Canada - Greater Greater Washington

Streetcars are more flexible about capacity

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:30:00 EDT

Streetcars and buses have different strengths and weaknesses, and are better at accomplishing different goals. Flexibility is often touted as a major strength of buses. Although buses are legitimately more nimble in some ways, when it comes to flexibility of capacity, it's streetcars that have the edge.

Image from the American Public Transportation Association.

It's true that buses have tremendous routing flexibility. Since buses can operate on any normal traffic lane, routes can be reconfigured on a whim and individual buses are free to move around obstacles. These are real benefits, and sometimes they mean that a route is best off using buses.

At the same time, streetcars are customizable for high-capacity service in ways that aren't available for buses.

Streetcars can be longer

In simplest terms, streetcars can be longer than buses. Since streetcars run on tracks, there is no danger of jackknifing. Likewise, since streetcars are powered by overhead wire, there's not a single engine distributing power. Thus there's no physical limit to their length.

For example, streetcar manufacturer CAF offers its Urbos model in options ranging from 60 feet long up to 141 feet long. Bombardier's similar Flexity model comes in any length from 69 feet up to 148 feet.

Portland's famous streetcar is a relatively diminutive 65 feet long, but longer vehicles are beginning to show up in North America. Cincinnati is using a 77 foot long Urbos for its future line, and the first 78 foot long Siemens S70s have already been delivered to Atlanta. In Toronto, 99 foot long Flexities will soon ply the continent's largest streetcar network.

99' long Toronto streetcar. Image by Bombardier.

And that's just single streetcar vehicles. Streetcars can also be coupled into trains of multiple cars, so transit agencies that own shorter vehicles can still get the benefits of extra length without needing new railcars.

Agencies that want to run longer trains do have to provide longer stations, but since streetcar stations are typically simple, that's relatively easy to accomplish.

Ultimately the limiting factor on streetcar length is the size of city blocks. Streetcars can't typically be longer than one city block, lest they block traffic on perpendicular streets. But city blocks are usually hundreds of feet long, so streetcars can still be much longer than buses.

Streetcars can have diverse interiors

Even compared to buses of exactly the same length, streetcars can support a higher passenger capacity. Since gliding along rails is so much more smooth than rumbling along asphalt, and since there's no need for huge wheel wells, it's more practical for streetcars to have a lot of open space that maximizes standing capacity.

Interior of one of DC's streetcars. Photo by BeyondDC.

The 3 streetcars that DC has in storage use this strategy. They're 65 feet long, but they have much more capacity than a 60 foot long articulated bus because of the open floor plan. The trade off, of course, is that they have fewer seats, but only streetcars practically offer the choice.

What kind of flexibility is more important?

Faced with the choice of operational flexibility or capacity flexibility, which one rules?

It depends on the needs of the corridor and the goals of the transit line. Sometimes buses are the correct answer, and other times it's streetcars.

Sometimes it might make sense to use both on the same corridor. For example, streetcars capable of providing very high capacity might serve most passengers along a line, while buses capable of skipping around traffic might serve longer express trips on the same road.

There are 157 WMATA bus routes in the District of Columbia alone, with hundreds more WMATA and non-WMATA routes around the region. The majority of them are probably better served with buses, but some of them are undoubtedly better fits for streetcars.

The key for decision makers is to embrace the differences inherent to each mode, and decide accordingly.

Cross-posted at BeyondDC.

44 comments

Regulations make alley living pricey

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 08:48:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Toronto tried to legalize alley dwellings that could be built for only $100,000 per unit, but laws and review boards added fees and restrictions that can add hundreds of thousands to the cost. (Toronto Star)

Comment

Pop the top or pack 'em in the back? (Apr 23, 2008)
Multi-family conversions, alley and accessory dwellings under attack (Apr 29, 2008)
Weekend video: Toronto's Pedestrian Jar (Sep 18, 2011)
Local regulations make new housing more costly (Nov 28, 2012)
Scrutiny and liberty in zoning (May 13, 2008)

