BACKGROUNDER #7: Urban Centres and Frequent Transit Corridors

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1 BACKGROUNDER #7: Urban Centres and Frequent Transit Corridors Purpose: Why is this topic important to the Regional Transportation Strategy? Metro Vancouver has been a continental innovator in developing urban centres as a way to accommodate population growth without overwhelming the region s finite landmass with an unaffordable and environmentally unsustainable transportation system. The idea, as originally conceived in the 1975 Livable Region Plan, and further developed in subsequent plans, was to develop a series of centres that would enable people to live close to where they worked, shopped and played. This would result in more complete communities, the ability of residents to meet more of their basic daily needs closer to where they live, saving residents the time and expense of long trips. In 2011, the Metro Vancouver Board adopted a new Regional Growth Strategy (RGS), reaffirming the importance of concentrating growth in urban centres. They also embraced the TransLink Transport 2040, which clarified the additional opportunity of developing a strategy in areas along the Frequent Transit Network that can be served most efficiently and cost-effectively by transit. It also included policies to reinforce urban containment, tackle job sprawl and protect industrial land. This backgrounder reviews the opportunities available in a centres-and-corridors strategy, anticipates some future trends and sets out a series of challenges and implications for transportation planning. Opportunities: Local context and global best practices The Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy now identifies a series of Urban Centres, including the Metropolitan Core in Vancouver, the Surrey Metro Centre (the region s second downtown ), seven Regional City Centres and seventeen Municipal Town Centres (see Figure 1). 1

2 Figure. 1: Urban Centres and Designated Urban Area, Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy (2011) Ambleside Lynn Valley Lonsdale Legend Designated Urban Area* Conservation, Recreation, Agricultural and Rural Areas* Regional Road Network Frequent Transit Network Inlet Centre Metropolitan Core Brentwood Lougheed Oakridge Metrotown New Westminster Edmonds Surrey Metro Centre Richmond Centre Newton Coquitlam Centre Port Coquitlam Pitt Meadows Guildford Fleetwood Maple Ridge Centre Willoughby URBAN CENTRES Metropolitan Core Surrey Metro Centre Ladner Cloverdale Langley Centre Regional City Centres Municipal Town Centres Aldergrove * Metro Vancouver, 2011 Semiahmoo The largest portion of Metro Vancouver s overall population is concentrated in centres located on the Burrard Peninsula (Vancouver/UEL, Burnaby and New Westminster), an area notable for maintaining the lowest-impact transportation behaviors in the region. In 2011, residents on the Burrard Peninsula made 40% of their total trips on a typical weekday by walking, cycling or transit and 60% by vehicle, as either a driver or passenger. In the rest of the region, residents made 18% of their trips by walking, cycling and transit and 82% by vehicle. Why such a difference? The Burrard Peninsula has higher residential and job densities, a strong gridbased street network that supports walking and transit, and many neighbourhoods which, having been designed before the widespread use of cars, have convenient local services and facilities such as shops and parks. Many of these areas also have constrained arterial roads, and constrained parking or paid parking. These conditions combine to make it easier to walk, cycle or gain access to a more fully developed transit network, thus reducing the necessity to drive and thereby reducing the demand for new roadway infrastructure. By contrast, many areas outside the Burrard Peninsula have low residential densities, dispersed job locations and built environments that make it difficult to walk or cycle and easy to drive. Generally, these areas are also the most difficult and expensive to serve with transit. 2

