Fixed Guideway Transit and Land Use Patterns, a.k.a: A Good Reason to Vote YES on Proposition 1
[ 1933 Seattle streetcar system overlayed on current urban villages, by leesroberts, via STB ]
One of the biggest benefits of expanding light rail in the Seattle area is the effect it will have on land use patterns. Because fixed guideway transit is a catalyst for focusing development in a bullseye around stations. In the words of the American Public Transportation Association:
“Fixed guideway transit investments are essential to creating energy efficient land use patterns which produce greenhouse gas emission savings far beyond the immediate benefit of increased public transportation use. …Experience has shown that once fixed guideway transit investments are committed and station locations set, the public and private sector can plan transit-oriented developments which produce dramatic reductions in vehicle travel and transportation-related emissions.”
But there’s more to it than energy efficiency: Without an organizing principle, development flails. When there is no reason to develop in one place rather than another, the resultant built environment will likely become one in which there is no reason to be in one place rather than another. In other words, random sprawl, which is not only inefficient, but also lacks the sense of place, focus of social interaction, and source of civic pride that have made great cities livable and memorable for thousands of years.
Created by leesroberts (via The Seattle Transit Blog), the map above shows the Seattle streetcar system in 1933 overlayed on a current map of Seattle’s urban villages. While the match isn’t perfect, most of the transit villages that grew up around the streetcar lines still constitute the core and identity of today’s neighborhoods. The streetcar system helped create a desirable urban form that has benefited the residents of Seattle for nearly a century. And that’s exactly the same long-term benefit we can expect from new light rail in Seattle.
There have been buses running down Rainier Ave. for more than half a century, but development over those years has been unfocused and highly car-dependent. The difference between buses and fixed guideway transit is that a decade from now the oceans of asphalt parking lot surrounding the McClellan light rail station will be gone, replaced by the mixed-use residential buildings and open spaces of a vibrant new urban village. Over in Bellevue we can expect to see a similar transformation in the Bel-Red Corridor if Proposition 1 passes.
Pretty much any time light rail is proposed anywhere in the U.S, people will impugn it by reducing the total investment to a cost per ride that sounds expensive. Left out of their equation, however, are long-term, systemic and transformative effects that are not easily quantified, but are substantial nonetheless. Others deride the “light rail faithful” for supporting a transit system that doesn’t provide the direct benefit of a stop right outside their own front doors. Similarly, what’s missing with this gripe is the insight to grasp that most light rail proponents recognize the big picture benefits, and are willing to be unselfish.
(UPDATE: A comment over at SLOG made me realize that “unselfish” is a bad choice of words. It’s not unselfish to act according to big picture benefits, because everyone wins.)  Â
The coming of light rail to Seattle transcends the physical train and tracks: It is an agent for paradigm shift in both transportation and urban form. It is the critical first step in showing people that there is an attractive alternative, as well as a badly needed demonstration that we can take meaningful action in this era of overwhelming environmental challenges.
In the long term, light rail will produce significant, tangible benefits that make sense for the future. But perhaps as important is the near term symbolic value, for symbols have always had the power to change the course of civilizations.
Oh, and did I mention that I think everyone should vote YES on Proposition 1?