As part of an on-going light rail planning effort with the Regional Public Transit Authority (RPTA) in Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, CD+A, in partnership with Economic and Planning Systems (EPS), is in the process of establishing a range of development opportunities for 21 stations areas by creating a palette of development types and test fit diagrams that illustrate development opportunities within the station areas.

In a first step the "idealized" 1/2-mile walking radius used in Phase I was refined to a 2,000 foot walking distance, and opportunity sites were identified through field research and meetings with city staff. Concurrent to this task, a matrix of "marketable" development types was created for a range of uses and building configurations in the 21 station areas. This step was followed by the creation of a second matrix detailing development prototypes (i.e.; the building types, scale of development, density ranges, etc.) and a listing of case study projects, both from the Valley Region and elsewhere, which are to be used by Tempe and Mesa in public education and outreach efforts involving stakeholders of the station areas as well as the development community.

Currently, CD+A is preparing nearly 140 land capacity (“test fit”) diagrams for the opportunity sites. The diagrams illustrate the layout of marketable uses with appropriate parking ratios at two levels of intensity. These diagrams and land use programs will be used by EPS for initial feasibility and programming analysis, presented to staff from the three cities and refined where necessary.

CD+A is also retained by the three cities to assist them in moving forward with implementation of the Model TOD Overlay Zoning including additional case study research, refinements to the cities’ implementation policies  and development of station area illustrative plans.

The Rail Station Area Study received a Transportation Planning Excellence Award for 2004 as part of the larger Comprehensive Program on Transit Supportive Land Use being administered by Valley Metro Rail. The award is sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, and co-sponsored by the American Planning Association.