Best Practices Memorandum

Indianapolis Trail-Oriented Development Plan Draft dated 23 March 2023


This memorandum summarizes research identifying best practices from successful and emerging

trail-oriented development (TrOD) in metropolitan areas that share similarities with the Central Indiana region and examines TrOD to date within Central Indiana municipalities. It identifies factors contributing to the success of TrOD and potential challenges to achieving robust mobility, social and economic benefits. Analysis of design characteristics from selected developments, and a summary of best practices identified in the memorandum, are included.


Contents

What is trail-oriented development? 1

National TrOD case studies 4

Charlotte Rail Trail, Charlotte NC 5

BeltLine, Atlanta 11

TrOD best practices from Atlanta 17

Midtown Greenway, Minneapolis 18

TrOD best practices from Minneapolis 23

Additional lessons from emerging trails systems in Tennessee 24

Lessons from Central Indiana 29

TrOD best practices summary 33

What is trail-oriented development?

Trail-oriented development is a compact, mixed-use residential and commercial development pattern clustered around off-street walking and bicycling infrastructure (referred to in this memorandum as trails or greenways). It is characterized by a walkable, human-scaled land use and street design context oriented specifically toward trails and their users.

For the purposes of understanding best practices for TrOD in Central Indiana this memorandum focuses on mixed-use developments and districts along or near off-street, shared-use trails in a range of geographies and land use contexts, from small towns and suburban downtowns to dense urban neighborhoods.

National demand for trail-oriented development is strong and increasing. A report by the Urban Land Institute in 2015 found that, in the United States, over half of all people surveyed and nearly two-thirds

of millennials would like to live in places that do not require frequent use of a car. The same report found that half of US residents believe their communities need more bike lanes.1


A national transportation funding priority

Funding for trail infrastructure is growing. The 2021 federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides billions over five years for a range of investments that might serve "active transportation" (cycling and pedestrian) projects. This includes a set-aside of $7.2 billion for dedicated bicycle and pedestrian projects, an increase of 71% over the previous funding cycle.2 This set aside now comprises 10% of the total block grant program available for state surface transportation projects.3 Grants from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program, the Transportation Alternatives Program, the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program, the Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program4, and others have directed additional billions of federal funds into active transportation projects nationwide5 and demonstrate the central role that walking and bicycling infrastructure have in promoting sustainable and equitable transportation and economic development.


Expanding transportation networks and options

The abundance of funding for active transportation projects responds to the desire of Americans to live in places where driving is just one of many transportation options. While rail-to-trail conversion (that is, the conversion of an underused or disused rail line corridor to shared use paths and trails) has obvious health and recreation benefits, off-road walking and bicycling facilities are increasingly seen as an important component of a core transportation network. For example, completion of trails that connected housing to job centers in metropolitan Minneapolis was associated with an increase in the rate of bicycle commuting to work.6

Trail systems improve livability by improving transportation options, especially for residents who sometimes or always travel without cars, and especially in places served by many trail and transit facilities that are well connected to each other. Suburban areas, small towns, and rural areas, which often have limited access to transit networks and lack safe and connected travel options for those not using vehicles, may likewise benefit from expanded trail networks.7


Improving health and well-being

Trails and trail-oriented development are associated with positive health and recreational benefits. Trails have been linked to increased physical activity and trails in rural communities, where risks of poor health


1 Active Transportation and Real Estate: The Next Frontier. Urban Land Institute, 2016.

2 "Opportunities Abound: The IIJA and the Future of Transportation Investment." Eric Zimmerman, presentation to National Association of Regional Councils, 26 April 2022.

3 UPDATED FEDERAL FUNDING DATA – Benchmarking Report. League of American Bicyclists.

4 "New Federal Funding for Safe Walking and Biking Routes Could Help Meet Booming Demand." Rails to Trails Conservancy, 12 September 2022.

5 Trails Transform America. Rails to Trails Conservancy.

6 Advancing Trails to Support Multimodal Networks. Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center.

7 Advancing Trails to Support Multimodal Networks. Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center.

outcomes from sedentary lifestyles are high, are shown to increase walking. Physical activity in natural settings is also associated with quantifiable improvements in mood and self-esteem. The systemic benefits of this can be significant: a 2011 study by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission found that use of parks and trails in southeastern Pennsylvania led to health benefits that avoided nearly

$200 million in direct medical costs and nearly $600 million in indirect costs.8


Supporting vibrant local economies

Trails can increase local economic prosperity and fiscal health. Businesses along the Indianapolis Cultural Trail saw increased revenue of 48% from 2008 to 2015, leading to job creation in order to serve the increased customer base.9 A 2015 study found that the trail generates between up to 214,000 annual visits and that trail visitors expected to spend approximately $53 per person per day, much of it in hospitality establishments. Similar examples exist on trail systems and networks throughout the midwest and eastern US:10

The resulting shortlist includes the Charlotte Rail Trail (Charlotte, NC), the BeltLine (Atlanta), and the Midtown Greenway (Minneapolis). The following table provides a high-level comparison of the three primary case study locations to Central Indiana..



