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Public land, public investment, public benefits

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The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is determining whether a southern extension of its TRAX light rail system to the site of a former state prison would be feasible as part of a land use and transportation plan for redeveloping the area into a major job center. But how to pay for such an extension is a big question.

Minneapolis 2040 sets new bar for what’s possible

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This month on Building Better Communities with Transit , we’re joined by Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender to learn about their recent comprehensive plan update. The city used the update to revamp its zoning, set ambitious goals for climate change, and pointedly address equity and racial disparities in the city.

TOD proceeds slowly in Maryland

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Forty-six acres of land around Owings Mills station outside Baltimore—with direct subway links to downtown—have been made available for development by Maryland DOT (MDOT) since 2007, but development is proceeding slowly. Unreliable trains due to maintenance, a downward ridership trend, and limited transit access to other parts of the region among the obstacles to more TOD.

Major bus corridors chosen for expanded TOD policy

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In Chicago, the groundwork is being laid to expand the city’s TOD policy regulations from the initial two heavy ridership corridors to eight that encompass 20 different bus routes. The policy will allow denser developments with less parking in proximity to select stations.

‘Crossroads of America’ gets a bus lane

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This month on Building Better Communities with Transit we are joined by Sean Northup, Deputy Director of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization. Sean chats about the Indianapolis Red Line, the first of three BRT routes that will crisscross the region. Those lines and other transit improvements are being funded in part by local, dedicated funding which was won after a long and arduous process, as Sean explains.

Statewide TOD legislation, take two

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In an attempt to address the extreme housing shortage in California, State Senator Scott Wiener has introduced a bill that would rezoning much of the state, allowing construction of new homes in job- and transit-rich neighborhoods. The new bill builds on one that failed to gain traction in last year’s legislature.

Durham-Orange TOD could yield almost $2 billion in tax revenue

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Initial findings from a recently released TOD Guidebook by GoTriangle suggests property values near the Durham to Chapel Hill, NC light rail line could result in $3.3 to $4.5 billion in increased property values and $1.4 to $1.9 billion in increased tax revenue over the next 40 years.

Housing for buses and people

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But innovative thinking and new technologies are changing the discussion around potential uses for bus depots, as in San Francisco where the SFMTA has opened up the possibility of building new housing to help pay for the renovation of a 103-year-old maintenance facility.

America’s most successful BRT?

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A month ago, Cleveland’s HealthLine celebrated its 10th anniversary, and there is certainly plenty to celebrate. As one of the nation’s first examples of bus rapid transit (BRT), the HealthLine has spurred about $9.5 billion in investment over the last decade up and down the corridor where it runs.