Bike infrastructure saves lives

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 08:45:00 EDT

by Thaddeus Bell

A Canadian study finds that bike injuries fall by half on streets with bike lanes and no parking, compared to shared lanes with on-street parking. Protected bike lanes reduce injuries by 90 percent. (Atlantic Cities)

Comment

Do DC's cycletracks work well? DDOT has some conclusions (Apr 19, 2012)
New national design guide moves bike infrastructure forward (Mar 19, 2011)
DDOT will extend successful 15th Street cycle track (Sep 7, 2010)
Are protected bike lanes actually more dangerous? (Jan 14, 2008)
Is DC delaying bike lanes with redundant studies? (Dec 23, 2011)

Could Vancouver's ferries work in the Anacostia?

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:51:00 EDT

by David Alpert

A fleet of tiny ferries zigzags back and forth between neighborhoods and major tourist attractions on both sides of Vancouver's False Creek. Could the same work on the Anacostia River, connecting sites on Buzzard Point, Near Southeast, Poplar Point and Anacostia Park?

Photo by Potjie on Flickr.

When visiting Vancouver a few years ago, Greater Greater Wife and I took a hop on-hop off bus tour. When we got to the city's aquatic center, the guide suggested catching a small ferry to Granville Island, where a major food market draws locals and tourists. After we took in the market, we rode the ferry to other neighborhoods where we could get back on the bus.

Most ferries we're familiar with in eastern US cities are huge 1,000 passenger, car-carrying ferries like the Cape May-Lewes ferry, or 150-250 passenger water taxis like in New York. These ferries are far, far smaller, closer to the size of a van and hold only 12 or 20 passengers.

Top: The Spirit of False Creek 3. Bottom left: Cape May-Lewes ferry.
Bottom right: NY water taxi. Images from Wikipedia.

An operator stands on a platform in the center and drives the boat with a few joysticks and handles, while passengers sit around the edges. It operates a lot like a bus; in fact, the drivers even cruise past some of the docks and won't stop if nobody's waiting to get on or off.

The False Creek ferries only ply a route about 2 miles from end to end as the crow flies, or 3 route miles, zigzagging back and forth across the waterway.

Besides Granville Island and the science museum, they stop at a maritime museum, science museum, and a space museum with a planetarium and observatory. A stop in Stamps Landing takes you to a neighborhood with a lot of restaurants, and another, Yaletown, is a district with many new condo towers.

False Creek Ferries route map.

Each stop is only about 2-5 minutes apart, and costs $3.25 to $6.50 CAD depending on how far you go. The most popular route, the aquatic center to Granville Island, runs every 5 minutes from 7 am to 9 pm, or 10:30 pm in the summer. The other routes run every 15 minutes from about 9 am to 5-6 pm (depending on destination) in the winter and 7-9 pm during summer.

Best of all, the ferries actually operate completely self-sufficiently. In fact, there are 2 ferry companies that compete with one another!

Is this relevant to DC? It turns out that False Creek is about the size of the Anacostia:

False Creek (top) and Anacostia River (bottom) at the same scale. Images from Google Maps.

While not very wide, the Anacostia is a mighty gulf separating two sides of the river. For a long time, there was little on the banks of the Anacostia, on either side. But that is changing. We already have the ballpark, and Yards Park. Buzzard Point could get a soccer stadium.

On the east, Poplar Point is slated for development, possibly including a boulevard from Anacostia Metro to the water's edge. Historic Anacostia is not far from the river. Plus, if DC builds the 11th Street Recreation Bridge, we could have a significant attraction right on the river.

A ferry bouncing back and forth across the river, with stops at all of these attractions, could bring the two sides closer together than ever before and make the water a public space. These 7 stops cover a route about 2 miles long, or about the same length as the part of the the False Creek Ferries route network east of Granville Island.

Potential ferry stops on the Anacostia. Image by the author on Google Maps.

The Buzzard Point stop would be near a future soccer stadium and the Poplar Point stop at the end of a retail-lined avenue leading to Anacostia Metro. A stop at the 11th Street recreation bridge would connect directly to the streetcar and to all of the activities on the bridge, as well as being a short walk to Historic Anacostia.

