The Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) model at Anderson Station is moving closer to becoming a reality.
TOD integrates transportation and land use planning to create a location where all residents can live, work, and play with their families in a pedestrian-friendly environment. The Anderson Station TOD will have superior quality architectural and public realm finishes, higher densities and a mix of land uses.
The Anderson Station TOD initiative provides tremendous opportunity and potential for all residents, businesses, and communities involved with the project. The development at Anderson Station will help to accommodate the demands of unprecedented growth in Calgary by creating opportunities for people to live, work, and play in a community environment that is walking distance to an LRT station. This in turn reduces automobile dependency, carbon emissions and our City’s ecological footprint. Public engagement has been a priority for the Anderson Station TOD initiative since its conception. Four public information sessions have been held to date, and are examples of how public feedback can help contribute to a project’s overall success.
The first session, held June 20, 2007, presented participants (stakeholders, residents, businesses and transit riders) with an overview of the concept, principles and benefits of Transit Oriented Development at Anderson Station. Citizens and stakeholders were asked for their opinions on what they would like to see on the lands at Anderson Station.
The second information session took place on November 29, 2007. Attendees were provided a development model proposal for the lands at Anderson Station that took into account the public feedback from first session. Process and timelines for the approval of land use and outline plans were also provided. Citizens and stakeholders were invited to comment on this development proposal.
All materials presented at the November 2007 Open House were posted on the City’s website (www.calgary.ca/TODplanning - in the Anderson LRT Station downloads) along with a comment sheet welcoming additional comments.Additionally, on April 7, 2008 and 19, 2008 respectively, a separate visioning workshop and a land use planning exercise were held to gather some useful feedback on the Anderson Station Area Plan – the area surrounding the LRT Station. Further land use planning exercises are currently being organized for June.
Input from the successful community engagement events has assisted in forming a development proposal for the Anderson Station area. The Anderson Station TOD team has considered the comments received from both engagement sessions, as well as the continued public feedback received through the website, and have refined and developed their proposal for Land Use Re-designation and Outline Plan at Anderson Station. This proposal has recently been submitted to the City of Calgary approving authority to be circulated and processed following typical procedures and practices followed for a land use redesignation and outline plan application.
The Anderson Station TOD team will continue to consider ongoing comments and concerns as the project moves through the application process. A public hearing is expected to be scheduled late in 2008. Details on the public hearing will be posted on the Anderson Station TOD website as soon they have been confirmed. Information about the development proposal, as well as the communications program, will be provided online through the City of Calgary’s TOD website. For more information on the TOD Anderson initiative please visit the TOD website (www.calgary.ca/TODplanning) for regular updates.