5. Most new homes and jobs will be near train stops and bus routes, and new growth will be designed to promote transit use.

MetroFuture’s land use plan supports transportation choices that the region needs. The plan focuses more than two thirds of new housing and jobs near existing train stops and bus routes (comparable to the proportion of existing residents and jobs that are near existing transit.) Of course, this is not possible throughout the entire region; In the Inner Core, 100% of new housing and jobs would be near transit, but just 60% in the Maturing Suburbs and Regional Urban Centers. In Developing Suburbs, 26% of new housing and 22% of new jobs would be near existing transit.

Growth near transit would also be as compact as possible, in order to create maximum ridership potential and make the most of transit investments. Person density (population and jobs per developed acre) in areas near transit would increase 10% regionwide.

If Current Trends continue, a smaller share of the region’s population would live near existing train stops and bus routes, even as the need for transit increases. Only 50% of new jobs and housing would be near existing transit. Transportation demands of new auto-oriented development would increasingly compete with transit for limited resources. Growth near transit would also fail to generate much ridership, due to its low density, poor design, and lack of connections. During recent decades, the density of residents and jobs around commuter rail stations (and therefore the potential ridership) has decreased or increased slower than the regionoverall, due to restrictive zoning. This decrease in density would continue, with average density (population and jobs per developed acre) near transit declining by 3% regionwide, and bigger declines (5%) in suburban municipalities.

Objectives:

  • 66% of new housing units regionwide will be within 1 mile of fixed route transit service.
  • 70% of new commercial and industrial development (measure in number of jobs created) will be within 1 mile of fixed route transit service.
  • 75% of new development within 1/2 mile of rapid transit will be at densities of at least 50 people/jobs per  developed acre.