A set of office buildings is going in the triangle east of the 11th Street Bridge and south of the freeway, and once the freeway segment to Barney Circle gets turned into a boulevard, there could be a pedestrian connection from the water up to Capitol Hill and Potomac Avenue Metro. Sadly, the CSX railroad bridge is too low for boats to travel under, so the ferries couldn't reach Hill East.

None of this precludes other types of ferries, like the longer-distance water taxis from places like Alexandria or Georgetown, or even farther south in Virginia, if those make sense. Those would use larger boats, running much less often.

Could this ferry system work here? I'll give my take in Part 2. Meanwhile, what do you think?

23 comments

Vancouver-style Anacostia ferries and the Water Mall (Oct 2, 2012)
Balance the flow, shorten the leg (Apr 14, 2009)
Development remains elusive at Poplar Point (Dec 7, 2011)
Get the Florida out of the Rhode Island Avenue streetcar (Nov 2, 2009)
Poplar Point planners present possibilities (Jul 23, 2009)

And...

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 08:12:00 EDT

by Thaddeus Bell

British Columbia considers using trees killed by beetles to build wooden high-rises. (Economist) ... The Citizen Association of Georgetown is installing surveillance cameras. (WAMU) ... The Petworth Safeway closes this week for 2 years. (WBJ)

Comment

Plus �a change, NIMBYs (Jun 17, 2008)
Distribute enforcement camera money to residents, Alaska-style (Dec 9, 2009)
From Social Safeway to Sidewalk Safeway (Jun 16, 2008)
Donatelli builds what investors will fund (Mar 10, 2008)
Do you have a legal right to a cliffside view? (Apr 7, 2011)

The mixed bag of the Olympics

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 11:19:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

Hosting the Olympics can be costly for cities, like it was for Montreal, but it can also be a catalyst for positive changes, like it was for Vancouver. (Atlantic Cities)

Comment

Vancouver's Larry Beasley talks DC's Height Act in forum Tuesday, live chat Wednesday (May 17, 2010)

Rollin north

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:20:00 EDT

by David Edmondson

Montgomery County Planning Director Rollin Stanley has been hired by Calgary, Alberta, to head its 800-strong planning department. He ends his tenure at Montgomery County next month. (Patch)

Comment

Breaking: Rollin Stanley leaving Montgomery (Apr 19, 2012)
Rollin Stanley's enemies can't stop change in Montgomery (Mar 16, 2012)
Montgomery County loses out by losing Rollin Stanley (Apr 20, 2012)
The quotable Rollin Stanley (Jun 10, 2010)
Montgomery needs to retain young residents (Feb 6, 2012)

A real frequency map

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:04:00 EDT

by David Edmondson

Vancouver, BC, has an extensive frequent bus network, and at last TransLink has released a frequent bus map to match. Though DC has experimented with frequency maps before, nothing has come of it. (Human Transit)

Comment

WMATA creates 15-minute bus map (Nov 21, 2010)
Frequency and real-time info help transit riders most (Jan 25, 2012)
Bus frequency map (Apr 14, 2009)
Would personalized "spider maps" be useful for DC? (Aug 18, 2011)
Android phones can now give real-time transit directions (Jul 7, 2011)

Mayors on transit

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:50:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

Toronto's Mayor Ford fired its transit chief for opposing the mayor's increasingly controversial policies to only focus on building subways, not light rail or streetcars. (Toronto Star) ... Chicago's Mayor Emanuel dedicated $7.3 million in tax increment financing to build BRT lines. (WBEZ)

Comment

Quantitatively compare New York neighborhoods (Apr 12, 2010)
Weekend video: Toronto's Pedestrian Jar (Sep 18, 2011)
Beauregard plan brings better buses, affordable housing (Feb 9, 2012)
Alexandria anxious for Potomac Yard Metro in 2016 (Jan 28, 2011)
Make developer tax breaks more transparent (Jul 17, 2009)

