| Land Use and Growth Management |
| Transit Oriented Development Meets Small Town
America |
| By Patrick Sweeney, Portland, Oregon 1-503-478-2341, sweeney@pbworld.com;
James Hencke, 1-503-478-2353, hencke@pbworld.com;
and Kia Buford, 1-503-478-2340, buford@pbworld.com
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| Our team is designing Twin
Creeks, a new transit oriented development. Twin Creeks will be a
link in a region-wide system designed to increase transit usage, decrease
sprawl and traffic congestion in the community, and create traditional
neighborhood and village environments for residents. |
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Rendering of Twin Creeks |
We in the design department of PB's Portland office are designing
Twin Creeks, a transit oriented development (TOD) project in the small
city of Central Point, which is located in the Rogue Valley region
of southwestern Oregon. Twin Creeks will be one of the largest mixed-use
developments in the state and the first project in southern Oregon
to have its own TOD zoning code and design development standards.
Rapid population growth and sprawl development patterns have created
traffic congestion problems in Central Point in the past decade and
government officials are looking for local and regional solutions.
In the context of the Rogue Valley region, the Central Point TOD will
be one of a network of transit destinations linked to Medford, the
primary regional urban center. The increased densities at these hubs
will provide the ridership base required to make bus transit more
viable and allow the local transit agency to continue to commit funds
to increase service frequency. The goal is a region-wide system that
increases transit usage and decreases automobile dependency.
A Sustainable New Neighborhood for Central
Point
Twin Creeks is a 29-ha (230-acre) mixed-use development adjacent to
the community's historic downtown. The compact and pedestrian- friendly
site design concept evolved around a bus transit core/central green
at its center. Residential densities will be highest here, where housing
will be accompanied by commercial, office and civic land uses. Retail
and office space will be located on the ground floors of 2- to 4-story
buildings with apartments on the upper floors.
The core development area will be surrounded by mixed-use multifamily
apartment flats, condominiums and townhouse buildings. The development
then transitions into neighborhoods of single-family homes. These
homes, on the outer ring of the development, will be on lots ranging
in size from 315 m2 (3,500 square feet) to more than 630 m2 (7,000
square feet). Traditional houses with front porches to zero-lot line
carriage homes are proposed. A total of fifteen hundred new residential
units are planned with ten different housing types. This mixture will
create the opportunity for people of a diverse range of ages and income
levels to live together in the community.
The multimodal circulation system will radiate from the core, enhancing
connectivity throughout all seven neighborhoods. All residents of
Twin Creeks will be within a 5-minute walk of an interconnected and
integrated network of parks and open spaces, and within a 10-minute
walk of a transit stop, neighborhood commercial services and employment
opportunities. The furthest neighborhood from the Central Green will
have its own "corner grocery store," located next to a neighborhood
park for convenience.
Twin Creeks' sustainability will be the result of a synthesis of housing
options for varying income levels and ages; integrated amenities,
services, jobs and modal choices; and environmental stewardship designed
equally for all residents.
Narrow
Streets and Ample Sidewalks
We proposed a grid street network that will complement the historic
urban pattern. Collector streets and an arterial connection to a state
highway will form the backbone of the network, radiating from the
central green and linking all of the neighborhoods and commercial
areas. Neighborhood streets will be narrow and oriented to pedestrians.
Reduced right-of-way and roadway pavement widths were designed to
create traditional neighborhoods of tree-lined sidewalks framed by
small front yards and porches. The single-family and multifamily units
will be served primarily by rear loading alleys to prevent the streetscape
from being dominated by curb cuts, driveways and garage doors. Sidewalks
are proposed on both sides of all streets and traffic-calming devices
are planned throughout each neighborhood to keep traffic movement
slow. These will include curb extensions and crosswalks, small traffic
circles, planted medians and mid-block crossings.
The commercial and higher-density areas have 2.4-m to 4-m (8-foot
to 12-foot) -wide sidewalks with trees in tree grates, while neighborhood
streets have 1.5-m (5-foot) -wide sidewalks separated from the curb
line by 1.8-m (6-foot) -wide planting strips and street trees. Designated,
painted bike lanes on the arterial and collector streets will provide
safe and convenient opportunities for bicycle transportation. An off-street
bike and pedestrian path will circumnavigate the development, linking
all the neighborhoods and commercial areas.
A
Community Focal Point
The Twin Creeks TOD has a mixed-use commercial and civic core, as
do many traditional neighborhoods and villages that evolved historically
around such a core. "Civic buildings and public gathering places
require important sites to reinforce community identity and the culture
of democracy," as stated in The Charter of the New Urbanism,
a book written by members of the Congress for the New Urbanism to
"reestablish the relationship between the art of building and
the making of community." The primary civic building planned
for the Central Point TOD is the school, which will anchor one end
of the central green. It is envisioned that the school building will
have a distinctive form because its role is different from that of
other buildings. An architectural character similar to other historic
civic architecture of the region is planned. Because Twin Creeks'
central core area will be easily accessible to all who live in the
community, children will be able to walk or bicycle to school
Parks and Open Spaces in Every Neighborhood
More than 16 ha (41 acres), which equals nearly 20 percent of the
total site area, are dedicated to a range of park and open space uses
that will be distributed within the neighborhoods. For example, the
central green, the primary civic gathering place, is envisioned as
providing for passive as well as active uses, such as soccer fields
and walking paths.
The remaining parks and open space will be used to define and connect
different neighborhoods and districts. These will include tot lots,
smaller neighborhood parks and open space areas that incorporate walking/jogging
trails, stormwater treatment facilities and a reconstructed creek
corridor.
Project Status
In December 2000, we attained approval for proposed changes to the
City's Comprehensive Plan and the proposed TOD zoning code and TOD
district and corridor design development standards. In early January
2001, The Central Point City Council approved the Twin Creeks TOD
master plan, a pre-annexation development agreement, and a request
for annexation. With the planning approval phase completed, we are
now working on implementation strategies and construction documents
for Phase 1 land development plans.
As with any project, it is absolutely essential to cultivate personal
relationships with the client, agency staff and the community well
in advance of any formal submittals, particularly when it comes to
work that is considered cutting edge or "outside of the box."
We have found that by forming partnerships and analyzing all of the
processes necessary to gain final approvals, we established our credibility
and created the opportunity to design the best product for our client
and for the community. |
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Patrick Sweeney has 10 years of experience working
on public and private planning, urban design and landscape architecture
projects in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Oregon and
Washington. Prior to Patrick's current assignment as project coordinator
for Twin Creeks, he managed many downtown revitalization and community
development projects.
James Hencke has more than 13 years of diverse national and international
experience in planning, urban design, and landscape architecture.
An advocate of the principles of new urbanism, Jim is particularly
interested in the creation of aesthetic, functional outdoor spaces
and design and planning that respect local climate, topography, history
and building practice. A landscape architect, Jim is currently involved
with a number of transit oriented development and traditional town
planning projects.
Kia Buford came to PB in 1999 with McKeever/Morris, when it joined
the firm. For the preceding six years, she worked with public, private
and non-profit clients on a diverse range of projects requiring land
use and natural resource planning, urban design and landscape architecture
expertise. Her urban and site design work emphasizes pedestrian and
bicycle-friendly design supported by transportation amenities, land
use and site design, and typically requires a strong public involvement
component. |
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