Create Mobility-Friendly Places
The CONNECT Beyond initiative is creating more than a mobility plan that focuses solely on expanding and enhancing the mobility options available in our region. CONNECT Beyond also focuses on strategies for how the region can work together to promote sustainable growth, encourage mobility-supportive land use and community development to enhance connectivity, and encourage residents and visitors to use alternative mobility options.
What are Mobility-Friendly Places?
Mobility-friendly places are vibrant communities where residents can live, work, shop, and play. They are one-stop environments where everyday destinations and resources are close by and easy to access. They typically include various mobility options, pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, dense, multi-use development, and enhanced pedestrian amenities.
Mobility-Friendly Development
Mobility-friendly places are supported by mobility-friendly development. This refers to compact, mixed-use, walkable development with multiple mobility options. Mobility-friendly development strategies are most effective when applied to the quarter- to a half-mile radius around a transit stop or station, transit corridor, or major activity centers such as a downtown or other mixed-use destination. The goal of this pattern of land development is to provide a high-quality mobility network that is convenient, safe, and accessible so that community members are encouraged to walk, bike, or ride public transit rather than relying solely on private automobiles for transportation needs.
To learn more, refer to Section 4 in the CONNECT Beyond Regional Mobility Plan.
Read the Final PlanHow We'll Get There: Mobility-Friendly Places Recommendations
Support Local Governments in Adopting Transit Supportive Development Policies
Timeframe: Near-TermCONNECT Beyond recommends that regional partners work with local governments to update their development codes to allow for mobility-supportive development in their communities.
Develop Livability Planning Grant Program
Timeframe: Near-TermDevelop a Livability Planning Grant Program to provide financial support to local governments for planning initiatives.
Create Mobility-Supportive Site and Center Plans with Local Governments
Timeframe: Near-TermWork with local governments to create Mobility-Supportive Site Plans or Mobility-Supportive Center Plans that will help promote multi-use development and foster mobility-supportive land use patterns.
Use a Common Platform for Land Use Analysis
Timeframe: Near-TermA common software platform could be used to examine different growth scenarios for certain areas in the region based on anticipated growth projections and variations in the allowable development type and development densities. Having a common software platform is important to be competitive for transit funding opportunities and comply with legal obligations.
Use Safety Design Guidelines to Design Transit Facilities and Mobility Hubs
Timeframe: Near-TermCrime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is the idea that built environments can be designed in such a way to prevent crime, minimize the fear of crime, maximize users’ safety, and foster a positive social environment. During our Listening Sessions, we heard that feeling safe while using transit services and while at transit stations is a top priority.
Explore Ways to Concentrate Growth Along High Capacity Transit Corridors
Timeframe: Mid-TermLand-use patterns and transportation infrastructure are deeply interrelated. Mobility-supportive development helps to foster a walkable built environment and to create transit-supportive densities around transit corridors and corridor station areas, which are necessary for sufficient transit ridership.