Micro living for the masses

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 10:11:00 EDT

by David Edmondson

For only $850 per month, Vancouver renters get 291 square feet of their own in the downtown core. The apartments show just how much demand there is for urban living. (Grist, Dan Reed)

Comment

Low rent for metal tenants (Apr 15, 2006)
Living may actually be cheaper in the region's core (Aug 3, 2011)
Vancouver's Larry Beasley talks DC's Height Act in forum Tuesday, live chat Wednesday (May 17, 2010)

Weekend video: Toronto's Pedestrian Jar

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 10:44:00 EDT

by Stephen Miller

Safety for bike riders and pedestrians has become a big issue in Toronto lately. One workplace there has come up with an innovative idea to help improve safety for people crossing the street.

Maybe money raised from the jar could help Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his allies on city council pay for the $375,000 study of a popular "Barnes Dance' pedestrian scramble already installed at a major intersection that handles more pedestrians than automobiles.

Thanks to Where the Sidewalk Starts and Walk Silver Spring for the link.

1 comment

Don't start dancing yet, Georgetown: Barnes Dance not always the answer (May 12, 2010)
Crosswalks: Is it time for a rethink? (Aug 16, 2011)
Pedestrians and drivers: Can't we all just get along? (Oct 6, 2008)
Pedestrian safety: Fines? Lights? Two-way streets? (Jun 20, 2008)
Before DDOT got to improve safety, a pedestrian was killed at 15th & W (Jun 1, 2009)

Capital cities unfairly reviled

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 13:04:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

Coast to coast, citizens complain about the capital city when they're really taking aim at the federal government. This applies to Ottawa, too. (Ottawa Citizen) ... At least Ottawans can elect their own Members of Parliament.

Comment

Should Metro use capital money for operations? (Dec 3, 2009)
If those who pay for transit should pick the WMATA Board, where are the rider reps? (Jun 18, 2010)
Leftover capital money could save Metro service (Apr 14, 2010)

And...

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 13:05:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

The ban on bikes in Black Hawk, CO, goes to the state supreme court. (Streetsblog) ... Montréal, which experienced an infrastructure boom 40 years ago, finds its highways crumbling fast. (Globe & Mail) ... Curbside parking looks much better when compared to the alternatives. (NUN)

Comment

Use your phone to find CaBi (Sep 27, 2010)
Sotomayor's eminent domain stance: What does it mean for cities? (May 29, 2009)
Sustainable Transportation Five, please step forward (Feb 6, 2009)
GAO: Trucking the least efficient mode of freight shipping (Mar 1, 2011)

Vancouver tackles homelessnes

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 12:53:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

Vancouver will offer $44M in land and grants to developers to create 38,000 units of affordable housing. The plan is to end homelessness, but will benefit many others, too. (Vancouver Sun)

Comment

DC poised to relax affordable housing in Waterfront deal (Dec 20, 2010)
Homeless shelters reaching a crisis (Jul 17, 2009)
Delay scuttles affordable housing at 14th and U (Jul 28, 2008)
Still not inclusionary: Council blasts Fenty's inaction (May 1, 2009)
Keep inclusionary zoning housing affordable (Sep 22, 2010)

Just try following speed limits

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 08:24:00 EDT

by David Alpert

A columnist tries obeying all speed limit laws and finds himself the object of much driver scorn. But science says it's false that "keeping up with traffic" is the safest behavior. Can this put to rest the myth that all cyclists are scofflaws and all drivers follow the law? (Vancouver Sun, The Urban Country)

Comment

Speed limits don't match road designs (Mar 23, 2009)
Design for speed, collect the dough (Feb 12, 2009)
Enforce bicycle laws, but the right laws (Jan 16, 2009)
Outrage against enforcement is unsafe at any speed (Sep 22, 2009)
Lower speed limits, wider lanes won't fix the GW Parkway (Jul 2, 2008)

Montreal shows the way for Metro Forward

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:40:00 EDT

by Kurt Raschke

Montreal's subway and bus operator undertook a six-year modernization effort, rebranding itself, rebuilding stations, replacing track, buying new buses, and developing new ways to communicate with riders. Hopefully WMATA's newly-minted Metro Forward campaign can emulate this success in the Washington region.

