Broad Street Corridor TOD Community Plan Prepared For Richmond - - PDF document

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Broad Street Corridor TOD Community Plan

Prepared For Richmond Regional Planning District Commission (RRPDC) Studio I Spring 2008 Team Members Sulabh Aryal, Adam Clark, Tsubasa Mihira, Robert York Studio Instructor

• Dr. Morton Gulak

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Program Virginia Commonwealth University May 2008

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Table of Contents I. Executive Summary II. Vision Statement III. Existing Conditions

• A. Land Use
• B. Demographics
• C. Transportation
• D. Urban Design
• E. Community Facilities & Key Sites

IV. Assets & Liabilities V. Goals & Objectives VI. Transit Analysis & Recommendation VII. Broad Street Corridor Proposed Transit Stops

• VIII. TOD Community Plan: Broad Street & Libbie Avenue

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Table of Graphs/Tables Graph/Table Number Graph/Title Number Page Number Graph 1 Total Population Growth 15 Graph 2 Total Housing Growth 22 Graph 3 Total Employment Growth 26 Graph 4 Total Automobile Growth 30 Graph 5 Traffic Volume Forecast – Richmond 34 Graph 6 Traffic Volume Forecast – Richmond 35 Table 1 Community Facilities & Key Sites 45 Table 2 Proposed Transit Stops 52 Graph 7 Existing & Proposed Streetscapes 73

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Table of Maps Map # Map Title Page # 1 Location Map 9 2 Broad Street Corridor 1 mile Buffer 10 3 Broad Street Corridor Counties and TAZs 11 4a Richmond Downtown Land Use Map 12 4b Richmond Near West End Land Use Map 13 4c Richmond Far West End Land Use Map 13 5 Henrico County Land Use Map 14 6a Broad Street Corridor Total Population 2000 and 2031 (all corridor) 16 6b Broad Street Corridor Total Population 2000 and 2031 (Richmond) 17 6c Broad Street Corridor Total Population 200 and 2031 (Henrico) 18 7a Broad Street Corridor Population Density (all corridor) 19 7b Broad Street Corridor Population Density (Richmond) 20 7c Broad Street Corridor Population Density (Henrico) 21 8a Broad Street Corridor Total Housing Units 200 and 2031 (all corridor) 23 8b Broad Street Corridor Total Housing Units 200 and 2031 (Richmond) 24 8c Broad Street Corridor Total Housing Units 200 and 2031 (Henrico) 25 9a Broad Street Corridor Total Employment 2000 and 2031 (all corridor) 27 9b Broad Street Corridor Total Employment 2000 and 2031 (Richmond) 28 9c Broad Street Corridor Total Employment 2000 and 2031 (Henrico) 29 10a Broad Street Corridor Total Automobiles 2000 and 2031 (all corridor) 31 10b Broad Street Corridor Total Automobiles 2000 and 2031 (Richmond) 32 10c Broad Street Corridor Total Automobiles 2000 and 2031 (Henrico) 33 11 Broad Street Corridor Major TOD Nodes 53 12 Existing Land Use Plan of the Half Mile Buffer 56 13 Existing Zoning of the Half Mile Buffer 58 14 Existing Building Footprints and Land Parcels 59 15 Broad Street Corridor: TOD Community Node Libbie Avenue Proposed Land Use Plan 70 16 Broad Street Corridor: TOD Community Node Libbie Avenue Proposed Building Locations 72

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Section I. Executive Summary This Transit-Oriented Development Plan provides data and analysis, identifies assets and liabilities, goal and objectives, as well as information for creating a transit corridor along Broad

• Street. The intersection of Broad Street and Oliver Hill Way, near the Richmond Main Street

Amtrak Station, marks the start of the Broad Street corridor in the east. The corridor extends west through downtown Richmond and continues through Henrico County. It ends at the junction of Broad Street and Route 288, which is just inside Goochland County. This corridor is multi-modal mass transit oriented with Transit-Oriented Developments situated throughout. Feature elements of the plan include existing conditions, analysis of different types of mass transit, an apt transit recommendation for the corridor, discussion of its assets and liabilities, and a plan of development for the first Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in the Broad Street Corridor. Subjects of analysis are Land Use, Community Demography, Transit and Urban Design as indicators of the suitability of this type of development in the corridor. This plan evaluates existing land use and recommends changes for future land use for the corridor and the proposed development location. Changes in population density, retail and commercial centers, and areas of dense, multi-family residential housing, indicate what sites are selected for Transit Oriented Development on Broad Street. People who worked on the Broad Street Corridor Transit-Oriented Development Plan are Virginia Commonwealth University graduate students studying Urban and Regional Planning. Appropriately, completion of this plan, in part, is to satisfy the spring 2008 Studio I requirement

• f the Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning program at VCU.

