Section 10-A403. POLICIES AND ACTIONS: T-1.1 LAND USE-TRANSPORTATION COORDINATION

 

403.1As laid out in the Framework Element of this Plan, the city and region are expected to gain jobs and households over the next 20 years. Coordinating transportation and land use decisions is critical to making the best use of infrastructure and finite land resources as these gains occur. The balance between housing and jobs plays a clear role in travel patterns. In general, the demands on our transportation system are reduced when homes are located close to places of employment and shopping. People spend less time traveling and overall quality of life may be improved. The transportation system as a whole benefits when more compact residential and employment areas are situated along major transit routes. Travel times are reduced and there is better use of public transportation investments. 403.1

 

403.2Although the District has already developed walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods, future opportunities will arise to strengthen the linkage between land use and transportation as new development takes place. Design features play an important role in this equation. Residential communities should be developed so that services such as shopping are accessible on foot, transit, or bicycle and not just by car. The design of transportation infrastructure can also have a major impact on travel behavior and system performance. For example, the re-design of the Anacostia River crossings to be implemented in the coming years will provide for pedestrian and bicycle access across the river, while the current bridge crossings discourage or prohibit it. 403.2

 

403.3The space needs of transportation support facilities-including bus garages, service yards, and motor vehicle inspection facilities-also call for stronger coordination between land use and transportation planning. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority already reports a need for additional bus storage and service yards. As new transit lines are developed, additional land will be needed for new support facilities. 403.3

 

403.4Closer coordination between transportation and land use planning can result in better congestion management, more efficient use of transit and parking, and transportation infrastructure that is sensitive and complementary to its surrounding context. 403.4

 

403.5Assessing and measuring the transportation impacts of land use decisions is also an important part of integrated land use and transportation planning. New development generates new trips-be they auto trips, transit trips, or pedestrian and bicycle trips. Major land use changes such as the development of large housing complexes or office buildings must be evaluated for their impacts on existing and planned transportation infrastructure to ensure that the network can function adequately when the projects are completed. New methods of managing transportation impacts, such as transportation demand management (discussed later in Section 4.3 of this chapter) must be pursued in lieu of simply building more roads. 403.5

 

403.6In the past, the traditional way of measuring traffic impacts was to use a series of lettered grades (A through F) based on factors such as vehicle speed, the volume of cars that pass along a street compared to the street’s capacity, or the length of time for a car to pass through an intersection. These Level of Service (LOS) standards continue to be widely used in the suburbs, where most trips are made by car. But traditional LOS measures are not appropriate in a built out city, where widening streets to increase capacity is rarely an option (or a desired outcome). In the District, level of service measures must integrate vehicular, bicycle, pedestrian and transit travel. The benchmark should be the number of people that can pass along a corridor or through an intersection rather than just the number of cars. 403.6

 

403.7Policy T-1.1.1: Transportation Impact Assessment

 

Require full environmental impact statements for major transportation projects, including new roadways, bridges, transit systems, road design changes, and rerouting of traffic from roads classified as principal arterials or higher onto minor arterials or neighborhood streets with lesser volumes. 403.7

 

403.8Policy T-1.1.2: Land Use Impact Assessment

 

Assess the transportation impacts of development projects using multi-modal standards rather than traditional vehicle standards to more accurately measure and more effectively mitigate development impacts on the transportation network.  Environmental and climate change impacts, including that of carbon dioxide, should be included in the assessment to land use impacts.

 

403.9Policy T-1.1.3: Context-Sensitive Transportation

 

Design transportation infrastructure to support current land uses as well as land use goals for compact, accessible neighborhoods. Make the design and scale of transportation facilities compatible with planned land uses. 403.9

 

403.10Policy T-1.1.4: Transit-Oriented Development

 

Support transit-oriented development by investing in pedestrian-oriented transportation improvements at or around transit stations, major bus corridors, and transfer points. 403.10

 

See also Section LU-1.3 of the Land Use Element for transit-oriented development policies.

 

403.11Policy T-1.1.5: Joint Development

 

Attract new riders to the transit system by fostering transit-supportive commercial and residential joint development projects on Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) owned or controlled land and on private properties adjacent to Metrorail stations. 403.11

 

403.12Policy T-1.1.6: Transportation Support Facilities

 

Preserve existing transportation infrastructure support facilities where feasible and locate new, efficient support facility locations for storage and/or maintenance for Metrobus, commuter bus, tour bus, Metrorail, streetcar, commuter rail, and intercity rail. 403.12

 

403.13Action T-1.1.A: Transportation Measures of Effectiveness

 

Develop new measures of effectiveness such as a multi-modal level of service standard to quantify transportation service and assess land use impacts on the transportation system. 403.13

 

403.14Action T-1.1.B: Transportation Improvements

 

Require transportation demand management measures and transportation support facilities, such as crosswalks, bus shelters, transit resource and information kiosks, and bicycle facilities in large development projects and major trip generators, including projects that go through the Planned Unit Development (PUD) Process.

 

authority

Pursuant to the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; D.C. Official Code § 1-306.01 et seq.), the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital: District Elements of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (10 DCMR A300 through A2520) (“Comprehensive Plan”).

source

Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-300) published at 54 DCR 924 (February 2, 2007); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment act of 2010, effective April 8, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-361) published at 58 DCR 908, 911 (February 4, 2011).

notation

The provisions of Title 10, Part A of the DCMR accessible through this web interface are codification of the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. As such, they do not represent the organic provisions adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia. The official version of the District Elements only appears as a hard copy volume of Title 10, Part A published pursuant to section 9a of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1994, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; D.C. Official Code § 1 -301.66)) . In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions accessible through this site and the provisions contained in the published version of Title 10, Part A, the provisions contained in the published version govern. A copy of the published District Elements is available www.planning.dc.gov.