Image from WMATA.

Last month, WMATA launched Metro Forward, a six-year action plan and media campaign. Metro's infrastructure has suffered badly from decades of underinvestment and deterioration, and Metro Forward is all about changing that.

It's an ambitious plan. It will take serious time and money, and riders will face disruption along the way, but it is absolutely essential for the system's longevity.

Metro Forward resembles Mouvement Collectif ("Society in Motion"), a similar program by the STM, Montreal's public transit authority.

When I arrived in Montreal in 2005, the STM struck me as being, well, good enough. The buses and metro ran (usually on time), and most buses ran frequently enough, but there was still a lot of room for improvement. STM's old trip planner was a fiddly home-grown affair. There was very little real-time information available for rail passengers, and no real-time information for bus passengers.

This was before Twitter, but the STM didn't post disruption information on its Web site—even in the case of major disruptions. The fare collection system wasn't ancient, but it wasn't modern, either. There were some new buses in the fleet, but no hybrids or articulated buses, and the new buses were catching fire.

Then, in May 2009, the STM launched Mouvement Collectif. Mouvement Collectif signified big changes at the STM, not just a marketing gimmick. How has the STM changed? Its bus fleet now includes hybrids and articulated buses, improving the STM's carbon footprint and increasing capacity on high-ridership routes. They've fixed the incendiary problems with the first-generation LFS buses, too.

The OPUS fare collection system was launched, providing riders with a contactless smart card which can be used across the services of the STM, as well as other regional bus systems: STL, RTL, RTC, and others. The subway doesn't have new rolling stock yet, but the MPM-10 rolling stock is now in the design stage.

The STM has a public presence on social networks, and a new Web site which is a lot better than the old design. Passenger information is getting better, too; there are now MetroVision screens in more stations across the network.

The STM has made tangible improvements to its bus network, with the r�seau 10 minutes max (a network of bus lines boasting 10-minute headways), a better night bus network, and an airport shuttle which is more convenient for riders than previous options and which has proven to be a real success in its first year of operation.

It takes longer to make real changes to a rail system than a bus network; it's going to be a few more years before the MPM-10s start running. But the STM continues to work on renovating the rail system, too; elevators have been installed at key transfer stations, among other improvements. Tous azimuts ("Full Circle" in English), the STM's trip planner, is still there (although it, too, has gotten better), but more importantly, the STM's schedules are in Google Transit now.

Mouvement Collectif is also about making public transit a more attractive option. Sustainability is a major component of Mouvement Collectif: not only mass transit as a sustainable transportation choice, but also the sustainable operation of transit services, through the use of biodiesel and other energy-saving measures. This advertisement conveys the authority's green messaging:

Thanks to Metro Forward, tomorrow's WMATA has the potential to be a far better transit agency than it is today. For the STM, Mouvement Collectif has paid off; in 2010 the STM was recognized as an Outstanding Public Transportation System in North America.

Metro Forward puts WMATA on the right track to celebrate a similar achievement six years from now. It will take time, and there will be a lot of disruption along the way, but we'll get there.

Crossposted at Raschke on Transport.

27 comments

Metro responds; wanted money from Google Transit (Dec 16, 2008)
Metro refuses to participate in Google Transit (Dec 13, 2008)
Metro releases station-oriented bus maps (Aug 17, 2009)
Metro's trip planner should offer service alerts (Jan 14, 2011)
WMATA directions now on Google Transit! (May 11, 2011)

Don't believe everything you read

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 10:45:00 EDT

by David Alpert

A Toronto street study claimed there was no room for bike lanes and wider sidewalks on a road, and that only 2% of the traffic was bikes. A resident proved both wrong, the first with a tape measure, the second with a team of volunteer traffic counters. (Mez Dispenser, azhers)