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Section II. Vision Statement Broad Street is a pedestrian oriented corridor offering several modes of transportation where people enjoy a high quality of living by residing, working, and recreating in close proximity and finding entertainment easily accessible. Broad Street is an array of mixed-use developments providing ample space for retail, commercial and residential needs. By preserving the positive aspects of existing development and through proper future augmentation, this corridor enables people from the city’s core to the outer western fringes of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) to have a high quality of life.

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Section III. Defining the Broad Street Corridor The Broad Street Corridor is a 16-mile long area beginning in Richmond, Virginia, stretching from the heart of the city to Virginia Route 288 in Goochland County. The one-mile zone along the corridor is ½-mile on either side of the street, defining the range of the corridor. (See maps 1, 2, and 3.)

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Section IV. Existing Conditions A. Land Use The land use on either side of Broad Street is commercial. This use is continuous along the corridor from Richmond through Henrico County. Immediately behind the commercial and retail use on Broad Street is mostly single-family residential housing that is low-density, quarter- acre lots. There are some isolated pockets of medium density multi-family residential uses located near existing commercial centers along Broad Street. (See maps 4a, 4b, 4c and 5) For example, the existing commercial and business activity in the immediate vicinity allows the plan to focus first on establishing the transit system and stops at already existing higher density housing areas.

Map 4a: Richmond Downtown Land Use Map

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Map 4b: Richmond Near West End Land Use Map Map 4c: Richmond Far West End Land Use Map

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Map 5: Henrico County Land Use Map

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B. Demographics Population: The total population along the Broad Street Corridor is going to grow significantly between the year 2000 and the year 2031. Graph 1 shows how population will increase from 172,648 people in 2000 to 243,652 thousand people in 2031 along the entire corridor. That is a 44.3% population increase. The growth is expected to occur along the entire corridor; it will not occur in isolated pockets. Comparing maps on the total population (Maps 6a, 6b and 6c) and population density (Maps 7a, 7b and 7c), between the years 2000 and 2031, there is a discernable increase for TAZs with greater total population and higher population densities. Population growth will move west along Broad Street, creating more zones with higher densities. Henrico County will see the greatest growth, from 97,023 people in 2000 to more than 161,000 people in 2031. This is an important indicator of potential ridership.

172,648 243,652

50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000

Population 2000 Population 2031

Graph 1: Broad Street Corridor-Total population change from 2000 to 2031. Source: Richmond Regional PDC.

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Housing Units: Housing units will increase along the corridor proportional to the population increase. Total housing units along the Broad Street corridor will increase from 78,857 in the year 2000 to 111,195 units in 2031. The increase in housing unit density and total number of units will occur in the same TAZs identified for total population growth and density growth. This pattern of population growth, density and number of housing units is noted along the entire TOD corridor. (Map 8a, 8b and 8c) It is estimated that for every new housing unit, there are an average of 10 automobile trips per day (VDOT). If housing units grow as projected, without a mass transit system there will be an additional 362,820 new

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generated trips for the corridor.

78,857 111,195

20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000

Housing Units 2000 Housing Units 2031

Graph 2: Broad Street Corridor-Total increase in housing units from 2000 to 2031. Source: Richmond Regional PDC.

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Employment: Total employment along the corridor will grow from 292,729 thousand jobs in 2000 to 328,939 jobs in 2031, a 13% increase. The new jobs are situated in areas where population and housing units are projected to grow. (See maps 9a, 9b and 9c) Each new job creates four trips per day, on average (VDOT). Here is another indicator of potential ridership. Increased employment along the corridor will add an average of four trips per day or 144,840 cars to Broad Street daily.

292,729 328,939

270,000 280,000 290,000 300,000 310,000 320,000 330,000 340,000

Employment 2000 Employment 2031

Graph 3: Broad Street Corridor-Total increase in employment from 2000 to 2031. Source: Richmond Regional PDC.

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Automobiles: The number of automobiles will increase dramatically along the Broad Street corridor from 2000 to 2031. The total number of cars will grow from 109,438 automobiles in 2000 to 163,381 in 2031. Most of the new autos will be two-axel cars and trucks. The TAZs that show the highest increase in automobile density follow the pattern of total population, population density, and housing unit increases along Broad Street. (See maps 10a, 10b and 10c) This pattern is important. The data indicate that all forms of new growth are going to occur in the same TAZs along the TOD corridor. Some of the zones where this amassed growth will occur may be ideal sites for the first proposed Transit-Oriented Development on Broad Street.

109,438 163,381

20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 140,000 160,000 180,000

Automobiles 2000 Automobiles 2031

Graph 4: Broad Street Corridor-Total automobile growth between year 2000 and year 2031. Source: Richmond Regional PDC.

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C. Transportation Projected increase in traffic volume in Richmond to the year 2031 is presented in graph 5. The major intersections along Broad Street are listed to the right of the line chart. Volume is measured from one intersection to the next. The volume projections do not consider actual capacity and it is estimated that demand will far exceed capacity along the entire length of Broad Street in the future.

