Great Streets are Great for Business Mark Van Elsberg Project Manager Pedestrian Projects Public Realm Section Transportation Services, City Toronto NACTO Designing Cities October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 1
Great Streets are Great for Cities Evidence is mounting Great streets are great for health, quality of life, and for business. The question for our Transportation division is not about what constitutes a great street, but how we fund them The disconnect between those responsible for funding great streets and those who ultimately benefit must be addressed. Spadina Avenue & Adelaide Street West October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 2
Great Streets are built by Transportation Transportation Services operates and maintains our ROWs : Largest property manager in the City Responsible for the construction, maintenance and operations Limited budget for reconstruction Show 25% map Not in the business of Economic Development. October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 3
Great Streets are great for Intensification Intensification is great for business Provincial and Municipal policies promote intensification on our Avenues Avenues : Designated for growth Support the majority of our : Transit improvements, Retail activity Cycling infrastructure Make up approx 5% of our street network Significant redevelopment and regeneration is expected creating Opportunities to leverage public realm improvements Increased opportunities for businesses October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 4
Great Streets are great for Health Pedestrians are great for business Our Public Health Department is making the evidence-based case for a built environment that promotes : Active transportation to fight chronic illnesses Pedestrian safety and mortality Reduced vehicle speeds and emissions Personal safety - eyes from the street Studies show that Health benefits have significant economic impacts: Returns on investment are many multiples of capital costs vs. long term health costs Correlation between access to transit and walking and health CABE/UK Value of good street design Toronto Public Health Study Relationship between Transit and DIabetes October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 5
Great Streets are great for Businesses Business Improvement Areas Promote Great Streets Cover approximately 40% of our Avenues and continue to expand. Promote business development and area identify Engage business owners to invest in our streets Cost share funding with the City and invest in public realm enhancements Provide higher levels of maintenance and funding partnerships October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 6
Great Streets are great for Neighbourhoods Real estate and the media are exploiting streets as a factor for investment Real estate and marketing material are creating new competition indicators: Safety and walk-ability Proximity to Main streets Bike lanes Transit Bike and Car Share Main streets are rebranding neighbourhoods with new hipness indicators : Unique shops and cafes Arts and culture Patios and cuisine Farmers markets and food trucks buyers are starved for great housing stock, prices that mortals can afford, walkable blocks with great restaurants and green spaces Toronto's West Queen West rated No. 2 on Vogue list of hip districts Fashion magazine likes area's mix of boutique hotels, GTA home buyers prefer walkable neighbourhoods, study says,,, they d choose a walkable, transit-oriented location over a larger home, October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 7
Great Streets need money How does the Transportation Division create great streets? Great streets/complete streets do cost more: Min 5-10% premium on reconstruction, depending on elements But Majority of streets are not at the end of their life cycle - do not require reconstruction State of good repair budgets do not include funding for upgrades Stand alone interventions cost more Maintenance partnerships can be difficult to secure and enforce These issues undermine many great opportunities! October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 8
The Great Street ROI Disconnect The benefits do not return to the funding source Costs are not recovered by Transportation Municipal Property tax revenues Subsidize general city expenditures rather than returning to local area Federal and Provincial/State tax revenues infrastructure funding does not participate in localized improvements Focus on transit and large infrastructure projects Healthcare funding models focus on treatment not prevention Cannot be used for local active transportation improvements. Private property values and retail revenues Benefit land owners Little incentive to reinvest in the public realm Red tape discourages innovation and participation October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 9
How to create Great Streets Look on the bright side! Many of our streets are complete Minor tweaks can be done through repairs and resurfacings Major reconstructions can be designed as complete streets with proper guidance The biggest bang for the buck means focusing on only 5%-10% of our streets Sidewalk and Painted Shoulder - Simple Fix October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 10
Find partners for funding Great Streets Create opportunities to co-fund projects: Transform capital funding protocol to become more flexible and nimble. Sell opportunities through visioning and leveraging multiple interests Improve co-funding opportunities: Working with other City Divisions Development charges and levies Connecting with private sector Other external agencies, community associations Creating new revenue and cost sharing tools October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 11
Great Retail Streets make Great Cities Focus our investment on the Avenues and Main Streets..(the 5%) and transform our Cities October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 12