Comment

Downtown bike lane proposal needs fixes at the ends (Mar 22, 2010)
Are protected bike lanes actually more dangerous? (Jan 14, 2008)
DDOT moves planned I Street cycle track to M Street (May 4, 2010)
Positive resident activism: C Street, NE (Feb 5, 2009)
DDOT may restore two-way traffic on 15th Street (Jan 10, 2008)

Montreal rescues Bixi

Sat, 21 May 2011 12:56:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

On a party-line vote, Montreal's government approved a financial rescue of Bixi, manufacturer of Capital Bikeshare's bike system. Bixi relies heavily on international exports for revenue. (Montreal Gazette)

Comment

Use your phone to find CaBi (Sep 27, 2010)
Capital Bikeshare, launching today, will change everything (Sep 20, 2010)
Capital Bikeshare introduces new 5-day pass (Mar 14, 2011)
DC, Arlington to add 36 Capital Bikeshare stations (Dec 23, 2010)
Can you find a better bike sharing system name? (May 24, 2010)

Bixi in trouble

Wed, 18 May 2011 09:31:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Bixi, Montreal's bikesharing system and the maker of DC's vehicles, is in financial trouble. They'll keep delivering vehicles to DC but future cities will need to use other companies; will they be compatible? (AltTransport)

Comment

Use your phone to find CaBi (Sep 27, 2010)

Toronto surrenders (to cars)

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 08:29:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Declaring "the war on the car is over," Toronto's new mayor scrapped a comprehensive light rail system on his first day in office. However, unlike a US politician, the mayor wants to see subway expansion. (The Globe and Mail)

Comment

WMATA expansion plans (Jan 21, 2006)
Then and Now: The Toronto apartment building (Jul 28, 2009)
Richardson supports light rail (Jun 19, 2007)
Transit vision roundup (Apr 23, 2008)
SF moving forward with Central Subway (Feb 22, 2008)

Melbourne bike share failing

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 09:42:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

While Montreal & London's Bixi based bike share programs are wildly successful, Melbourne's system, also from Bixi, has been a dud. The smaller number of bikes and stations is likely a contributing factor, but the biggest difference between the cities is Australia's mandatory bike helmet law. (This Big City)

Comment

Arlington, DC announce 1,100-bike regional bike sharing (May 21, 2010)
Let's stimulate with a major bike sharing program (Mar 6, 2009)
Bike sharing is the newest transit mode (Oct 27, 2010)
Google Maps: Bike There (Mar 6, 2008)
How can we make bike sharing programs compatible? (Jan 13, 2009)

And...

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 08:17:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

Over the weekend DDOT converted the 15th Street cycle track to two-way. (BeyondDC) ... A long abandoned building on H Street in downtown DC will remain empty for the foreseeable future because the Secret Service supposedly can't afford to renovate it. (DCmud) ... Since Vancouver only allows helmet-less cycling if wearing one interferes with religious practices, local activists founded the Church of Sit-up Cycling. (District Citizen Cycling)

Comment

And...

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:19:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

Get your own next-bus/next-train display for only $200! (Planetizen) ... Calgary has started reconstructing sidewalks with rubber tiles manufactured from old tires. (Calgary Herald) ... Denver's B-cycle is popular with students. (DU Clarion)

Comment

Then and Now: The Times-Herald building (Jul 22, 2010)
Speak for sidewalks (Jun 1, 2010)
Takoma tiles a success for Metro (Jun 2, 2009)

Not so rapid transit

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:30:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

Students in Surrey, BC knew their bus service was slow, so they decided to figure out just how slow in the Beat-the-Bus competition. (Surrey Now)

Comment

Red bikes

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 10:45:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

The non-profit that runs Montreal's Bixi bike-sharing ran a deficit last year, prompting the city's auditor to begin an investigation. (CBC, Froggie)

Comment

Video for Vancouver lanes

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 10:32:18 EDT

by David Alpert

Vancouver created a video to illustrate their new 2-way separated bike lanes. They are testing three kinds of barriers: parked cars, planters, and bike racks. (Stephen Miller)

Comment

Bikes, eh

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:05:00 EDT

by David Alpert

The Canadian Embassy is giving employees bicycles to commute to work. They sold one of their fleet vehicles to pay for the bikes. (Embassy of Canada, Gavin)

Comment

Vancouver's Beasley: Tinker with height limit very carefully

Wed, 19 May 2010 10:32:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Last night, Vancouver planner Larry Beasley praised tall buildings, but also praised Washington's lack of them. He argued it could benefit DC to allow height in narrowly circumscribed areas outside downtown, but cautioned DC to be very mindful of the consequent risk.