Richmond

20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 2019 2022 2025 2028 2031 Year Volume 2nd St Hancock (33) Harrison Terminal Pl Sheppard Malvern Staples Mill

Graph 5: Broad Street Corridor-Traffic volume forecast to 2031. Source: VDOT AADT.

Projected traffic volume increase in Henrico County to the year 2031 is shown in graph 6. The major intersections along Broad Street are listed to the right of the line chart. Volume is measured from one intersection to the next. The volume projections do not consider actual capacity and clearly show that future demand will far exceed capacity along the entire length of the Broad Street Corridor.

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Henrico

50000 100000 150000 200000 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 2019 2022 2025 2028 2031 Year Volume WCL Richmond Horsepen I-64 Hungary Parham Pemberton Gaskins Cox

Graph 6: Broad Street Corridor-Traffic volume forecast to 2031. Source: VDOT AADT.

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D. Urban Design The Broad Street Transit-Oriented Development Plan is divided into two main parts- the City of Richmond (urban) and Henrico County (suburban). This is an analysis of the urban design conditions for the Broad Street Corridor. Existing Urban Design Conditions Richmond (urban) The City is a well-developed commercial area and accounts for most of the population density in this Broad Street TOD plan. There are a lot of high-rise buildings and business complexes along Broad Street. Richmond contains many historical buildings, which give a Broad Street sense of enclosure. Strengths Buildings in Richmond

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Strengths Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Various enterprises are concentrated in Richmond, which is turning into a considerable business center. There are many high-rise buildings in the central area of the city. In addition, many historical buildings remain and coexist with modern architecture found in Richmond. These buildings are statically formed, creating a sense of enclosure, which gives people a comfortable feeling. In addition, Richmond has many entertainment facilities such as a baseball stadium, numerous museums and outdoor

• parks. Broad Street in the city of Richmond has three lanes in each direction.

Photo showing Richmond Children’s Museum

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Weaknesses There are many physical problems in the city of Richmond. Crosswalks are not provided at every intersection and the sidewalks are too narrow or damaged. Lighting along the Broad Street Corridor is oriented for automobile traffic, not pedestrians, which leaves dark areas along the street where crime can occur. In addition, there is no consistent style or theme to the bus stops along the corridor; installing benches will create a sense of place at bus stops. Richmond is a small area with a high population density; there is no public open space or space for new retail

• sites. These deficiencies create a hazard for pedestrians and motorists on Broad Street.

Photo of existing bus stop on Broad Street

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Photo showing intersection with no crosswalks on Broad Street Photo showing absent sidewalk on Broad Street

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Henrico County (suburban) Henrico County is both a business and residential community and one of the main commuter cities of Richmond. There is much available space that is developable in the County. Cape Code is the prevalent architectural style in Henrico County and is a common architectural style found in the Richmond MSA. The Broad Street Corridor exhibits no definite architectural

• theme. The only consistent design style for commercial buildings is the color scheme. The hues

range from brick red to beige. However, in spite of the lack of common architectural style or building material, the buildings coexist in harmony. Strengths Henrico County has both a residential and commercial areas, is growing rapidly and still has space available for development. The Short Pump shopping district, located in West End, is

• ne of the main popular spot for citizens. This place provides a lot of stores, Movie Theater,

bookstore and restaurant. Henrico County is offering many of the affordable housing, and it is a Photograph of Cape Code style residence.

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great area for commute to Richmond City. The Broad Street in Henrico County has three-lane and affects to development of the county. Short Pump Town Center on Broad Street in Henrico County

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Photo of a restaurant in Henrico County Photo of Broad Street in Henrico County

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Weaknesses The pedestrian walkability is much worse in Henrico County than the City of Richmond. This situation is very hard for people who do not have a car. There are almost no street crosswalks and sidewalks; crosswalks are established only at those intersections with the greatest amount of automobile volume. All of the Broad Street Corridor in Henrico County has visible electric poles and cables. There are no gateways in Henrico County and the City of Richmond, making it difficult to recognize the transition from the City of Richmond to Henrico County. The traffic signals in Henrico County are hanging on exposed cables. Installing infrastructure facilities in this manner ruins the beauty of the locality’s urban design.