Indianapolis

Charlotte

Atlanta

Minneapolis

Population (city)18

887,642

879,709

498,715

429,954

Population density (city)19

2,455 / sq mi

2,937 / sq mi

3,685 / sq mi

7,962 / sq mi

Population growth (city, 2010-2020)20

8.2%

20.3%

18.7%

12.4%

Population (metro)21

2,111,040

2,660,329

6,089,815

3,690,261

Walk/bike/transit to work (metro)22

3.0%

3.7%

4.7%

7.9%

Employment growth (metro, 2010-2020)23

29.0%

71.7%

25.3%

13.4%


18 QuickFacts using 2020 data. US Census Bureau.

19 QuickFacts using 2020 data. US Census Bureau.

20 QuickFacts using 2010 and 2020 data. US Census Bureau.

21 Using 2020 data, US Census Bureau.

22 Transportation and Health Indicators, using 2008-2012 MSA data. US Department of Transportation.

23 Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment News Releases, using March 2020 and March 2020 MSA data, not seasonally adjusted. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Charlotte Rail Trail, Charlotte NC

Trail-oriented development and transit-oriented development working together

The Charlotte Rail Trail is a planned, eleven-mile mixed-use path built alongside a regional rail line that connects neighborhoods to Uptown Charlotte (the city's commercial heart) and to 15 other bicycle routes.24 Four miles are currently built.

The configuration of the facility is an example of rail with trail: the multi-use path shares right of way with Charlotte's only rail line, the Blue Line light rail, which serves 26 stations along its nineteen-mile path through the city and sees an average of 28,000 daily weekday boardings. The Rail Trail uses an easement that was originally intended to provide emergency access to light rail stations and infrastructure.25

In 2007, when the Blue Line began operating, a vision emerged for a simple shared-use trail parallel to the line that could improve access to four stations in the neighborhoods south of Uptown. Where the

at-grade transit line had created a barrier between neighborhoods, the Rail Trail would seek to reconnect them. The City Council included that vision in its 2020 Center City Vision Plan for Uptown and a subsequent 2013 Vision Plan specifically for the Rail Trail envisioned transforming a network of underutilized spaces around the rail line into a public space and trail network, including programming plans for more than 70 underutilized spaces around the trail.26 The Rail Trail Framework Plan advanced the vision toward reality with specific implementation steps.27 The rail-with-trail infrastructure was further codified as a planning imperative by the 2021 adoption of Charlotte Future: 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which involved significant depth of community engagement. The plan has a goal to "promote moderate to high-intensity, compact, mixed-use urban development along high-performance transit lines and near separated shared-use paths or trails." The plan includes a number of detailed objectives and implementation actions that may be relevant for Indianapolis.28

The trail has been implemented as a partnership between Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation and the City of Charlotte, with programming and financial support from nonprofit economic development and district management organizations Charlotte City Center Partners and Historic SouthEnd.29


TOD setting the stage for TrOD

The Rail Trail was predated by development of the Blue Line itself, and the City of Charlotte did not acquire and retain rail- and trail-adjacent parcels for issuance of City-led development RFPs. Rather, it focused on creating development regulations that achieved the City's vision while allowing private


24 Rail Trail - City of Charlotte.

25 About - Charlotte Rail Trail.

26 Rail Trail Vision Highlights - Charlotte Rail Trail.

27 "Creative Placemaking, Rail Trails, and Station Activation" Alan Goodwin, AICP. Presented at RailVolution, 2017.

28 Charlotte Future: 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

29 Rail Trail - City of Charlotte.

development to flourish.30 Beginning in 2005, and through 2018, the City completed station-area planning prior to each station opening.

