Transportation Planning

Council plays a broad and varied role in transportation planning efforts in the Region. As stated in the Strategic Regional Policy Plan (SRPP):

The Region’s transportation system should be one that integrates alternate modes of travel into one balanced system that supports community goals, enhances urban life, increases mobility, and provides for the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. Any approach to achieve these multiple objectives must include an analysis of the way we use our land, the manner in which we choose to travel, and the institutional and financial arrangements we have developed to meet our travel needs. In short, these objectives can only be achieved through a better integration of transportation and land use planning.

Towards the mission set forth in the SRPP, Council maintains extensive working relationships with the various transportation entities in the Region, collaborating with the Florida Department of Transportation, South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, various Metropolitan Planning Organizations, transit providers, and others.

Improving the relationship between transportation and land use planning is a challenging goal. Vast portions of the Region are characterized by low-density suburban development patterns. The relatively low densities and inefficient land use pattern in these areas make them difficult to serve with transit, thereby limited travel options . In the older portions of the Region, especially along the coast, local governments have capitalized on urban conditions and existing infrastructure to achieve successful redevelopment initiatives, many of which center around historic downtowns and the existing railroads. Densities in these more urban areas tend to be higher, making transit service a feasible option.

One means by which transportation and land use planning has been integrated successfully across the country and internationally is through transit-oriented development or TOD, which is generally defined as a compact, mixed use development within a quarter- to half-mile of a transit station or along a transit corridor that serves housing, transportation, and neighborhood goals. TOD is typically characterized by a high quality pedestrian environment, urban arrangement of uses, and parking approaches that improve efficiency, all tending towards a setting which encourages residents and workers to drive their cars less and ride mass transit more. The Transportation Research Board (October 2002) noted the common features of TOD as follows:

• mixed-use development • development that is close to and well-served by transit • development that is conducive to transit riding • compactness • pedestrian- and cycle-friendly environs • public and civic spaces near stations • stations as community hubs

It is important to distinguish between TOD and TAD, or “Transit Adjacent Development,” a term referring to development hat is physically near transit, however, due to inferior design, lack of connectivity, or inappropriate land use composition, fails to promote transit ridership or otherwise capitalize on its proximity to transit (TRB, October 2002, p. 6).

Council is involved in many varieties of TOD projects in the Region and throughout the State. Several of these are identified below.

South Florida Regional Transportation Authority

In July 2003, the State of Florida passed legislation that transformed the Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority (Tri-Rail) into the South Florida Regional Transportation SFRTA (SFRTA.) The SFRTA was created with a vision to provide greater mobility in Southeast Florida, thereby improving the economic viability and quality of life of the community, region, and state. The SFRTA's mission is to coordinate, develop, and implement a viable regional transportation system in South Florida that endeavors to meet the desires and needs for the movement of people, goods, and services.

The SFRTA is a partner agency of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, along with other entities. Through this partnership, the “Tri-Rail Station Evaluation Project” project was developed as a collaborative effort between the SFRTA, TCRPC, and the South Florida Regional Planning Council to provide land use, development, infrastructure, demographic, and development information via data collection, field work, mapping, and analysis. This information will be utilized by the SFRTA, regional planning councils, local governments, and other entities to continue to improve the overall mobility of the Southeast Florida region. The initial products of this effort are posted on the SFRTA website (http://www.sfrta.fl.gov/stations.html). Please check back as these maps, evaluations, and images will be updated as conditions continue to change, and new data sources are identified and evaluated.

Town of Jupiter TOD

At the request of the Town of Jupiter planning staff, and with funding from the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) has begun analyzing three potential station areas for the location of a future transit station along the FEC rail corridor. Council prepared a summary memorandum evaluating these three areas and a powerpoint presentation for the Town Council (links below). Additional evaluation regarding these sites is currently underway.

Jupiter TOD - Preliminary Station Area Evaluation Memo

Jupiter TOD - Preliminary Station Area & TOD Presentation (includes Town Evaluation and Appraisal slides)

Jupiter TOD Charrette

West Palm Beach Transit Village

Lake Worth TOD Charrette

South Florida East Coast Corridor Study