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Photo of hanging traffic signals on Broad Street Photo showing exposed electric and telecommunication cables

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E. Community Facilities and Key Sites Many community facilities and other key sites area located within one-half mile of Broad Street along the TOD corridor. Federal, state and local government offices, parks, K-12 public schools and Virginia Commonwealth University are all within the Broad Street Corridor. These services and facilities will draw people from throughout the corridor and will service to increase ridership of the light rail transit system on Broad Street. City of Richmond Commonwealth of Virginia Capital 1 Capital Square United States Federal Courts 1100 E. Main Street City of Richmond City Hall 900 E. Broad Street Library of Virginia 800 E. Broad Street Richmond Public Library 101 E. Franklin Street Richmond Police Department 107 S. 5th Street Virginia Commonwealth University 1108 W. Broad Street Richmond Fire Department – Stations 324 W. Leigh Street 914 Hermitage Road Binford Middle School 1701 Floyd Avenue Albert Hill Middle School 3400 Patterson Avenue Henrico County Johnson Elementary School 5600 Bethlehem Road Crestview Elementary School 1901 Charles Street

• R. C. Langdon Elementary School

9200 Mapleview Avenue Skipwith Elementary School 2401 Skipwith Road Nuckols Farm Elementary School 12351 Graham Meadows Drive Mount Vernon Middle School 7850 Carousel Lane Pocahontas Middle School 12000 Three Chopt Road Short Pump Middle School 4701 Pouncey Tract Road

• J. R. Tucker High School

2910 Parham Road Bethlehem Park 3300 Webb Road Westwood Park 5906 Keystone Road Short Pump Park 3401 Pump Road

Table 1: List of community facilities and other key sites within 1/2-mile of Broad Street along the corridor.

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IV. Assets & Liabilities Assets Infrastructure in place to support TOD. Population in place and forecast to grow to support TOD. Portions of Broad Street have architecture that supports TOD development. Broad Street wide enough to enable BRT or LRT transportation to be built. Mixed-use development is already taking place along portions of the route. Liabilities Urban sprawl is the current development pattern. Greyfields and Big Box stores dominate both sides of the route. Commercial strip is the predominant form of development along the route.

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V. Goals & Objectives

• G. Provide auto oriented commuter access to mass transit on Broad Street at the major

intersections of VA288, I195, I95 and I64.

• O. Build multilevel parking decks at these intersections.
• G. Develop mixed use, high-density nodes versus current commercial strip.
• O. Have 1.5 miles between Transportation Oriented Development (TOD) nodes.
• O. Foster higher density development at the nodes.
• O. Zone nodes for mixed-use.
• G. Preserve historical buildings and natural environment in Richmond
• O. Increase the visual definition of the area. (Using Gateways, Trees, Flags)
• O. Maintain equal setbacks to the extent it is possible
• O. Maintain a consistent color scheme for the entire corridor.
• O. Introduce widened and improved sidewalk, raised crosswalks and curb extensions at

these intersections to create a pedestrian friendly environment.

• G. Improve streetscape to foster multimodal use where pedestrians, cyclists, autos and mass

transit users share the route.

• O. Implement traffic calming measures to protect pedestrian movement along the

corridor.

• O. Create traffic facilities to create accessible pedestrian environment. (signals,

sidewalks, crosswalks, streetlights etc.)

• O. Add electronic signals, signs and banners at every TOD stop.
• O. Add character to Broad Street by installing selected style of street furniture and

fixtures.

• G. Ensure adequate affordable housing is included in the TOD nodes.
• O. Have at least 15% of all new development designated for affordable or low income

housing.

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VI. Transit Analysis & Recommendation- Analysis: Indicators of Ridership: To better understand the impacts of the growth and consequent vehicle trips on Broad Street throughout the Corridor, it is necessary to amplify the need for light rail on Broad Street. Analyzing demographic information provides indicators for ridership along the Corridor. Population projections show that total population will increase by 71,004 people or 44.3%. Of this increase, a certain amount of these people will use the LRT. Housing units along the corridor will grow by 32,338 units. According to Virginia Department of Transportation, each housing units creates an average of 10 automobile trips per day. (VDOT) That is an additional 362,820 trips per day along the Corridor. There will be 36, 210 jobs to the Broad Street Corridor between 2000 and 2031. Each new job creates an average of four automobile trips per day; that is 144,840 trips per day for the Corridor. (VDOT) The additional housing units and jobs in the Corridor will add 507,660 automobile trips per day. A more palpable way to picture this scenario is to add 507,660 cars to Broad Street over a 24-hour period, not factoring in peak travel periods (8-10 a.m. and 4-6 p.m.), or an average of 21,152 cars per hour. Additionally, automobile ownership along the Corridor will grow by 53,943 automobiles or 33%. In its current form, Broad Street looks and feels like a saturated road that has reached its maximum capacity. Either a light rail transit system must be built or Broad Street will have to be expanded laterally. Expanding Broad Street is not economically, legally or politically viable and is much more disruptive to the existing community than light rail.

