Mass Transit

SEP-OCT 2014

Mass Transit magazine features agency profiles, industry trends, management tips and new product information.

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 99 ne of the most intriguing areas that transit agencies are moving into is the leveraging of their properties for real estate development next to rail stations. Transit agencies can increase revenues from the sale/lease of land holdings, and indirectly from increased rider- ship due to new development. Oppor- tunities for large scale transit-oriented development (TOD) are ofen found where large surface parking lots are present at rail stations. Tese huge parking lots are now ofen viewed as underutilized assets, much more valuable than previously perceived. Recently, a large TOD was com- pleted on a parking lot owned by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) at the Rhode Island Metro Station. Rhode Island Row, as the new de- velopment is called, was formed out of a public-private partnership between Metro and Urban Atlantic. A&R; Development was also involved in developing the project. Tis proj- ect created an instant town center with a main street, lined with shops and cafes, with housing above. Te development, a mixed-income com- munity, consists of 274 housing units (including afordable, workforce, and market-rate apartments) and 70,000 square feet of retail. Te Rhode Island Row project is one of many TOD projects under- way or completed along the Metro rail system. As TOD increases both the population and activity around Metro stations, revenue will continue to grow for Metro. While these rev - enues are typically not large enough to build new lines, they add to the overall budget, which can keep rail systems in good repair. Te TOD model, which has been more aggressively pursued in the Washington, D.C., area than any- where in the country, is now being emulated across the nation. Even in car-loving California, Los Angeles is now pursuing several large TODs around its subway and light rail system. Additionally, the California High Speed Rail Authority is examining ways to use value capture from the real estate development in the vicinity of planned high-speed rail stations. Tese revenues can help fund stations and amenities in the surrounding areas. Te US High Speed Rail Association devotes a signifcant amount of time promoting TOD as a way to increase the success of rail projects, from streetcar to dedicated high-speed rail lines. United States Your Expert Partner for Human Machine Interfaces www.eao.com Our products and solutions for the transport sector are as intuitive and reliable as anyone could expect, and facilitate a whole host of day-to-day tasks in this industry. Our user- specif c HMI Components and HMI Systems meet all the transport sector's relevant stan- dards and guidelines. EAO Transportation Punctual. Intuitive and reliable. EAO creates possibilities. Since 1947. APTA EXPO Houston 2014 / Booth 2467 For more information, visit www.MassTransitmag.com/10066395 DANIEL KRAUSE Director of Policy and Operations US High Speed Rail Association O

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