Photo by _Tawcan.

Tall buildings transformed Vancouver into a world-class city, attracting tourists, knowledge workers and financial investment and accommodating many people comfortably on a small peninsula. It's created a beautiful skyline, with elegantly sculpted towers piercing the sky, but also walkable neighborhoods and active streets.

Vancouver has achieved this through their own breed of tower-building, "Vancouverism." This involves giving great care to all three parts of a tall building: the base, the tower, and the top. The base must directly address the street, filling space at a modest height compatible with other buildings.

In residential areas, they places townhouses in the base, while in commercial areas maximize the transparency of ground-floor windows. In all areas, they put as much retail into the base as the area can support. As Beasley put it, the base must be "gently giving to the street, rather than harsh, brutal, and awesomely out of scale."

The tower itself is then set back to limit its impact on pedestrians, to make it "float out of consciousness." It must slim down as it rises, rather than blindly duplicating each floor plan on successively higher floors. And the top is where some extra artistry comes in, to avoid the bland flatness of many modern buildings while also not becoming "clownish."

Vancouver also clusters the buildings into "constallations," in an artistic "composition that makes a statement" and also ensures views of the sky through the cluster. Vancouver's clusters of towers seem to point into the sky, but not blot it out.

Photo by CanadaGood.

In essence, Vancouver is what the mid-century modernists like Le Corbusier would have built if they had the benefit of decades of experience. They thought widely-spaced towers beautiful and believed they would enhance the quality of life.

Separated by acres of empty land and interconnected by high-speed expressways, they did the opposite, but in Vancouver, this basic aesthetic lives and succeeds because the towers are only a small piece of the puzzle.

Vancouver does not simply permit tall buildings. They extract significant public amenities from them. Developers can only build if they offer these amenities, and a system of bonus densities along with a more discretionary approval process that gives officials leeway to shape projects has helped Vancouver wring nearly every amenity they could think of out of developing their city in recent decades.

In most cities, Beasley teaches how to manage tall buildings because those cities are inevitably going to build tall. However, unlike most cities, Washington, DC has kept a low skyline through the 100-year-old Height Act.

Photo by joshbousel.

That height limit brings many benefits of its own. For one thing, it makes DC particularly notable and memorable, which Beasley pointed out is increasingly valuable in a world economy where most mid-sized cities are increasingly undifferentiated and unremarkable.

It draws tourism, gives greater prominence to key national symbols, and created a "coherent frame of walls around ceremonial spaces." It also reduces the economic incentive to tear down historic buildings.

Of course, as we've discussed here and one questioner pointed out, the value for tourists and the framing of monuments and civic buildings doesn't require extending the height limit to the entire District. Few tourists venture beyond the central neighborhoods and few viewsheds extend past the L'Enfant City. Rosslyn has tall buildings and that hasn't diminished the uniqueness of downtown DC; in some ways, it's accentuated it.

Beasley argued that should DC allow greater heights, it should create a "no go zone" for certain distances from the monumental core. It should not allow heights in historic areas, or on high points in the city, which should remain either natural or host "important public edifices" like the National Cathedral.

Buenos Aires. Not what DC wants to look like. Photo by Natalia Romay.

More importantly, Beasley cautioned against any allowance for greater heights in random and scattered locations. He showed some very compelling photographs of Buenos Aires, which has allowed a variety of tall buildings in an otherwise low-rise city. They have created an unpleasant effect of "increasing confusion" in the skyline, he argued.

