Cities contemplating commuter rail systems should first look at the characteristics of other successful systems.
Christof Spieler offers eight criteria for the 'perfect commuter rail line' on his blog about transportation in Houston.
"20 U.S. cities have commuter rail lines. Should Houston be number 21? The best way to answer that question is to figure out what commuter rail does well. Those other cities can give us a good idea of why successful commuter rail systems are successful.
Here are eight criteria for the perfect commuter rail line. Only a few lines meet all of these. But nine of the top 10 commuter rail systems in the United States meet at least seven."
Among the criteria: the system should take advantage of an underused rail corridor in an area where highway capacity is scarce, serve more than commuters, and have a major city at each end.
FULL STORY: 8 habits of highly successful commuter rail lines
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Placer County
Mayors' Institute on City Design
City of Sunnyvale
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP), the Department of City and Regional Planning (CRP)
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
City of Portland, ME
Baton Rouge Area Foundation