Edmonton’s

Transit Oriented Development

Journey

Tom Young, MCIP, MCP

NZ Group Manager,
Urban Planning &
Environmental Services
Auckland Design Office Lunchtime Learning tom.young@stantec.com
July 2018
Agenda

1 Edmonton? I’m vaguely familiar…

2 Refresher: What is TOD?

3 Edmonton’s Slow Start

4 Getting Up to Speed

5 Lessons for Auckland

That’s a Long Way

12,000 km
from
Auckland
The Cities Compared

Auckland Edmonton
 The Cities Compared

Auckland Edmonton
Regional Population 1.7 million 1.3 million

Population by 2042 2.3 million 2.0 million

Auto Mode Share 83% 78%
PT Mode Share (Commute) 8.4% 14.6%
PT Trips Per Capita 55/year 97/year
Urban Density 1,400/km2 1,850/km2
2 Refresher: What is TOD?
TOD is…
“A compact development, with
moderate to higher densities, located
within an easy walk of a transit station,
generally with a mix of residential,
employment, and shopping
opportunities designed for pedestrians
[and cyclists] without excluding the
auto.”
Source: Arrington, Transit Oriented Development: Understanding the
Fundamentals of TOD, 2007
TOD aims to…

Encourage walking, cycling and PT

Increase public transport revenues
Improve safety outcomes
Provide public health benefits
Support move towards Zero Carbon
Create more livable communities
Density of Development

400 m
(5 min. walk)
200 m

Station

800m (and more depending on form of transit)

Diversity –
A Mix of
Uses
Housing Shopping

Jobs
Design –
Buildings, Streets and Public Spaces

Architecture and Street Multi-modal Streets

Relationships
Design – Connected Networks
3 Edmonton’s Slow Start
 1978
• Downtown to Belvedere
• 6.9 km, 5 stations
May or may not be Auckland
Belvedere Station
 PARK + RIDE
BUS TERMINAL

100 m
Belvedere Station
 PARK + RIDE
BUS TERMINAL

LOW INTENSITY
INDUSTRIAL

100 m
Belvedere Station
 AUTO-ORIENTED
RETAIL
LOW DENSITY
RESIDENTIAL

PARK + RIDE
BUS TERMINAL

LOW INTENSITY
INDUSTRIAL

100 m
Belvedere Station
Coliseum Station Area Zoning
Bonnie Doon
Coliseum Station Area
Clareview Station Area
Clareview Station Area
 SCHOOLS AND
HOSPITALS
RECREATION
FACILITIES

HOUSING INTEGRATED
WITH RETAIL AND PARKING

Clareview Station Area

Clareview Station Area
TOD didn’t succeed because:

Density Zoning allowed for it, but in locations

where the market didn’t want to
build it
+
Diversity Served diverse land uses, but many
tended not to be transit supportive
+
Design Station integration and design
guidance for private development
severely lacking
4 Getting Up to Speed
 1978
• Downtown to Belvedere
• Underground in
Downtown
 1981
• Belvedere to Clareview
 1983
• Central to Corona
• Underground
 1989
• Corona to Grandin
• Underground
 1992
• Grandin to University
• River crossing
 2006
• University to Health Sciences
• Return to surface
 2009
• Health Sciences to
Century Park
 2015
• New Metro Line
• Churchill to NAIT/Blatchford
• Current extent of LRT
• 24 km, 18 stations
• 27 km Valley Line under
construction
• Multiple extensions in design
Lewis Farms

2008
• Proposed West Line
• Health Sciences to
Lewis Farms
“No more
crap!”
Stephen Mandel,
2006 State of the
City Address
Multiple Criteria Analysis

Assessment Category Weighting

Land Use/Promoting 26.7%
Compact Urban Form
Movement of 20.0%
People/Goods
Feasibility/ 13.3%
Constructability
Effects on Parks and 13.3%
Public Spaces
Natural Environment 13.3%
Social Environment 13.3%
Overall 100%
From this…
…to this
and this…
…to this
Station/TOD Typologies
TOD Plans Since 2008

• 30,000+
residential units
planned
• 230,000 sm
commercial
floor space
• More proposals
in progress
 • 24 ha shopping
mall site
• 1,750 residential
units
• 70,000 sm of
reconfigured retail

Mill Woods Town Centre

 • 24 ha shopping
mall site
• 1,750 residential
units
• 70,000 sm of
reconfigured retail

Mill Woods Town Centre

Mill Woods Town Centre
 • 12 ha shopping
mall site (1950s)
• 3,000 residential
units
• “Daylighting” of
redeveloped
retail to a series of
on-site streets

Bonnie Doon
 • 12 ha shopping
mall site (1950s)
• 3,000 residential
units
• “Daylighting” of
redeveloped
retail to a series of
on-site streets

Bonnie Doon
 • 12 ha shopping
mall site (1950s)
• 3,000 residential
units
• “Daylighting” of
redeveloped
retail to a series of
on-site streets

Bonnie Doon
 • 18 ha former
shopping mall site
• Current end-of-line
park and ride
• 4,200 residential
units
• Office and retail

Century Park
Century Park
 • 217 ha former
airport site
• Council acting as
developer
• 15,000 residential
units
• 130,000 sm office
and retail
• 25 year build-out

Blatchford
Blatchford
 H
B
2 km 9 km

CBD
CBD

Blatchford vs Hobsonville
5 Lessons for Auckland
Essential Elements for TOD
Edmonton’s Lessons
1 Plan LRT that integrates with and
adds to communities
Edmonton struggled for
decades because early route
choices were easy ones, not the
best ones.
Choose technology and design
infrastructure that is adapted to
context. LRT should be an asset
rather than a liability.
Consider a broad-based
range of effects and
possibilities. Focusing
narrowly on moving people
as quickly as possible may
have negative side effects
and create missed
opportunities.
Edmonton’s Lessons

2 Choose your route and station

locations carefully
Think not only about what exists now, but where the best
potential is in the future.

Station areas with large sites
that have older building stock
or government-owned land
provide better opportunities
for more rapid transformation
into TOD and public transport
supportive areas.
Areas with small lots and
areas that are vehicle-
oriented (e.g., large
unadaptable blocks, big box
retail, newer buildings not
supportive of public transport)
are difficult areas for TOD.
Edmonton’s Lessons
3 Establish firm
principles but be
open to different
methods of
achieving them
TOD frameworks should be
prepared early to set clear
expectations for density,
diversity, and design, for all
actors.
Target public sector planning
efforts where conditions are
not ripe for the private sector
to lead (i.e. areas with
fragmented ownership or the
need for significant public
infrastructure investments).
Let the private sector lead
where the market is strong,
but hold them to a high
standard on transit-
orientation.
Edmonton’s Lessons
4 Have patience, and
avoid “zone it and
they will come” or
silver bullet strategies
Density is but one piece of
the puzzle, and is best
negotiated to maximize
public value on diversity and
design, rather than given up
at the beginning of the
process.
Redevelopment that can be
implemented in small,
progressive steps over time is
best. Government priorities
change and economies rise
and fall, so hanging your hat
on megaprojects is
dangerous.
Successful TOD is complex
and requires coordination of
multiple parties over many
years. Be prepared to be in it
for the long haul.
 Tom Young, MCIP, MCP
NZ Group Manager, Urban
Planning & Environmental
Services
tom.young@stantec.com

Thank You!
Edmonton’s Lessons

1 Plan LRT that

integrates with 3 Establish firm
principles but be
and adds to open to different
communities methods of
achieving them

2 Choose your
route and station 4 Have patience, and
avoid “zone it and
locations they will come” or
carefully silver bullet
strategies