Arthur C. Nelson, co-director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, has re-written one of the most commonly used “rules of thumb” used by the planning profession: the idea that pedestrians are willing to walk no more than 10 minutes, or a quarter mile, to reach a transit destination.
For years planners have argued that transit-oriented development — taller buildings, pedestrian-friendly streetscapes — should be permitted with a quarter-mile radius of transit stations. In a recent presentation to the Montgomery County, Md., planning board, however, Nelson argued that the quarter-mile radius might be too restrictive. As reported by Examiner.com, Nelson said:
“We have identified three categories: the saunter, which is walking a quarter of a mile, the business walk, getting one kilometer in 10 minutes, and the New York walk, three-quarters of a mile.” The business walk, he said, is most common.
Adopting the new metric would argue for increasing the area of transit-oriented development (TOD) around rail stations. Said Nelson: “We should design our TODs around that, which will increase the total area three times.”
(Photo credit: Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech.)