The station area plans identify parcels that are appropriate for transit-oriented development (TOD) while seeking to protect nearby residential neighborhoods from adverse development impacts. The plans applied transit-oriented development regulations to parcels immediately adjacent to the Blue Line and transit-supportive development regulations to a wider catchment area. The TOD regulations include density minimums and parking maximums. The City has noted that trail-oriented development standards called for lower densities than might have been achievable, and has since updated its standards to require higher density development that maximizes the transportation access and economic benefits of the city's valuable public space investment.31


Incremental growth

The Rail Trail was built incrementally. The unimproved trail is simply asphalt and chain-link fence running parallel to the Blue Line tracks, with ordinary lighting and sparse landscaping. Property owners are required, as they redevelop adjacent properties, to upgrade this basic but serviceable trail with landscaping and other features.32

Station area plans and related zoning regulations treat the Rail Trail like any other public street or sidewalk and so require that it be fronted by active uses. Sometimes buildings are required to provide direct connections from adjacent buildings to the trail and parking garages are generally not permitted to face the trail. These regulations have made the Rail Trail something of a front door for the community and in some cases adjacent businesses don't open to another street at all - a powerful testament to the accessibility and vibrancy of the trail as a high-value public space.33


Symbiotic benefits

In total, between 2006 and 2018, the Blue Line corridor completed 8,557 residential units and 2.2 million square feet of office for a $2 billion total investment.34 The City of Charlotte's careful TOD planning likely facilitated development around the transit stations so it might have occurred regardless of the Rail Trail. Still, City leaders describe the invaluable role the Rail Trail plays in supporting both the transit line itself and the transit-oriented development that surrounds it. The rail-to-trail configuration provides a significant improvement in transportation benefits for residents. The configuration also provides the ground-floor public realm improvements necessary to attract and support commercial and mixed-use development, which in turn give further support to transit.35


30 "12 Years of TOD in Charlotte: What Has Charlotte Done to Attract Transit Oriented Development and Fulfill the Local Vision?" Alan Goodwin, AICP. Presented at RailVolution, 2018.

31 "12 Years of TOD in Charlotte: What Has Charlotte Done to Attract Transit Oriented Development and Fulfill the Local Vision?" Alan Goodwin, AICP. Presented at RailVolution, 2018.

32 "Creative Placemaking, Rail Trails, and Station Activation" Alan Goodwin, AICP. Presented at RailVolution, 2017.

33 "Creative Placemaking, Rail Trails, and Station Activation" Alan Goodwin, AICP. Presented at RailVolution, 2017.

34 "12 Years of TOD in Charlotte: What Has Charlotte Done to Attract Transit Oriented Development and Fulfill the Local Vision?" Alan Goodwin, AICP. Presented at RailVolution, 2018.

35 North Carolina's Charlotte Rail Trail - Rails to Trails Conservancy.

Erin Chantry, at the Charlotte Urban Design Center, describes the complementary relationship between trail and rail: "Without the rail-trail, there would not be the public realm or the pedestrian space to support transit-oriented development. The rail-trail along the rail has basically provided a whole other space to be activated with ground-floor retail and other active uses that are incredibly supportive of transit.”36

The trail today is heavily used, with over 2,000 daily users on some segments.37 Chantry describes its success as a civic place: "You can see the diversity of Charlotte and of our population, so it’s really a place where urbanity is on display." The trail continues through Uptown but currently ends before continuing, as the Blue Line does, onto the city's north side. The City has so far been unable to acquire right of way for the trail from the freight railroad that owns land in this section, underscoring the careful forethought required to provide full continuity and connectivity on an urban greenway system.38


Development highlight: Atherton Mill and Market


Image credit: Google Maps

The Atherton Mill and Market is a six-story mixed use development adjacent to the Charlotte Rail Trail, which integrates into the site by weaving around a restaurant and dining area. Most retail, restaurants, and residential entrances face the trail or are oriented toward the building's parking lots. While amenities along this section trail are limited, Atherton Mill and Market offers seating areas and bike


36 North Carolina's Charlotte Rail Trail - Rails to Trails Conservancy.

37 Rail Trail - City of Charlotte.

38 "The frustrating story behind why the Rail Trail ends at 12th Street." Axios Charlotte, 29 June 2018.

racks accessible to trail users.

Above: The Rail Trail is integrated into the Atherton site.. Image credit: Google Maps.

The Charlotte Rail Trail continues in either direction, along the light rail Blue Line, which has a station about ¼-mile northeast of the development. This development is consistent in type and density with others along the Rail Trail; development comes less dense as single-family residences predominate moving outward from the trail.

Development highlight: Bradham at New Bern Station


Above, image credit: Google Maps. Below: Trail frontage at Bradham at New Bern Station, image credit: Google Maps.


The Bradham is a large six-story mixed-use development, with upper-story apartments and ground-floor retail, located at the Blue Line New Bern light rail station. The trail/rail frontage includes a restaurant and outdoor plaza with seating and public art. The building continues to have an active interface with the trail, featuring a courtyard and several building entrances, moving north along the site. The ground floor is well-designed on all sides of the building thanks in part to its parking configuration, in which the building wraps around a garage to conceal it from view. This portion of the Charlotte Rail Trail corridor has a higher development density than nearby areas, where developments are mostly two or fewer stories. Single-family residential is found only one block away from this site.