3 These are critical considerations in a region constrained by mountains, the ocean and an international border. That s why Transport 2040 sets as a goal that by 2041, most trips will be made by walking, cycling and transit, a standard that is much more attainable if population, jobs and services are concentrated in centres or arranged along corridors that are easily served by transit. In the Metro Core (Downtown Vancouver and Central Broadway), for example, residents walked, cycled or used transit for 60% of all trips and 61% of commutes to or from work or post-secondary school locations. In Metrotown and Downtown New Westminster residents make 52% and 45% of their daily trips respectively by walking, cycling or transit. The European Experience European cities generally have higher-density, compact urban areas, limited road space, expensive parking and, in some cases, congestion pricing. Transit services are generally plentiful and at grade systems (bus or rail) often have their own rights of way. Accordingly, these cities have much higher non-auto mode shares, spend less per capita on transportation, and have much lower emissions and energy consumption. Taken on their own, the Metro Core and Metrotown come much closer to the European ratio (see Figure 2), showing the potential for concentrating development in urban centres and transit corridors. Figure 2: 24-hour Mode Share for Selected Metropolitan Regions and Centres 5.0% 13.0% 2.0% 5.4% 6.3% 0.5% 2.7% 1.8% 28.0% 24.0% 30.2% 16.0% 13.3% 14.2% 11.0% 29.0% 36.0% 29.5% 38.4% 20.7% 14.0% 73.0% 50% 36.0% 26.0% 24.2% 62.4% 46.1% 47.8% Cycle Walk Transit Auto Other 31.0% 32.0% 38.0% 40.2% 2.1% 0.2% Vienna City State (2010) Berlin City State (2008) Greater London (2011) Metro Core (2011) Stockholm County (2004) Metrotown (2011) Walking Distance to FTN (2011) Metro Vancouver (2011) Source: TransLink 2011 Trip Diary; Various sources for European cities 3

4 The Frequent Transit Network The Frequent Transit Network (FTN) is used as an organizing framework for focusing growth and coordinating transit service. Introduced in 2007, the FTN is an interconnected network of corridors where transit service is provided every 15 minutes or better throughout the day and into the evening, seven days a week. Designed to link most Urban Centres and other key trip generating activity areas with frequent transit service, the FTN currently connects directly to about half of the region s population and about two-third of the region s jobs. The new RGS also introduces Frequent Transit Development Areas (FTDAs) that are intended to focus higher-density, mixed-use areas within walking distance of the FTN to support and reinforce the provision of frequent transit service (and complement, rather than compete with, the Urban Centres). People living and working along the FTN, are much more likely to walk, cycle or take transit (see Table 1). In 2011, residents living within walking distance of frequent transit corridors (400 metres for bus-based corridors and 800 metres around rapid transit stations about a 5 and 10 minute walk respectively) walked, cycled or took transit for 38% of their trips, compared to only 18% for those living away from Urban Centres or frequent transit corridors. If we only included people living along the FTN that were located outside an Urban Centre, the walking/cycling/transit mode share is still high at 32%. The higher share of people taking trips by walking, cycling and transit inside the FTN compared to outside these corridors is consistent across all the subregions. Shifting Short Trips to Walking and Cycling The Regional Transportation Strategy is focused on walking and cycling because these modes cost the least, use the least amount of space, create zero emissions and promote active and healthy lifestyles. Transit trips also usually begin and end with a short walk. For more on this, see the Backgrounder: How People Travel. For work or post-secondary education commutes to destinations on the FTN, walking, cycling and transit combined were used 42% of the time in 2011 compared to 20% for the rest of the region. The sustainable mode share for people living in Urban Centres is particularly high for journey-to-work trips (see Table 1) 1. This demonstrates that the FTN is generally in the right places and that residents are responding to the service, walking, or cycling. 1 Based on data for 2006, the latest year where census data are available for journey to work trips, since the sample size from the 2011 Trip Diary is too small for some of the Urban Centres 4

