Featured Projects - Nelson\Nygaard

Transit-oriented communities are places that, by their design, allow people to drive less and walk, cycle, and take transit more. In practice, this means they concentrate higher-density, mixed-use, human-scale development around frequent transit stops and stations. They also provide well-connected and well-designed networks of streets, creating walking- and cycling-friendly communities focused around frequent transit. Communities built in this way have proven to be particularly livable, sustainable, and resilient places. Transit-oriented communities also make it possible to operate efficient, cost-effective transit service.

In order to further the development of more transit-oriented communities in Metro Vancouver, TransLink worked with regional stakeholders to develop guidance for community planning and in the areas surrounding transit stations, exchanges, and stops. These Guidelines are a tool and a resource to aid in the development of transit-oriented land use plans, projects, streetscapes, and transportation network designs, with a focus on those attributes of community design that most strongly influence travel behavior. The Transit-Oriented Communities Guidelines serve as a companion to TransLink’s Transit Passenger Facility (TPF) Design Guidelines.

Working closely with Steer Davis Gleave and TransLink Staff, Nelson\Nygaard served as the principal authors of these guidelines. Building on our work helping to write the Transit Passenger Facilities Guidelines, and drawing on our deep experience in planning for transit-oriented communities in Metro Vancouver and across North America, we crafted the guidelines to communicate clearly with a range of audiences, from city staff, to developers, and ordinary citizens. While written in plain language, these guidelines reflect the rich research literature from the transportation field, showing how community design can influence travel behavior. Nelson\Nygaard also helped to facilitate workshops with a broad group of TransLink staff and regional stakeholders, ensuring that the guidelines are informed by their broad experience.