Great Streets are Great for Business We have to make the case to increase funding for our streets. We can not afford NOT to invest in Complete Streets October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 13
Case Study Market Street Return On Investment: Developer : Cost: $1,000,000 Benefit: Transformed retail units from Class B to Class A retail Premium rent over the area standard (double) Retail tenants competed for space Property asset Value increased Financing from lenders preferred rate City : Cost: $500,000 (other sources) Benefits: Transformed street to regional destination Complemented adjacent City facility (Market) Basement level to be transformed to street related retail Increased Property tax revenue Increased Patio permit revenue Created new streetscape standards to be replicated throughout the City and Country Before After October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 14
West- private East- public (market) Case Study Market Street Developer- West Side Narrow sidewalks no space for Patios Limited marketability Parking both sides Sidewalk City East Side Under utilized covered area Basement retail Flush street Flexible Parking/ Patio space Parking Drive Aisle Parking Sidewalk Moveable Tactile Trench Bollard strip drain Large Patio Pavers space Sidewalk Small Road Pavers Parking Sidewalk November 11, 2014 Transportation Services
West- private East- public (market) Case Study Market Street Developer- West Side Design and engineering of full streetscape Construction and maintenance of Phase 1 City East Side Approvals for new standards Securing funding from the BIA and development approvals for Phase 2 Maintenance partners for east portion Flush street Flexible Parking/ Patio space Patio Space Sidewalk Drive Aisle Parking Sidewalk Moveable Bollard Tactile strip Trench drain Large Pavers Small Pavers November 11, 2014 Transportation Services
John St - Cultural Corridor Before: Narrow sidewalks competing with space for Patios Very high pedestrian volumes Significant development pressure BIA Initiated a Vision for the Street Funded Environmental assessment Installed a Pilot for operational review Share maintenance upon completion City Planning directed development levies (sect 37) toward project Transportation and Engineering manage and coordinate redesign of street Development of new standards and operations Before November October 11, 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 Transportation DESIGNING Services CITIES Page 17
John St - Cultural Corridor Before: Narrow sidewalks competing with space for Patios Very high pedestrian volumes Significant development pressure BIA Initiated a Vision for the Street Funded Environmental assessment Installed a Pilot for operational review Share maintenance upon completion City Planning directed development levies (sect 37) toward project Transportation and Engineering manage and coordinate redesign of street Development of new standards and operations Pilot November October 11, 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 Transportation DESIGNING Services CITIES Page 18
John St - Cultural Corridor Result: Narrowed street 40 million reinvestment Regional Destination Flexible streetflexible use based on: Time of day Day of the week Time of the year Proposal November October 11, 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 Transportation DESIGNING Services CITIES Page 19
Front Street Pan Am Promenade Plan Simple Road resurfacing with 50% sidewalk replacement- transformed into:: Total sidewalk reconstruction with BIA Branding Heritage pedestrian scale lighting Removal of most overhead wires Bumpouts at most local side streets Planters and seating in bumpouts Incentive for new development to continue road narrowing and widened boulevard Right turn Channel removals Lane redistribution to favour bicycles Private property transformations to complement streetscape Renderings and a landscape sketch resulted in a transformation funded by the Fire Dept. November 11, 2014 Transportation Services
Sherbourne Street Bike Lanes Streetscape enhancements to proposed separated bike lanes project Landscaped separation for Bikes and on street parking Widened boulevard from Developer to allow for street trees and ped clearways Existing Proposed November 11, 2014 Transportation Services
Pedestrian Zones Temporary Road closure pilots resulting in : Permanent closures (Uof T and Ryerson) and seasonal (Orchardview) Universities raising funds for transformations November 11, 2014 Transportation Services
Undoing 60 s Block Busting Reinstate a Public street network into a 1960 s (block busted) the tower in the park community Providing: Connectivity to the City Grid Safety and Visibility Street Retail Community November 11, 2014 Transportation Services
Kensington - Pedestrian Sundays Temporary road closures Seasonal installation of moveable street closure devices Planters for day to day use. Single handed road closure on event days November 11, 2014 Transportation Services
Container Culture Retrofitting Containers Retail Start-up Business Incubators Boulevard pop up cafes and retail startups Market 707 is Toronto s most unique street food and retail market. October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 25
Improving Construction Hoarding Borrowed Winning design from New York to improve pedestrian experience during construction Elegant Design Translucent roof LED lighting Improved Pedestrian experience supported adjacent businesses October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 26
Great Streets are Great for Pedestrians.. Pedestrians are Great for Business Thank you October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 27
Raised Cycle tracks Retrofitting streetscapes with Separated Raised cycle tracks Convince the next level of cyclist to ride Roll curb between Live lane and Cycle track Rumble strip between flush sidewalk and track for Visually impaired Raised Bus stops ( full curb) for accessible loading Raised Flush Cycle track w/ tactile rumble strip Full curb Bus stop Layby for taxis, wheel trans, parking, and loading October 24, 2014 NACTO 2014 DESIGNING CITIES Page 28