5 Table 1: Transportation Performance for People Living Inside and Outside the Frequent Transit Network People Living Within Walking Distance of the FTN People Living Beyond Walking Distance to the FTN Metro Vancouver Region % of Region s Population Share of region s population, % 52% 100% Population, Employment and Densities, 2011* Population 1,108,000 1,195,000 2,303,000 Employment 647, , ,000 Population density (per gross ha) Employment density (per gross ha) Combined density (per gross ha) Sustainable Mode Share, 2011 Work/Post-Secondary Trips Walk 8.2% 2.5% 5.3% Bike 3.8% 1.3% 2.5% Transit 33.5% 17.5% 25.3% Walk, bike and transit 45.5% 21.3% 33.1% Other Trips (Shopping, Personal Business, Escort, Grade School, Social, Recreation, Dining) Walk 17.6% 10.4% 13.6% Bike 2.1% 0.8% 1.4% Transit 13.3% 4.6% 8.5% Walk, bike and transit 33.0% 15.8% 23.5% All Trips Walk 14.2% 7.8% 10.7% Bike 2.7% 1.0% 1.8% Transit 20.7% 8.8% 14.3% Walk, bike and transit 37.6% 17.6% 26.8% Notes: The FTN includes the portion of urban centres that were located within walking distance of the FTN. Densities are calculated within the Urban Containment Boundary and exclude Newly Developing Areas Source: TransLink 2011 Trip Diary Survey for mode share data; Statistics Canada; Pitney Bowes Canada Business Points 5

6 Figure 3: Density and Journey-to-Work Trips by Sustainable Modes for People Living In Urban Centres, % 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% Edmonds MTC Lougheed MTC Surrey Metro Centre Maple Inlet Centre Ridge MTC Coquitlam Maple Centre Ridge RTC Coquitlam Centre RTC Pitt Meadows MTC Langley MTC Aldergrove MTC Metro Core Metrotown Oakridge MTC Downtown New Westminster Ambleside Lonsdale Brentwood MTC Lynn Valley MTC Guildford MTC Semiahmoo MTC Richmond MTC 20% For People Living Outside Urban Centres Ladner MTC Cloverdale MTC Newton MTC Port Coquitlam MTC Fleetwood MTC POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT DENSITY (PERSONS + EMPLOYMENT PER GROSS HA) Notes: Size of bubbles is proportional to the number of journey-to-work trips for residents in those centres Source: Census of Canada, custom data courtesy of Metro Vancouver Future Trends In the early 1990s, the long-term plan Transport 2021 emphasized the need for an expansion of transit supply and for coordinated planning of land use, transport pricing and parking management. Likewise, the 1996 Livable Region Strategic Plan called for urban containment and identified Urban Centres as priority areas for jobs and housing. The new RGS reinforced this with an Urban Containment Boundary and the use of the FTN as an organizing framework for coordinating land use and transportation. Significant progress has since been made in increasing residential densities throughout the region, but many new areas even some that are quite dense continue to be developed away from transit and are therefore relatively inaccessible except by automobile. Office and retail developments have also worked against the transit-oriented vision. Commercial developers have located in industrial areas or remote locations, where land is inexpensive and parking plentiful, but where distances make it inconvenient for workers or customers to walk or cycle and where it is expensive and impractical to serve with transit. A shift has occurred in recent years, and the office market currently shows a strong preference for locating around rapid transit. Metro Vancouver vacancy rates are lower and lease rates are significantly higher for office developments located within 500m of a rapid transit station across all subregions. 2 2 Jones Lang LaSalle Rapid Transit Office Index 6

7 However, the demand for new office space is slow (about 1 million square feet per year) and targeted in only a few places outside the Metro Core such as the Broadway Tech Centre around Renfrew SkyTrain Station, Metrotown, Sapperton Station and around Surrey Central and King George Station. Figure 4: Share of Region s Population and Employment within Walking Distance of the Frequent Transit Network, 2007 and 2012 PERCENTAGE OF REGION S POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Note: Transport 2040 Target is for housing, not population 33% 48% Transport 2040 Target 51% 66% POPULATION EMPLOYMENT Note: Walking distance to the FTN defined as a 5-min walk to a frequent bus corridor (400m) and a 10-min walk to a rapid transit station (800m) Source: Census of Canada and Pitney Bowes Canada Business Points Future Population and Employment Distribution The population of Metro Vancouver which was 2.4 million in 2011, is forecast to grow by more than a million people by Metro Vancouver s 1.2 million jobs are also expected to increase by 510,000 by About 48% of population growth and 39% of employment growth is projected to occur south of the Fraser River. A significant increase in population is also projected on the Burrard Peninsula, in the Northeast Sector and in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. The North Shore is expected to grow more slowly. Getting Housing in Transit Accessible Places Between 2006 and 2041, the Regional Growth Strategy proposes to locate two-thirds of new dwellings, approximately 330,000 dwellings, in Urban Centres and existing Frequent Transit Development Areas. This would add more than 50,000 dwelling units and 100,000 people to the existing Frequent Transit Network service area every five years. 7

