Transit and Development: Joint Strategies for Growth
‘Imagine Nicholasville Road’ reimagines a car-dependent corridor in Lexington, KY into a multi-modal spine where transit and mixed-use development thrive.
As mid-sized cities across the U.S. continue to experience urban and suburban growth, our cities’ most congested and car-dependent corridors take a heightened role in establishing growth and development patterns. Across the Midwest, new Bus Rapid Transit lines seek to retrofit these car-dependent streets into multi-modal corridors that are walkable, denser, and have a sense of place. However, transportation improvements alone will not fix our cities’ most congested corridors. As we continue to work across the region, we find that transportation studies paired with land use strategies can more adequately provide the framework for growth, where transit not only works – but thrives. This is the approach that we applied to our recent work in Lexington, Kentucky for the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government, as we studied the six-mile corridor of Nicholasville Road (US 27) and crafted a joint 20-year transportation and land use vision. The process, called Imagine Nicholasville Road, was an in-depth land use and transportation study aiming to transform a car-dependent and congested corridor through the addition of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Transit Oriented Development (TOD).
Nicholasville Road is one the city’s main arteries, running from Downtown Lexington to Jessamine County. A potential BRT line will connect thousands of residents to housing and job opportunities.
Over the years, Lexington has made progress in promoting mixed use development in the city’s core and along its major corridors, offering higher densities with a mixture of uses to create more pedestrian-friendly environments. Nonetheless, the dominant housing type in Fayette County continues to be detached single-family housing. A recent housing study identified a need for alternate housing types to better serve younger families, people wanting to age in place, and those seeking more affordable entries into home ownership. As we engaged the community, we were tasked with understanding and illustrating the opportunity to incentivize these denser housing types and expand housing choice and affordability through Transit Oriented Development. The TOD strategy refers to a set of transportation and land use principals that concentrate amenities, open space, and walkable development around an efficient and convenient network of transit stops.
As one of the most heavily traveled corridors in Lexington, Nicholasville Road is a primary arterial connecting neighborhoods, institutions, commercial centers, Downtown Lexington, and numerous transportation networks within the region. With the recognition that the corridor and its land uses will continue to evolve over the years, a new vision was established with a focus on better transportation options and more connected places.
Goals for the project include:
Increase the intensity and density of land uses along the corridor, particularly residential uses, to accommodate population growth through a more efficient use of the land.
Improve mass transit viability through more intense redevelopment and transit/pedestrian-oriented design.
Improve safety and connectivity for all modes of transportation.
Coordinate transportation improvements with future redevelopment opportunities.
Develop a cohesive sense of place along the corridor.
Based on these project goals, the planning team recommended three specific tools based on public feedback and a technical evaluation of the existing conditions – BRT, Complete Streets, and TOD. Combined, these strategies enhance safety and mobility for all users, promote mixed-use development for changing demographics, lifestyles and businesses in the area, and improve quality of life, beautification and placemaking enhancements to foster a more cohesive and enjoyable community.
The vision for Nicholasville Road elevates the importance, quality, and safety of facilities for everyone regardless of their travel mode, by improving sidewalks, bike trails, transit shelters, and pedestrian crossings.
The Nicholasville Road BRT line will elevate the presence, convenience, and speed of transit in Lexington. Operated by Lextran, the line will feature 12 stations, spaced an average of every three-fourths of a mile, and consisting of prominent shelters with seating, lighting, and real-time arrival information. The BRT line will run from Lextran’s downtown transit center to Brannon Crossing and can extend to Nicholasville in future phases.
The plan shares long term visions for TOD on three catalyst sites to densify the corridor with new residential and mixed-use opportunities, while providing new green spaces and bike and pedestrian connections.
To explore the potential of increased density along the corridor, we selected three catalyst sites with input from the public and key stakeholders as well as an internal analysis that helped determine which of the 26 sites identified were the most feasible for TOD. The preferred concepts for the three catalyst sites are illustrative of best practices across the Midwest and South, many of which have helped transform their communities into more walkable destinations. The public engagement process revealed a community design for future redevelopment that increases open space, improves access to transit, and creates a more walkable environment.
Catalyst site selection criteria included:
Site is sized for TOD and meets the basic requirements for a Mixed-Use District
Site can be feasibly acquired for redevelopment
Site is under-performing market conditions
Site was identified as a redevelopment opportunity
The regulatory framework establishes station area typologies influenced by the corridor’s existing context and sets dimensional standards to be adopted as part of a future zoning ordinance, such as building setbacks, heights, and design elements.
We also prepared a regulatory framework to establish the first steps in shaping how future development will occur along the Nicholasville Road corridor. As transit improvements are implemented with the addition of a premium transit or BRT line, the corridor’s potential for TOD increases. Areas within walking distances to future stations are linked to experience development pressure and can experience a future transformation into a walkable community.
What a regulatory framework does:
Establishes the mechanism for achieving the 20-year vision.
Creates station and development typologies that respond to the existing context.
Provides a sample of how design guidelines can be implemented along the corridor, regulating elements like setbacks, building placement, and building heights.
Provides detail action items for adoption.
Serves as a recommendation on future land uses decision and development standards.
MKSK served as the planning and design sub-consultant for WSP for the Imagine Nicholasville Road study.