use RT to transform how neighbourhoods and cities are built, using a powerful property tax generator, Transit Oriented Development (TOD). Cities also partially fund RT through an innovative taxation tool, Tax Increment Financing (TIF). With TIFs, incremental taxes generated by the corresponding development are reinvested into building RT.

TOD is usually found along transit corridors, in and around the downtown, in the city's older neighbourhoods, and in places where there are infill development opportunities. For example, Graham Mall, Main, Henderson, Pembina, and McPhillips and even around the University of Manitoba are some areas in which the alignment of RT could lead to more vibrant neighbourhoods. TOD favours a mixture of land uses, close proximity to transit terminals and developments that include office/residential/retail and civic uses. Dense and high quality developments will lead to increased transit ridership and RT development, and more and more people abandoning their cars.

And with rising gas prices and congestion as a growing concern, these neighbourhoods will appeal to young people and empty nesters out of economic necessity and convenience, in addition to a rising desire for quality urban and walkable lifestyles.

There is good economic sense for integrating future development patterns of our city to where rapid transit lines will be laid and leaning less towards developing the fringe of our city. Firstly, utilizing a TOD approach, municipal governments can more readily afford to deliver essential services, more cost effectively to the taxpayer by simply utilizing existing infrastructure as opposed to building new. As a result, our city gains a more environmentally sustainable and more dense and vibrant pedestrian-oriented community, which fits perfectly with OurWinnipeg, the City of Winnipeg's new vision for our city.

Secondly, it is understood that this approach leads to more taxes being generated for the city per acre. For example, a one acre development site comprised of low rise multiple family homes, single family homes and box-store development, typically found in the suburbs, generates 10 times (or more) less taxes as opposed to a one acre development site comprised of high rise multiple family and mixed-use buildings found in dense TOD areas like our downtown.

Lastly, an important driver for this is market demand. There is a growing trend of more people renting (home ownership costs are increasing, more single people) and more families downsizing (empty nesters). As a result, there are more multifamily buildings being built in our city today than ever before and this trend will continue. With an expected growth of 240,000 people and 88,000 jobs in Winnipeg's capital region by 2031, the need for our city to maximize tax revenues and minimize city expenditures is critical.

New TOD neighbourhoods will only happen if land development aligns with the rapid transit line. This intersection, if planned and facilitated, will attract the right private sector development.

Combined with TIF, we'll see extra taxes generated by a subtle shift in redirecting the marketplace and if borrowed upfront, a 30+ year mortgage could cover the costs of building RT.

Theory and fluff? There is an extensive and growing body of published research providing evidence that well-designed TOD can achieve these goals. A visit to the cities where this has proven to be the case paints an even clearer picture of the potential of our city.

It's a matter of clear vision and business acumen, and of course all levels of government working together to transform our city and our downtown.

•Fruitvale Station (Oakland, CA) – a 24 acre redevelopment of a declining commercial strip. TOD is being promoted around a new rapid transit station as a catalyst for community revitalization. Plans include the provision of low income housing, retail, employment and social development opportunities for the community.

•Orenco Station (Hillsboro, OR) – a new residential mixed-use community developing on a greenfield site around a suburban LRT station. A mixed-use town centre near the station is the urban focus. It has been developed with a variety of loft apartment, townhouse and live/work units. Lands beyond the town centre are predominantly low density, single detached housing with large, high tech industry on the periphery.

•Mountain View, CA – developed an award winning TOD vision and detailed "Precise Plans" to promote development around its four commuter rail stations. TOD projects include residential redevelopment on an aging retail mall site, a medium density residential subdivision on a former industrial site, and housing intensification at its downtown stations.

•Mockingbird Station (Dallas, Texas) – a privately planned and financed 10 acre redevelopment project located between a suburban LRT station and university campus. Features include a public plaza, 250,000 SF office component, 211 loft apartments, retail, entertainment centre, etc.

•Portland Pearls District – Over the past decade, Portland's Pearl District neighbourhood, located in the River District Urban Renewal Area, has experienced some of the city's highest growth in residential density. The Pearl District is a mixed-use, twenty-four-hour urban residential neighbourhood full of new residences, offices, regional attractions, retailers, parks and open spaces around a centralized streetcar system.

Source: Calgary TOD Guidebook