Session: Refocusing Growth In and Around Philadelphia

March 31, 10:15 AM

Richard G. Bickel, AICP
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission

I. Perspective

An expanded session title would be Using Transit Oriented Development to Refocus Growth in and Around Philadelphia. Each panelist will present case studies that use TOD as a plan implementation technique to:

1. Encourage community and transit corridor revitalization;
2. Foster regional growth management; and
3. Stimulate private sector investment around existing or proposed stations.

However, the case studies offer different perspectives on Station Area Planning, in terms of:

• Availability and extent of public transit service;
• Prospects and timetable for implementation;
• Acceptance by decision-makers and the public of the TOD proposals and implementation techniques.

The speakers will summarize three TOD case studies:

• A proposed Commuter Rail line connecting Philadelphia and Reading PA, riverfront boroughs and semi-rural to suburbanizing townships. This line is at least 5 to 7 years from operation, restoring service to a corridor that last had passenger rail more than 20 years ago.
• A proposed light rail line connecting Camden and Trenton, NJ, with smaller riverfront cities and towns. Currently scheduled to open later this year, it would restore service to a corridor that last had passenger rail more than 40 years ago.

Transit Village Design in Burlington County, Karin Morris, AICP

• An existing subway/elevated Rapid Transit line, connecting Philadelphia, Camden and Lindenwold, NJ, that has been in operation for more than 30 years.

Each panelist will describe the local planning process, with emphasis on practical lessons learned and study outcomes. We hope that you will be able to use these lessons for TOD planning in your communities, or at least compare and contrast them with your own first-hand experiences.

DVRPC is the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the 3,800 square mile, nine-county, bi-state Philadelphia-Camden-Trenton Region. The region has 352 townships boroughs and cities, and all land use decisions are made at the local government level.

• The region’s 2000 population was 5.4 million, with an estimated 2.8 million jobs. The DVRPC Year 2025 Plan forecasts nearly 6 million people and 3.2 million jobs; growth rates of 11% and 13%, respectively.
• Like many older metro areas, the Core Cities of Philadelphia, Camden, Trenton and Chester are losing population and jobs, while surrounding suburban counties are gaining, some at more than twice the region’s forecasted growth rate.
• In suburban and exurban areas sprawl development continues. Average densities have declined as average lot sizes have increased, threatening farmland and natural resources.
• The region is a Severe Non-Attainment Area for Ozone pollution. Regional travel trends are increasing dramatically for vehicle miles of travel, trips and auto ownership (two to three times the rate of population growth), with continuing decline in average vehicle occupancy for work trips.
• Public transit has shown modest increases recently, particularly for commuter rail service, but overall prospects for transit ridership growth are low given the land use and development trends, and in the absence of concerted efforts to create more compact, mixed-use communities and revitalize existing urban places. These desired changes in land use patterns and development trends are essential components of TOD planning and implementation activities, as described in the case studies that follow.

Author and Copyright Information

Karin Morris, AICP is a Regional Planner with four years of experience at DVRPC, working on studies linking land use and transportation, for such topics as transit-oriented development, environmental justice and curbing sprawl. She received a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan and an undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan University. Her Masters Thesis for a Detroit Neighborhood Plan won the national Don Schon Award for Excellence for practice-based learning. She has also worked on land use and accessibility studies for the New York City Department of City Planning and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority.

John Beckman, AICP, PP is a principal at Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC, a national planning and design firm. In more than 25 years of experience, he has specialized in land planning and design in urban and suburban settings. John’s work with community groups is characterized by the incorporation of their aspirations into a leading role in the process. His projects display an unusual ability to identify the critical cultural, physical and environmental features that give value and meaning to the outcomes of the work.

Joseph Clemens, AICP has four years of experience as a land use planner with the Philadelphia design firm, Kise Straw & Kolodner. He received his Masters Degree from Rutgers' Bloustein School of City and Regional Planning. Joe’s experience facilitating public involvement, combined with his training in transit-oriented and neo-traditional design, augments the firm's transportation and community planning specialties. His TOD-related work includes the Roosevelt Boulevard Transportation Investment Study, for which KSK developed TOD concept plans for new subway stations as an extension of SEPTA's Broad Street line. Presently, he serves as project manager and senior planner on the firm's Haddon Avenue/PATCO Hi-Speedline Corridor Study; his topic for today's conference session.

Moderator: Richard Bickel, AICP, is Deputy Director, Regional Planning Division, at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). He has a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. His more than 32-year planning career includes positions with the Montgomery County (Norristown, PA) Planning Commission, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and DVRPC. He is active in the PA Planning Association, the Transportation Research Board and currently chairs a Transit Cooperative Research Program panel undertaking a national study of transit-oriented and joint development.

Contact: Richard G. Bickel, AICP
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
Bourse Building - 8th floor
111 S. Independence Mall East
Philadelphia, PA 19106-2582
(p) 215-238-2830
(f) 215-592-9125
(em) rbickel@dvrpc.org