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Recommendation: Light Rail Transit: Primary recommendation for alternate mode of transportation is Light Rail Train: The expansion of light rail service has been a key factor in reversing the steep decline in public transit ridership of the past 5 decades. Rail transit ridership has climbed at a rate several times that of bus ridership, which has comparatively remained stagnant. Between 1977 and 1997, while motor bus ridership rose just 5%, "heavy" rail ridership (mainly on subway/elevated transit) increased 13%, and light rail ridership skyrocketed an astounding 155%. (Source: American Public Transportation Association data) New light rail construction in Salt Lake City, Denver and East Saint Louis should be used as the measuring stick. Totaling 41 miles for $820 million, that is $20 million a mile in today's dollars, with no subways, automation or elevated viaducts (except for grade crossings). In comparison, the current cost of new urban freeways is typically in the range of $50 to $100 million per mile. LRT construction costs are close to the cost of freeway and HOV lanes - in fact, they can even be cheaper! Moreover, while light rail cars cost more than buses, their lifespan is three times longer and their passenger capacity 3 times greater. All told, advantages in life cycle, capacity and speed mean that a light rail car is functionally equivalent to at least 11 buses for equivalent types of service. While many light rail riders do indeed come from buses, many others are attracted to light rail from cars. In fact, the percentage of riders diverted from automobiles to transit is typically quite high for light rail - more than 30% in Dallas, for example, and about 70% in St. Louis.

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Cities like Houston, Phoenix and Denver (before its LRT system) burned an average of 550 gallons of motor fuel per capita per year. Cities with good multi-rail transit systems burned

• nly 415 gallons - a saving of about one-third. Source: Kenworthy & Newman, APA Journal,

Winter 1988. According to a report in the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot (2 October 2007), the FTA is putting up $128 million of the project's cost – more than half of the $232.1 million total cost. Of the remainder, $33 million will come from the City of Norfolk, $31.9 million from the state of Virginia, and $39.2 million from other federal sources, which is holding down costs to about $31 million per mile. Richmond is a city in the same state and can probably develop a 16-mile light rail network on the Broad Street Corridor for about the same price of $31 million per mile. Simulation of Norfolk LRT car at station in the city's downtown.

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VII. Proposed Transit Stops for Entire Corridor Light rail train is the type of mass transit recommended for the Broad Street Corridor. Light rail train allows stops to be as close as 0.5 miles apart. Each Transit-Oriented Development site of the Corridor is set approximately 1.5 miles from the proceeding development site with smaller, less developed transit stops situated among the TODs. Transit stops will be developed at 0.5-mile intervals from other TODs or transit stops. The average daily traffic volume for the Broad Street Corridor varies between 30 and 60 thousand vehicles per day, depending on the intersection. The recommended capacity of a primary arterial road in an urban environment is 10 to 35 thousand vehicles per day. (VDOT) The difference between the recommended capacity for a road like Broad Street and the actual average daily volumes indicates the need to plan and implement mass-transit substitutes for the

• automobile. The Broad Street Corridor averages at least 10 automobile trips per day per person.

Light rail transit is a justified new method of transportation for the Broad Street Corridor based

• n the daily volumes analyzed. Light rail train is justified in this corridor.

The following table lists the proposed TOD and transit stops along the Broad Street

• Corridor. Transportation node developments will be at least 1.5 miles apart. The stops in bold

text in the table are proposed for Transit-Oriented Development. TOD sites were selected by analyzing the corridor for high employment areas or multi-family dwellings in place, providing the necessary basis of high-density development that transit and TODs require.

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Distance (mi.) Intersection Notable landmarks

0.5 Belvidere Street (0.4) 1.0 Ryland Street (0.9) Siegel Center 1.5 DMV Drive (1.6) Department of Motor Vehicles 2.0 Boulevard (2.0) 2.5 Thompson (2.5) 3600 Broad Street Government Office Building 3.0 Westwood Avenue Virginia Department of Fish & Game 3.5 Staples Mill Road (3.7) Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield 4.0 Willow Lawn Drive (4.1) Willow Lawn Mall 4.5 Libbie Avenue Libbie Plaza 5.0 Falmouth Street Tan A – Plaza 5.5 Dickens Road University of Phoenix/Philip Morris 6.0 Glenside Drive 6.5 Bethlehem Road 7.0 Wistar Road 7.5 Carousel Lane 8.0

• N. Parham Road

8.5 Homeview Road 9.0 Coppermill Trail Apartment homes 9.5 Old Springfield Road 10.0 Gaskins Road 10.5 Innsbrook Road 11.0 Dominion Boulevard Westmark Building currently used by MeadWestvaco Corporation 11.5 I-64 overpass I-64 Overpass 12.0 Three Chopt Lane Brookhollow Shopping Ctr. 12.5 Pump Road/Pouncey Tract Road 13.0 Lauderdale Dr. Short Pump Town Center 13.5 14.0 Gayton Road 15.0 VA-288 Highway 16.0 I-64 & 295 Interchange

Table 2: List of proposed transit stops for the Broad Street Corridor. Stops in bold are ones selected for TOD.