8 Getting Jobs in Transit Accessible Places Of the 500,000 jobs that are forecast to be added to the region by 2045, about 25% will not be suited to urban centre and frequent transit corridor locations because they are in the industrial/port or agricultural sectors or are neighbourhood-based such as in schools. The other 75% of new jobs are suitable for urban centres and frequent transit corridors, often in retail/services and office space. For major office complexes, the best locations for regional accessibility are in the Metro Core, Surrey Metro Centres and the seven Regional City Centres. The Municipal Town Centres are better suited for local offices. There is currently an estimated 68 million square feet of office space in the region accommodating about 350,000 jobs. If past trends continue, the region will add about 1.2 million square feet of office space per year. The Metro Core and the Broadway Corridor contain about 45% of the region s office space. There is increasing market interest in Surrey Metro Centre and Regional City Centres, especially those located on rapid transit lines. About 46% of new office floorspace went to the Urban Centres between 1990 and 2011 (Figure 5). A further 12% of the new office space went around rapid transit stations outside the Urban Centres over the same time period. For retail space, centres with good transit service enable customers and workers to take transit and also attract a significant number of pedestrian trips. For example, 46% of people shopping at Metropolis at Metrotown came by transit and 13% walked; while 42% of people shopping at Oakridge Centre took transit and 15% walked. 3 Figure 5: Distribution of New Office Floorspace in Metro Vancouver by Location, Outside Urban Centres and beyond FTN (25%) Within Metro Core (27%) Not in Urban Centres Within 400m of FTN Bus only (17%) Within Surrey Metro Centre and Regional City Centres (13%) Not in Urban Centres Within 800m of rapid transit stations (12%) Within Municipal Town Centres (6%) Source: Metro Vancouver (2013) 3 Ivanhoe Cambridge Market Research 8

9 Outlook along the Frequent Transit Network is very favourable for walking, cycling and transit. Average densities along the existing Frequent Transit Network are anticipated to increase by almost 60% by 2041 (from 62 persons+jobs/gross ha to almost 100 persons+jobs/gross ha) 4. This is a very high average density from a North American perspective (approaching European densities). In recent years, at least 70% of regional housing starts have been multi-family units with a high portion of apartment buildings, primarily locating in Urban Centres and along the FTN. Office space is also locating around rapid transit stations and in some Urban Centres. Municipalities are focusing density in plans and zoning around rapid transit stations on existing lines and the Evergreen Line, and are designating Frequent Transit Development Areas for higher density, mixed uses. Developers are responding and focusing higher-density development in locations with good transit. Figure 6: Projected Population and Employment Densities within Urban Containment Boundary, POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT DENSITIES (PER GROSS HA) Employment Densities Population Densities Source: Metro Vancouver Metro Growth scenario Traffic Zone allocations (July 2011) used as basis for density calculations for 2041 At the moment, many conditions are aligned to promote growth along the FTN: a clear regional planning framework, supportive local policies, market interest, high housing prices that result in a high proportion of multi-unit dwellings, limited land supply and transit supply reinforcing and encouraging more dense development patterns. There is some uncertainty about the future distribution of employment; while the Regional Growth Strategy sets out a favourable employment distribution for transit and jobs/housing balance, market forces may hinder the realization of these goals. If the centres and corridor targets are not achieved, adjustments will be needed in transportation supply and demand management policies or in the municipal land use plans and updates to the Regional Growth Strategy. 4 If the Metro Core was removed, the average population density on the FTN (within the Urban Containment Boundary) would increase from about 50 persons+jobs/gross ha in 2011 to over 80 persons+jobs/gross ha in

