A Transit Oriented Development Symposium was organized by TOD Planning Lead, Misty Sklar, with the purpose of exploring ways to enable development around LRT and BRT stations. The day-long Symposium was held on October 10th and included speakers from industry, academia, City administration and community. Discussion from the event will be used to inform the City’s TOD Policy.
Community Members Ali McMillan (Bridgeland), Lisa Chong (Hillhurst Sunnyside), Melanie Swailes (Brentwood) and Kathryn Davies (Banff Trail) spoke about TOD from the viewpoint of their respective communities. Topics discussed included the importance of consulting with communities early, when feedback counts; respecting recently updated Area Redevelopment Plans; how TOD can fit into a historic community with step downs and step backs; how tax uplifts from increased density can be used to improve the neighbourhood; the importance of making communities walkable and varied; reasons why high rises kill livability; the attraction of fine-grained urban design; and how each neighbourhood should have its own unique feel. Questions were raised around how a city-wide TOD Policy will interface with Local Area Plans.
The City’s updated TOD webpage can be found here.