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• VIII. TOD Community Plan: Broad Street & Libbie Avenue

Introduction Broad Street and Libbie Avenue is the site selected for the first Transit-Oriented Development node of the Broad Street Corridor. There is a large shopping center and many commercial buildings already existing at this site. This is a good choice for a TOD location. Many people frequent the Libbie Place Shopping Center and its location is ideally located between Richmond and the end of the corridor in Henrico County. Libbie Avenue connects with large trunk roads such as Cary Street and Monument Avenue; its location and convenience in connecting with other roads is an important factor in selecting this site for development. The Libbie Avenue development will help in evaluating further TOD development along the Broad Street Corridor. Existing Conditions TOD Community Node Existing Land Use The existing land use for the proposed TOD community node at the junction of Broad Street and Libbie Avenue is mostly three different types of commercial use within one-fifth mile

• f either side of Broad Street. There is also commercial land use on Libbie Avenue south of

Broad Street. At least fifty percent of the all land use within the community node is residential, most of which is low density single-family residential. There is some low/medium density multi-family residential land use in the community node area. This first TOD node on Broad Street also holds a significant amount of open space that has not yet been developed. There is also some semi-public and light industrial land use within the area of the community node. The semi-public areas include a retirement community, medical rehabilitation

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center and Bon Secours’ St. Mary’s Hospital is near the one-half mile radius of the transit node. (See map 12)

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TOD Community Node Existing Zoning The current zoning categories for the first TOD node reflect the land use map. The prominent categories for the TOD node are Business, Manufacturing, Open Space and

• Residential. There are numerous sub-categories for each category. The major part of the one-

half mile community node includes Residential-3 (R-3) zoning, which is low-density residential, Manufacturing-1 (M-1), which is light manufacturing, and Business-3, which is inclusive of Business-1 and Business-2. (Reference map 13)

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Urban Design of Libbie Avenue TOD Area The Libbie Avenue TOD area contains residential and commercial usage, public spaces and undeveloped vacant lots. This area can be divided into three zones. The first zone is the commercial zone along the Broad Street. This zone comprises many commercial complexes. Second is the residential zone north of Broad Street. This area has many vacant plots and both single and multi-family residences. These residential buildings are old and not well organized. The third zone is the residential area south of Broad Street. This area contains well-organized and established single-family residences. Monument Avenue, which is lined with historic building and large monuments, runs parallel to Broad Street through this zone. Land use in the planning area in mostly residential and commercial. Unfortunately, little consideration has been given to aesthetics, regional characteristics or harmony with the environment. There are many

• pportunities to improve the existing conditions of the Libbie Avenue area.

Photograph of Broad Street and Libbie Avenue intersection.

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Multi-family Residences North of Broad Street at Libbie Avenue On the northeast side of the TOD node, there is a vacant and dilapidated multi-family residential complex. It is located next to the undeveloped vacant lots. There are no structures around the complex to give people a sense of exposure, which can make people feel insecure. There is little outdoor lighting around the complex. Residential Zone North of Broad Street The north residential zone is located on north side of Broad Street where a concentration

• f non-historic single and multi-family homes exists. The predominant architectural style in this

area Ranch and Cape Cod style of houses that sit on wide lots with large setbacks, large yards, few trees and no sidewalks. Some of the houses need assorted maintenance. In addition, the electric power poles and cables are installed above ground. Photo of vacant multi-family building. Photo of vacant multi-family building.

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Photo of house in north residential zone. Photo of house in north residential zone. Photo of house in north residential zone. Photo of house in north residential zone.

Photo of streetscape north residential zone.

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Residential Zone South of Broad Street The residential zone south of Broad Street has many established well-organized single- family residential buildings. The brick and wood construction of these buildings provide a historical context to the zone. This is a historical place and is very much in accord with the regional character. However, there are few sidewalks, few streetlights and no crosswalks. Photo of house in south residential zone.

Photo of streetscape in south residential zone. Photo of house in south residential zone. Photo of streetscape in south residential zone.

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Photo of house in south residential zone.

Photo of streetscape in south residential zone.

Photo of house in south residential zone.

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Commercial Zone on Broad Street & Libbie Avenue The commercial zone along Broad Street has many buildings housing businesses like CVS Pharmacy, Ruby Tuesday, Target, Applebee’s, and Barnes and Nobel Bookstore. These buildings have large setbacks, huge parking lots, no sidewalks or crosswalks. In addition, there are many car washes, gas stations and automobile repair shops existing around the community node on Broad Street, due to Broad Street’s auto-oriented nature. The architectural style of these commercial buildings varies greatly. Some of the buildings have exposed brickwork façade, which is telling of an older date of construction. However, much of the commercial architecture is modern with modern building materials. These buildings stand in an unsystematic arrangement. Photo of commercial building on Broad Street Photo of commercial streetscape on Broad Street

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Other (open space, storages) There is a large undeveloped area on the north side of the Libbie TOD node. The only visible things in this area are electric poles and cables. To the east of these vacant plots north of Broad Street are brick constructed outdoor storage facility. Photo of vacant land in north zone. Photo of storage buildings.