10 Challenges and Implications: What areas need attention? 1 Substantial walking and cycling investments and integration will be necessary to achieve regional sustainable mode share targets. Shifting land use patterns and new development will deliver some safe cycling and pedestrian infrastructure and facilities. Multi-modal facilities such as secure bicycle parking and park-and-ride lots at transit stations and nodes are also important. This implies increasing funding to pedestrian and cycling infrastructure and integration. Municipalities and TransLink will have to work together to better integrate walking and cycling with the transit system. 2 Some expansion of the Frequent Transit Network will be necessary, in established areas and new key corridors where justified by land use and transit demand. The FTN, which has expanded significantly in the last few years, will have to expand further in some established areas and in some high growth corridors in newly developing areas. A focus on improving current services along the FTN will continue to support centres and corridors as optimal areas for population and employment growth. A key policy choice will be determining how much to spend on improving services along the existing FTN as opposed to expanding the FTN. 3 Corridor plans must be coordinated integrating land use, transportation and public realm investments, addressing the needs of both passenger travel and goods movement, and coordinating actions by multiple agencies. Many transportation corridors, such as Hastings, Kingsway, Scott Road, 200th Street and Barnett/ Lougheed Highway, cross jurisdictional boundaries and have varied service levels and land use characteristics. Development and investments in one end of a corridor can affect traffic and transit on the other end. Transit services are also supplied on a corridor basis. Multi-modal corridor planning can address the needs of travellers, accommodate land use considerations, and develop integrated system/demand management measures. The corridor-scale lends itself well to collaboration among municipalities, TransLink and other agencies. 4 A large portion of the region s population will still live beyond the Frequent Transit Network in 2041 and are likely to continue to be auto-oriented. Approximately 40% of the region s population and 33% of the region s jobs may be located beyond the FTN in Many of these residents and job locations will have good local bus connections to the FTN. In other areas, densities will be too low for cost-effective transit services. Clear guidelines would help to determine under what circumstances local transit could be introduced cost-effectively. Another key need is to determine how multi-modal solutions such as park-and-ride facilities could facilitate access to the FTN. Strict adherence to the Urban Containment Boundary will help 10

11 stabilize the extent of the region s transit service area and allow for more frequent transit services in established areas, a goal that would be helped if municipalities were to limit development in new areas. Adding travel choices will ultimately require retrofitting suburban areas a significant challenge as street patterns are established and many of these areas are only a few decades old. Innovative and creative solutions, public and neighbourhood consultation, and incentive programs will all be needed. 5 Housing cost is creating a mismatch between where people live and work and can discourage affordable housing in Urban Centres and along the FTN. Metro Vancouver s Regional Growth Strategy has indicated that affordable housing is a key priority, for both transportation and social equity reasons. The high cost of housing in the City of Vancouver and other central municipalities (and near some rapid transit stations) is driving growth to lower-cost outlying areas. It is important to address the problem of housing affordability and perhaps more importantly, the combined burden of housing and transportation costs on low- and moderateincome households. Rental housing and affordable housing along the FTN can contribute to higher transit ridership and more cost-effective service, while also providing affordable transportation choices. Renters tend to have lower average household incomes and there is evidence that lowerincome households drive less and use transit more frequently. Affordable rental housing in centres and along the FTN also allows renters to move closer to where they work or study. 6 Major trip generating uses must be kept in Urban Centres near the FTN Every time someone locates a large trip generator outside an Urban Centre or beyond the FTN, it creates a new set of auto-dependent travel patterns and frustrates the operation of an efficient transportation network. Yet developers continue to locate everything from entertainment facilities to major office or retail complexes in areas with good highway access but little prospect of costeffective transit service. Metro Vancouver s Regional Growth Strategy contains a policy that major, non-residential tripgenerating land uses are to be located in Urban Centres and Frequent Transit Development Areas. The review of major development proposals for consistency with the RTS and advising municipalities on their impact on the regional transportation system is identified in TransLink s legislation. Better use of these two mechanisms, as well as developing a monitoring system and coordinating with municipal review processes would enhance the coordination of transport and land use, and help prevent large developments in locations that are inconsistent with the RGS and RTS. 11