If DC were to allow greater heights, Beasley's suggestion would be to do so in a single, small area where there is substantial community support and a desire for specific amenities. Any increases must be tied to those particular amenities. In addition, DC must engage in "thoughtful planning" and a "deliberate urban design analysis" to sculpt any cluster of towers.

For example, if it's not too close to the core, I could see this making some sense in NoMA where there are already tall buildings and few to no historic structures but a distinct lack of public parkland. Could a constellation of such towers make it economically possible to leave one or more areas completely empty and fund construction and maintenance of parks?

However, any height increase, Beasley argued, will need to be significant. DC could start pushing its envelopes slightly, such as allowing human occupancy space in the mechanical penthouses that current law allows over height limits as long as they are set back from the edges of buildings. It could give small density bonuses here and there in the more numerous areas where zoning, not the height limit, restricts buildings.

However, this would not yield meaningful community amenities. The cost of providing residential use in a commercial building is enough that a developer would probably not add it for only a floor or two of extra height, as Dan suggested.

Residents often oppose tall buildings, both because they can disrupt their "intuitive comfort" with the city and also specifically impact privacy, height, or views. However, in exchange for clear and desirable amenities, along with good design, in his experience many residents can ultimately support these projects.

Still, is it worth the risk? Beasley is not so sure. To him, as a visitor, DC has such unique qualities and such an extraordinary accomplishment in its height limits.

Beasley will be join us to continue the conversation for a live chat at 11:00 this morning. What questions do you have for him?

27 comments

Vancouver's Larry Beasley talks DC's Height Act in forum Tuesday, live chat Wednesday (May 17, 2010)
Live chat with Larry Beasley on DC's height limit (May 19, 2010)
GGW debates: the Height Act (Nov 23, 2010)
Added height with design review proposed for Union Station railyards, Lower Barracks Row (Dec 14, 2010)
Would a residential height bonus improve downtown? (Apr 28, 2010)

Vancouver's Larry Beasley talks DC's Height Act in forum Tuesday, live chat Wednesday

Mon, 17 May 2010 14:28:00 EDT

by David Alpert

One of the perennial topics for debate in Washington, DC is the 1910 Height of Buildings Act, which limited tall buildings and created the current "low-rise" skyline. Now, the Act is 100 years old. Has it served DC well or poorly?

Vancouver's Yaletown.

Tomorrow, former Vancouver Planning Director Larry Beasley will talk about the Height Act at an NCPC forum, 6:30 pm at the Navy Memorial. Then, Mr. Beasley will come online to join us for a chat at 11 am Wednesday.

Vancouver has achieved tremendous success specifically through building high-rises. This has allowed the area to grow and prosper without massive suburban sprawl, and Vancouver neighborhoods have become livable, walkable, and lively.

Supporters of DC's height limit, on the other hand, argue that the limit forces development of areas adjacent to downtown, like NoMA and the Capitol Riverfront for office districts, instead of concentrating jobs in downtown with dead areas and parking lots adjacent.

Who is right? Does the height limit make DC a more livable city or keep it from achieving its potential? Maybe DC should raise the limit in key areas outside downtown? After all, Rosslyn has tall buildings, and it's closer to the Mall than Anacostia or Fort Totten. Or is spreading out office space inefficient?

Sometimes, tall buildings turn into mere "towers in the park", gaining a lot of height but not much density. On the other hand, the limit makes developers mainly build giant boxes, to take maximum advantage of the limited building envelope.

Is it worthwhile to maintain a certain aesthetic of lower buildings? Vancouver's towers don't create "canyon effects" or dark streets, but do form soaring, glass slivers reaching into the sky. Some like that, some don't. How worthwhile is maintaining the look if it increase sprawl? Does it, or do people just want single-family houses even if they're two hours from downtown?

To attend the talk, RSVP at NCPC's page. They anticipate the event filling up, meaning walk-ins might not be able to get in. To attend the live chat, just come online here at 11 am on Wednesday.

In the meantime, please submit questions you'd like to ask Mr. Beasley. We'll also formulate some questions based on the topics that arise at the forum.

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