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Liabilities The main problem at the Libbie Avenue TOD node is its lack of a pedestrian friendly environment because planning was carried out in consideration of automobile usage. Sidewalks and crosswalks are not provided for many of the streets, there are few streetlights in the residential area, which gives people an unsafe feeling at night and this situation can increase the crime rate. Electric poles and cables exist in the study area, which ruin the aesthetic appeal of the area. Some of the traffic lights and miscellaneous street furniture on Broad Street are in disrepair. Photo of existing power poles and cables. Photo of existing trash container.

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Photo of sidewalk at Broad Street & Libbie Avenue.

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Plan of Development TOD Community Node Proposed Land Use Plan The proposed land use for the TOD community node will consist of four main categories, Urban Mixed Use (UMU), Single-Family Residential (SFR), Multi-family Residential (MFR) and Open/Recreation Use (OS). Urban Mixed-Use consists of different types land uses in a single category. The component land uses are high-density residential, commercial retail space and commercial office

• space. It can include public, semi-public or institutional uses as well. For the TOD community

node, UMU classification 660 feet on either side of Broad Street and 660 feet on either side Libbie Avenue north of Broad Street and some south of Broad Street, for the node only. South

• f Broad Street is the Westwood subdivision, an established community. The land use of this

community will not change from its current land use. Some multi-family residential (medium density) already exists north of Broad Street. That will be expanded as future demand necessitates. In this area, the edge of the node will remain single-family residential and will blend with the other areas of the node, which lie outside

• f the one-half mile radius.

The transitions in land use are high density, medium density and low density moving

• utwards from the center of the node. There is also open space located between high and

medium-density land uses, serving as a softener in the transition from the different land uses. (Reference map 15)

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TOD Community Node Proposed Building Locations The recommendations for new building footprints for the TOD node affect all area except the established Westwood community, south of Broad Street along Monument Avenue. The Light Rail Station is situated on the southeast intersection of Broad Street and Libbie Avenue. The high-density, mixed-use buildings along Broad Street and along Libbie Avenue will be constructed of red or brown bricks. The buildings will be 4 to 7 stories or not more than 100 feet in height. The brick construction will continue out into the multi-family and single-family residential zones to integrate the new development with established community and have a harmonious aesthetic appeal for the entire node. (Reference map 16)

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Streetscape Recommendations

Graphic 7: Existing & Proposed Streetscapes

The width of Broad Street is 88 feet including sidewalks. Presently there are three lanes traveling in each direction on Broad Street and a five-foot wide pedestrian sidewalk. No bike lanes are provided on Broad Street. The proposed Broad Street streetscape will contain a single 10-foot light rail track in the middle of the street. The automobile lanes are decreased from three lanes to two lanes in each

• direction. A five-foot wide bicycle lane is provided for each direction of travel. Pedestrian

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walkways have been doubled from five-feet to 10 feet wide. Trees capable ample shade will be planted along the pedestrian walkways next to Broad Street. These streetscape recommendations apply to both the Libbie TOD node as well the entire Broad Street Corridor.

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Model TOD Complex. Model TOD Complex. Model TOD Complex.

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Create Accessible Pedestrian Environment It is necessary to create an accessible pedestrian environment for development of the TOD node. Raised crosswalks protect pedestrians from the traffic accidents and have calm traffic effect. Crosswalks should be installed at every intersection in the TOD community area. Sidewalks must be provided for all corridors; they increase pedestrians’ safety and accessibility. Streetlights can increase the safety for both pedestrians and motorists. Lighting devices for the illumination of the ground, driveways, walkways and buildings should be installed. Curb extension is one of the ways to prevent the traffic accident. Richmond and Henrico County should be adopting the curb extensions for the entire TOD corridor at all transit stops. Photo of street crosswalk. Graphic representation of curb extensions.

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Increase the Aesthetic Appeal of the Area Street trees that line up uniformly enhance the beauty of the streetscape and is soothing to

• people. These trees provide shade for pedestrians, give a sense of enclosure and create a natural
• environment. It is important to create public open spaces, such as parks, for people. Visible

electric cables and poles are not aesthetically stimulating and hinder the visual image of the

• community. Installing these facilities underground is necessary to increase the urban beauty of

the area. Creating a strong character for the node is important for developing Libbie Avenue as a proper TOD community. Gateways give communities a sense of identity and inform people of their location. Flags increase the character of the area as it includes the community name and

• emblem. These can be great advertisements for commercial areas or public events. Decorating

Photo of pedestrian street lamp.

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the street with flowers and art are great ways to create well-defined image for the TOD community. Photos examples of a gateway and a Flag.

