Project Status 4: Scenario 2, Transit Oriented Development

Scenario 2 provides the opportunity to compatibly maximize development within the developed areas of Jefferson Parish, where Parish Services are readily available. This scenario assumes that Jefferson Parish will develop and redevelop in a pattern that is more compact and more transit-supportive than the current pattern of development within Jefferson Parish. A significant amount of development will occur in the form of infill and redevelopment at somewhat higher densities than currently exist, as well as on underdeveloped and vacant property. New development in undeveloped areas on the West Bank will develop as mixed-use transit-oriented development. A broader mix of land uses will be clustered in transit-oriented activity centers.

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) refers to residential and commercial areas designed to maximize access by transit and nonmotorized transportation. A TOD neighborhood has a center with a rail or bus station, surrounded by relatively high-density development, with progressively lower-density spreading outwards. For example, the neighborhood center may have a transit station and a few multi-story commercial and residential buildings, surrounded by several blocks of townhouses and small-lot single-family residential, and larger-lot single-family housing farther away. TOD neighborhoods typically have a diameter of one-quarter to one-half mile (stations spaced half to 1 mile apart), which represents pedestrian scale distances. Mixed-use developments that include shops, schools and other public services, and a variety of housing types and prices, within each neighborhood are major design features of transit-oriented development.

Transit Oriented Development can consist of new suburban neighborhoods designed around public transit stations, or incremental changes to existing neighborhoods that have public transit. Transit Oriented Development may require changes in zoning codes and development practices to allow and encourage higher density development and lower parking requirements around transit stations. It may also require additional funding for pedestrian and bicycle facility improvements.

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