LINK BETWEEN TRANSIT AND LAND USE: THE PEDESTRIAN

For transit to function well the city must be redesigned in support of the pedestrian. Because of the essential link between transit and the pedestrian, the transit operator could become the primary institutional advocate for the pedestrian, for transit serves best as a cooperative mode with the other green modes, walking and bicycling. Current urban planning has elided pedestrian concerns, with narrow and uncomfortable sidewalks, wide streets, large and complex intersections, off-street parking, and crowded and uncomfortable bus stops. Possible changes in policy which might productively alter this situation include changes in traffic engineering, special attention to rail transit corridors, entitlements for land development, creative incentives, policy interventions, and alliances for the pedestrian. Land use patterns need to be compatible with transit rather than the automobile; the best way to accomplish that end is to give the pedestrian first consideration.