Previous: Charlotte Rail Trail “skyline” showing land uses and building heights along the trail's length


TrOD best practices from Charlotte


An economic success story raises equity concerns

The BeltLine is a resounding economic achievement and a globally relevant case study in the ability of greenway and transit investment to generate new value far beyond the public dollars invested. The scale


52 Document Library: Foundational studies - Atlanta BeltLine.

53 Document Library: Foundational studies - Atlanta BeltLine.

54 Equity and Inclusion - Atlanta BeltLine.

55 Document Library: Subarea master plans - Atlanta BeltLine.

56 Document Library: Foundational studies - Atlanta BeltLine.

57 Strategic Implementation Plan - Atlanta BeltLine.

58 Developer resources - Atlanta BeltLine.

59 Document Library: Foundational studies - Atlanta BeltLine.

60 Document Library: Foundational studies - Atlanta BeltLine.

and quality of investment in the BeltLine corridor quickly drew a market response: by 2013, long before the project's completion, homes near the BeltLine were reportedly selling in 24 hours, whereas homes in the same corridor were on the market for sixty to ninety days before the project began.61 By 2021 the project was estimated to have generated $8.2 billion in direct property development, which is more than ten times the total investment to date of $670 million in the project of public and private funds.62

While these numbers describe what is by any measure an extraordinary turnaround for a piece of disused industrial infrastructure, analysts and the public have raised concerns that the property value increases that have so successfully funded the project's completion are also fueling gentrification and displacement in what has become an overheated greenway-adjacent property market.

The City of Atlanta and its project partners employed a project financing strategy that foresaw the significant expected property value increases likely to occur next to an attractive infrastructure investment: the 2005 TAD that is the foundation of the project's financial basis captures leverages the rising tax revenues from the rising value of newly greenway-adjacent properties. But rather than focusing on securing land for affordable housing when property values were low, the city prioritized building the infrastructure itself. As that infrastructure investment drove property values up, funding further investment, the rising tax bill for individual families - and the rising costs of building affordable housing as land values go up - may have exacerbated affordability concerns in a process one researcher refers to as "park-driven green gentrification."63, 64

Rising property values imperil the project's equity mandates which incorporate a legislatively-directed goal of creating 5,600 affordable and workforce housing units over the TAD's lifespan (2005 to 2030).65 The City has created tools to tackle the problem in partnership with the private market, such as its Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which offers loans or grants to developers who need gap financing to include affordable housing in their projects.66 By 2017 some success was evident: nearly 2,600 affordable units had been built within walking distance of the project.67 Still, despite the City's tools, requirements, and incentives for affordable development, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. has projected that it will struggle to meet its housing goals for the project amid rising costs and the market-rate demand the project has spurred.68

Observers also note that, while investments in the BeltLine have had a ripple effect across the Atlanta property market and are already generating public benefits for the region, the investments themselves - and perceptions of their impact - vary by neighborhood. The majority of early investments were directed toward the relatively wealthier precincts of Atlanta's east side, where many neighborhoods already had better regional transportation and parks access thanks to investments from the 1996 Olympic Games.69 Residents of these neighborhoods perceived that they benefited more from the trail's increased property


61 Active Transportation and Real Estate: The Next Frontier. Urban Land Institute, 2016.

62 Project funding - Atlanta BeltLine

63 "Atlanta's BeltLine Project A Case Study In Park-Driven 'Green Gentrification.'" Historynewsnetwork.org, 25 January 2023.

64 "SLS Case Study: The Atlanta Beltline." Serve-Learn-Sustain, Georgia Institute of Technology

65 "SLS Case Study: The Atlanta Beltline." Serve-Learn-Sustain, Georgia Institute of Technology

66 Developer resources - Atlanta BeltLine.

67 Project Profile: Atlanta BeltLine. FHWA Center for Innovative Finance Support.

68 "SLS Case Study: The Atlanta Beltline." Serve-Learn-Sustain, Georgia Institute of Technology

69 "SLS Case Study: The Atlanta Beltline." Serve-Learn-Sustain, Georgia Institute of Technology

value impacts than did residents of less wealthy neighborhoods in western Atlanta, who felt the project introduced potential inequities and externalities that needed to be addressed.70 These disparities in perception and impact suggest the need for tailored neighborhood-level planning approaches to ensure that greenway facilities themselves, and the development they attract, target investments to deliver the different benefits each community needs most.


Development spotlight: Ponce City Market

Image credit: Google Maps.

