WALTER RAND TRANSPORTATION CENTER PLANNING AND DESIGN STUDY Public Meeting May 25, 2017
TONIGHT S AGENDA Introduction and Welcome Project Objectives The Study Area: WRTC and its Context Circulation Assessment Real Estate Market Analysis Elements of Design Next Steps
PROJECT OBJECTIVES Accommodate more and better transit services. Improve passenger amenities, convenience, safety. Create economic development opportunities for Downtown Camden and adjoining neighborhoods.
THE STUDY AREA
WRTC BUILDINGS
TRANSIT FACILITIES
THE STATION BLOCKS
THE NEIGHBORHOOD Waterfront Victor & Radio Lofts Rutgers Camden Campus City Hall CCC Row an ½ mile River Line Subaru Rutgers/ Row an Cooper Hospital Campus Lanning Square Lanning Square School Cooper Plaza Campbell PATCO
CIRCULATION TRAINS, BUSES, PEOPLE, CARS
RAIL TRANSIT Waterfront Victor & Radio Lofts Rutgers Camden Campus CCC Row an ½ mile City Hall Subaru Rutgers/ Row an Cooper Hospital Campus Lanning Square Lanning Square School Cooper Plaza Campbell
RAIL TRANSIT: EXISTING Waterfront Victor & Radio Lofts Rutgers Camden Campus CCC Row an ½ mile City Hall Subaru Rutgers/ Row an Cooper Hospital Campus PATCO Speed Line Open since 1969 Philadelphia to Lindenwold Twin headhouses Lanning Square Lanning Square School Cooper Plaza Campbell PATCO Daily riders at WRTC: ~4800 boardings + alightings
RAIL TRANSIT: EXISTING Waterfront Victor & Radio Lofts Rutgers Camden Campus City Hall CCC Row an ½ mile River Line Subaru Rutgers/ Row an Cooper Hospital Campus River Line Open since 2004 Lanning Square Lanning Square School Cooper Plaza Campbell Camden to Trenton Daily riders at WRTC: ~3700 boardings + alightings PATCO
RAIL TRANSIT: PROPOSED Waterfront Victor & Radio Lofts Rutgers Camden Campus City Hall CCC Row an ½ mile River Line Subaru Rutgers/ Row an Cooper Hospital Campus Proposed New Rapid Transit Lanning Square Lanning Square School Cooper Plaza Campbell Camden-Glassboro Line New Transit Station Camden- Glassboro PATCO
BUS CIRCULATION Today: 14 berths: 6 at curb on Broadway 8 in garage at ground level 10,000 daily boardings + alightings Future: More service Growing ridership due to station area development South Jersey Bus Rapid Transit
BUS CIRCULATION Buses now cross light rail tracks. Will this work when there are more buses and trains?
TRAFFIC CIRCULATION No major bottlenecks today. Potential future concerns: Intersection of MLK Boulevard and Haddon Avenue. Should Federal Street remain one-way eastbound?
PEDESTRIANS AND BICYCLES Major concern today: mid-block crossing of Broadway. Potential future concern: high volume crossing of MLK Boulevard.
MARKET ANALYSIS
THE CAMDEN REVITALIZATION STORY A lot of good news: Visionary legislation $430 million in construction Cooper Rowan Medical School Rutgers Nursing School Rowan/Rutgers Health Sciences Waterfront redevelopment Campbell reinvestment Subaru headquarters Lanning Square School Still a ways to go: Housing: only 2% of downtown eds/meds/corporate employees live in Downtown Camden. Only 7% of Camden students live downtown; most of them in dorms. Students, employees, and residents go elsewhere to shop. Place-making hasn t caught up to development. In a word: opportunity.
MARKET ANALYSIS Residential Office Retail Hotel
COMPARABLE STATIONS
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE Multi-modal hub Transportation: Downtown multi-modal hub Amtrak NE Corridor SEPTA regional rail to Philadelphia Over two dozen DART local bus transit routes stop at or near the station Greyhound terminal across the street Development: Station renovated 2010; station office buildings restored, reused. Three banking HQ within close walking distance: Chase, Capitol One, Barclays. Downtown side, revitalization of Market Street, including market-rate housing. Riverfront side: 20-year revitalization 2000 net new jobs, 700 housing units, quadrupling of assessed valuation Public realm and civic facilities
BOSTON S RUGGLES & DUDLEY STATIONS Two miles from downtown Boston, in an eds & meds corridor Orange Line, commuter rail, 16 bus routes Major expansion of Northeastern University Public housing mixed-income make-over Two major mixed-use TOD projects (one underway, one pending) Today: 13,000 jobs, 7800 households within a half-mile Two miles from downtown Boston, in Roxbury s historic downtown Silver Line BRT, 17 regular bus routes New Boston Public School Headquarters Long-awaited grocery store Infill and historic rehab in the station core Major mixed-use TOD project pending Today: 11,000 jobs, 4800 households within a half-mile
BOSTON S ASHMONT STATION A major transit hub in Dorchester ; a historic neighborhood business district Red Line, light rail, 14 bus routes Redesign, renovation, and creation of joint development parcel--2009 Mixed-use on-site joint development, including 119 housing units Second phase (off-site) underway now: an additional 83 units Retail, filling big holes in the streetscape, in both buildings, on either side of Dorchester Avenue
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
LOCATION OF BUS BERTHS On-street Under a Canopy Inside a Terminal Hybrid Configuration
LOCATION OF DEVELOPMENT Multi-Story with Active Street Level Air Rights: South Station, Boston Development over tracks, bus deck, and garage Street level: entry lobbies and elevators only
DESIGN OF BROADWAY Open for cars and buses Pedestrian overpasses Open for buses only Closed to traffic
NEXT STEPS Prepare two alternative concepts for re-designing WRTC. Recommend complementary revisions to surrounding circulation network. Further public participation. Prepare development pro forma and estimate value of air rights.
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS Andrew Levecchia, PP, AICP Director of Planning, Camden County Al Raine Project Manager, AECOM alden.raine@aecom.com http://www.camdencounty.com/service/walter-randtransportation-center-planning-design-study/