Erfurt Partners2009rev

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Developing in a Smart Growth Climate: A Developer’s Perspective The White Flint area of North Bethesda is a unique asset to Montgomery County, MD, a suburb immediately north of Washington D.C. White Flint holds major growth potential in the local economy as a commercial center located directly on a Metro subway station and containing the County’s conference center, and as a redevelopment site for mixed-use projects. With an urban service area already supported by existing infrastructure and a Metro line, White Flint is poised to be a regional draw for shopping and a haven for its fiercely loyal residents. However, White Flint currently suffers from significant mobility problems. Missing sidewalks and crosswalks, lack of a street network, and limited travel routes restrict growth and hurt White Flintʼs quality of life. These problems detract from valuable existing transportation infrastructure investments such as the Metro Redline and extensive regional bus services. More importantly, these concerns and an inability by public officials to craft a workable solution jeopardized the potential redevelopment opportunity. The development community is poised to redevelop along Rockville Pike, a major retail spine, but also a north-south state road. The success, and frankly the feasibility, of any redevelopment project would come to depend on the success of mobility and accessibility through the Rockville Pike corridor. Though, the problems facing White Flint are greater than any one agency or developer could solve alone, a redraft of the area’s Master Plan provided the platform to develop a broad solution. Once this effort started however, the requisite density for development incentives was (seemingly) at odds with transportation solutions. Stakeholders equated density to traffic, rather than embracing the ideals of smart growth. Five independent development teams and landholders realized that through Stakeholder collaboration the whole would be greater than the parts. The development community hosted a public process between the local residents, Montgomery County Planning Commission staff, and the development community to identify macro-level transportation and planning solutions for the sector. A series of key design principles were developed and tested to increase the walkability and transportation movement of the sector. This panel will discuss the source of traffic and transportation solutions, the collaboration process with state and local officials and citizens, and enacting the broad solutions though the Master Plan.

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Planning & Designing Walkable Communities

Maximizing Opportunity & Investment

Prepared by:

Edward W. Erfurt IVSenior Urban DesignerTown Planning and Design

September 21, 2008

Conventional Development Cycle

Land UsePlanning

INPUTS •Auto Oriented Business•Single Use Zoning•Single Family Residential

GROWTH

OUTCOMES•Isolated Neighborhoods•Multiple Automobile Trips•Poor Mobility•Difficult Walking

TransportationPlanning

INPUTS •Traffic Demand Forecasting•Congestion•LOS

GROWTH

OUTCOMES•Wider Roads•Induced Traffic•More Traffic

Healthy Development Cycle

Land UsePlanning

SMARTGROWTH

OUTCOMES•More Walking & Bicycling•Increased Access

OUTCOMES•Healthy Neighborhoods•Choices of Transportation•More Open Space•Sense of Place•Sense of Community

INPUTS•Diversity of Business•Mixed Use Zoning•Diversity of Residential Units•Context Sensitive Design•Community Involvement

TransportationPlanning

CommunityPlanning

CharretteUnderstanding

Walking Audits

Community Outreach

Drawing

White FlintCase Study

Proposed Development

Increased Network

4

4 24

4

42

2

2

44

4

424

4

42

2

26 Lanes 36 Lanes

Existing Network Additional Network

4 4 2 6 22

4

46 2 82

2 22

4

Existing Network Additional Network

26 Lanes 32 Lanes

Illustrative Transportation Model

Illustrative Transportation Model

5 Minute Walk

5 and 10 Minute Walk