That's How It Goes

Meeting with public officials

We went downtown this week to meet members of SWPC towards our studio design which is a transit oriented design (TOD) for the county.

We were seeking some answers:

What is the vision of SPC for transit for Allegheny County?
How is the project realized? Who gives the money?                                           
What does the growth demands? What do the county people really need?

The answers we got hit us with reality, were not very optimistic. Nevertheless, we got some parameters to make our design proposal legible.

To start with, they said given their position they are not allowed to have a vision(irony!). It’s really hard to get money for a development(another irony!). Our proposed TOD needs to fulfill certain criteria before government decides to invest over it. Government says: show us the density then we'll send the line. But can’t it be other way?  We can lay the line first which attracts the people to the place. From their perspective this is a risk, when billions of dollars are involved. They need to make the transit line legitimate, for them density makes it so.
But there can be other reasons to justify the line, which are equally legitimate:

• From the perspective of economic growth and investment in the area-- which will attract more workforce.  More people will want to live near where they work.
• Controlling sprawl for ecological reasons, to stop further deterioration of nature.
• Decreasing traffic on roads- saving limited fuel. Increased benefits of decreased air pollution.
• Creating a sustainable society
  

I am myself a light rail rider in my home city, Delhi and I know how convenient light rail makes commuting. It saves time because they have their own corridor and don’t get caught up in traffic jams. It Saves money as it is much cheaper than using a car.

Moreover, all the important nodes of city are connected, so we can reach any place and take on a Feeder bus that runs to and fro the stations to our destination. The transit line connects bus terminals, train stations and airport making it all an interconnected web of transit over the city. Since it offers safe, affordable and convenient commute, people use it extensively.  

Lastly they asked us ; students who were from outside US, will it be successful and will people use it?
We concluded its success will depend on:  frequency, reliability, optimum density, design -- how convenient we make it for people to access it.  A Design which promotes walkability, bikeability and frequent shuttle/feeder service and connected destinations, a transit line that takes me where I want to go.

It was a meaningful interaction, helpful in understanding the real world scenario of our design proposal.