You will want to read the “Integrated Transit and Land Use Framework” if your neighbourhood is within 800 meters of an existing or proposed LRT Station. This Framework was brought forward as information to Executive Committee of Council on November 3rd, and will be brought to Council with Zoning Bylaw amendments for consideration in 2010. The land use changes may impact your neighbourhood long before you see an LRT station.
The “Framework” supports Edmonton’s strategic goal to develop increased residential and employment density around the LRT system. Different guidelines, standards and density targets are outlined for each type of LRT station. For every station type, successful transit oriented development depends on sufficient development density to generate high ridership, and a fine grained street network, with short (75 M blocks) to ensure ease of pedestrian and cycling access. Other components for success are a balance of mixed uses (residential, employment, retail and civic uses), wide boulevards and facilities to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, street oriented buildings with active frontages along the station platform, and low land consumptive uses within 400 Meters of the station. For example indoor recreation facilities and community league buildings with small parks are encouraged, but large District Parks are discouraged within 400 meters of LRT stations. Parking requirements are reduced and parking maximums are encouraged, thus limiting auto-dependent uses.Crandall & Arambula, the consultants from Portland who prepared the “Framework”, emphasize “the short block size is the most important thing to get right.” Improvements in the public realm for pedestrians and cyclists are as important as higher residential and employment density. However, these required improvements have already meet some resistance from the development industry who argue that roads, sidewalks, boulevards and bicycle lanes are costly to build and maintain, thus should be minimized in order to keep development and maintenance costs down. There is likely to be an ongoing debate on this issue and others as the City prepares Zoning Bylaw regulations for transit areas.You can be part of the debate. Get in touch with the Community Planning Advisor of EFCL, Bev.Zubot@efcl.org, if you would like to pass along your opinions, or would like to be part of a group which develops EFCL’s position on the Integrated Transit and Land Use Framework.You can find the Integrated Transit and Land Use Framework at www.efcl.org / planning matters / civic affairs documents or go to www.edmonton.ca and search for City Council Executive Committee, November 3, 2009 Agenda report on Integrated Land Use. |