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TOD Implementation In order to implement the TOD node and the light rail corridor, the first thing that has to happen is the formation of a Richmond Regional Transit Authority (RRTA). The Virginia General Assembly must pass legislation authorizing the formation of a special district encompassing the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area. This district is a government entity authorized to take any action necessary for the administration of the LRT system. One proposed location for the RRTA is the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission (RRPDC). Once the RRTA is authorized and formed, it would be responsible for getting the light rail funded through Federal Funding Grants, taxation and getting the various counties in the MSA to support the mass transit monetarily. A basic goal for creating Transit-Oriented Developments is to increase residential densities around development sites. The Henrico County Planning Commission would be responsible for making sure the infrastructure allows higher densities near transit to give people easy access to transit from their home or work. Creating compact, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods supports community businesses by providing a dedicated customer base. This will also encourage developers to take advantage of greater economies of scale. Generally, a density of at least 10 units per acre is necessary to support light-rail transit to support the commercial, retail, office and entertainment development at the site and provide a base for ridership. Henrico County can support the Broad Street Corridor TODs by adopt the zoning and land use recommendations in this plan. Any new applications for development that do not meet the new zoning and land use plans will be denied. Developers that request large tract mixed-use development permits will be expedited through the permitting process. Once the first TOD is built, it becomes easier to foment interest for development at subsequent TOD sites along the

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mass transit route. The RRTA can promote good TODs by following the conceptual land use plans, development schemes, streetscape and design guidelines, priority infrastructure investments and financial strategies. Planning guidelines will allow developers to know what is expected for the area. Recommendations for the county in implementing its new zoning are to establish a mixed-use zoning code. This code of will allow residential development that include detached single-family, attached single-family, and multi-family residential housing. Commercial developments include retail, restaurants, banks, offices, health care facilities and other uses. In addition to the above, the zoning allows for hotels, large retail stores, mini-warehouses and low intensity industrial and light manufacturing uses but excludes outdoor storage. Mixed-use buildings must include at least 50% residential and 10% office, restaurant, and/or retail use, as measured by gross floor area, to qualify for the density bonus. The density bonus allows for a greater number of units per acre as long as buildings incorporate a mix of uses. For the intermediate implementation, Henrico County can put development incentives in place to promote and guide development along the transit corridor. Incentives include things like Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts and location efficient mortgages. Make the TOD corridors part of a zone, which has incentives for qualified mixed-use, residential, commercial and industrial projects. Incentives include municipal property tax abatement, development fee waivers and release of city liens, and other incentives for large tract development. The county can also market Location Efficient Mortgages in TOD areas. Location Efficient Mortgage lenders recognize the potential savings of a more accessible housing location when assessing the borrowing ability of a household. Lenders will consider transportation and housing costs together, so vehicle cost savings are treated as additional income that can be spent on a mortgage.

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Providing bonuses to developers can help attract more density to the area. Density bonuses allow developers to build more units than would normally be allowed in a zoning district in exchange for preserving and enhancing designated resources or providing other public benefits. Communities have successfully used density bonuses as incentives for getting developers interested in the projects. For long-range implementation, the county will need to ensure that the large tract developments are connected with sidewalks and attractive walking environments, which will encourage use of light rail transit and decrease reliance on current automobile focused transportation infrastructure, thereby giving residents travel options, and improve livability. The following tables provide a summary of the implementation topics discussed above: Immediate Implementation WHAT WHO HOW Form Richmond Regional Transit Authority (RRTA) Virginia General Assembly By passing legislation authorizing creating the RRTA Light Rail Funding RRTA Federal Funding Grants, Taxes, City & County Fiscal Participation Light Rail Corridor Right of Way RRTA Eminent Domain Build Light Rail Corridor RRTA Open Bid Contract Process TOD Land Use Plan RRTA in conjunction with Henrico County Planning Commission Rational Planning Model TOD Zoning RRTA in conjunction with Henrico County Planning Commission Rational Planning Model Development Schemes RRTA in conjunction with Henrico County Planning Commission Rational Planning Model Streetscape & Design Guidelines RRTA in conjunction with Henrico County Planning Commission Rational Planning Model

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Intermediate Time Horizon Implementation WHAT WHO HOW Increase TOD Density RRTA in conjunction with Henrico County Planning Commission and Real Estate Developers As plans are proposed implement density bonus incentives to developers Location Efficient Mortgages RRTA in conjunction with Henrico County Planning Commission and Banks Encourage Local Lenders to provide location efficient loans Mixed-Use Development Henrico Planning Commission Enforce Development Schemes Large Tract Development Henrico Planning Commission Municipal Property Tax Abatement, Development Fee Waivers, Release of City Liens Tax Incentives Begin Pedestrian Friendly Environment Henrico Planning Commission Enforce Streetscape & Design Guidelines Long-range Time Horizon Implementation WHAT WHO HOW Complete Pedestrian Friendly Environment RRTA in conjunction with Henrico County Planning Commission After primary development completed go back and infill missing sections. Monitor growth along Corridor to meet ridership demands RRTA in conjunction with Henrico County Planning Commission Review & update LRT transit plan every five years.