Ponce City Market is a restored historic building on the BeltLine Eastside Trail long used as a Sears distribution center before conversion to a City Hall office annex. The mixed-use site currently houses housing, shopping, restaurants, and event space. Its primary entrance, from North Avenue (on the building's south side) provides direct access by vehicle and transit. Access from the trail, which is elevated above grade at this location, is via a well-marked and welcoming entrance on the building's east side. This entrance features a direct visual connection to the trail, artwork, and an open lawn space, and leads to The Shed, a furnished outdoor patio running along the trail. The Shed provides direct access into Ponce City Market, provides a location for community farmers markets and other seasonal events, and serves trail users with bicycle and scooter parking.


70 "The Impact of urban greenways on residential concerns: Findings from the Atlanta BeltLine Trail. Landscape and Urban Planning." Weber, Sarah; Boley, B. Bynum; Palardy, Nathan; Johnson Gaither, Cassandra. Landscape and Urban Planning, November 2017.


Previous page: Trail entrance into The Shed. Image credit: Google Maps.

The nine-story mixed-use building is immediately surrounded by other mixed-use commercial and multi-family residential structures. Building heights decrease markedly a block or two further east or west of the trail to a development pattern of primarily single-family detached residential housing. This

growth pattern is repeated elsewhere along the BeltLine Eastside Trail, with commercial, mixed-use, and residential structures alongside the trail built to a higher density than in the surrounding neighborhoods.


Above: BeltLine Eastside Trail “skyline” showing land uses and building heights along the trail's length


TrOD best practices from Atlanta


Midtown Greenway, Minneapolis

A small segment that unlocks big benefits

The Midtown Greenway is a 5.5-mile "bicycle freeway": a two-way separated bicycle path paralleled by a walking path, both placed 20 feet below grade along a former freight rail corridor.71 The greenway, completed in 2007, runs east to west through South Minneapolis, connecting several neighborhoods between the Mississippi River and the city's Chain of Lakes district and providing access to downtown and across the region via connecting bicycle and transit routes. The trail has few at-grade crossings and provides very frequent access along its entirety via a series of ramps, positioning it as a valuable piece of transportation infrastructure even for adjacent established residential neighborhoods that have seen no new development impacts.

The greenway is an important connecting asset within a longstanding and renowned regional bicycle network, with 101 miles of off-street bikeways and trails in Minneapolis, including its landmark Grand Rounds system.72 A proposed expansion of the greenway across the river into neighboring St Paul73 would provide access to that city's 98 additional miles of off-street cycling and pedestrian facilities.74

The trail was completed at a total cost of $36 million using a mix of federal, state, regional, and city funds, including from the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (which owns the land on which the greenway sits) and private funds from adjacent developers (for accessways connecting the trail to the adjacent street network). It is today maintained by the City of Minneapolis in partnership with the not-for-profit Midtown Greenway Coalition, the nonprofit which originated the concept and continues to advocate for its success.75 The Coalition is active in shaping policy and development for the greenway, supporting but weighing in carefully on trail-oriented development and urban design proposals to ensure they will benefit the greenway and its users.76


71 Active Transportation and Real Estate: The Next Frontier. Urban Land Institute, 2016.

72 Bicycling - City of Minneapolis.

73 Active Transportation and Real Estate: The Next Frontier. Urban Land Institute, 2016.

74 Bicycle Maps - City of Saint Paul.

75 Active Transportation and Real Estate: The Next Frontier. Urban Land Institute, 2016.

76 Greenway Improvements - Midtown Greenway Coalition

TrOD that builds on existing assets

The project began after a below-grade freight rail line in South Minneapolis fell into disrepair and the Midtown Greenway Coalition, originally formed in the late 1980s, began to advocate for its reuse as a shared-use greenway facility.77 The first segment was opened in 2000, but it was not until 2007 that the city's Midtown Greenway Land Use and Development Plan established a 20-year development and use framework for parcels within 100 feet of the greenway.78 The plan focused on Uptown, the vibrant mixed-use district on the western portion of the Greenway (between Lake of the Isles and Lyndale Avenue) which was already an attractive neighborhood of choice for its cultural assets, transit access, and proximity to beautiful and heavily visited lakefront parks. These greenway-adjacent neighborhoods

had the greatest potential to see significant development and land use changes, particularly the adaptive reuse of existing underutilized industrial buildings, whereas the eastern portion of the trail passed through quieter, long-established residential neighborhoods.


A driver of mode shift

The Midtown Greenway is an unlikely transportation story in a city notorious for its harsh winter climate. The corridor sees up to five thousand daily bicycle trips and over one million annual trips.79 The city attributes a 76% increase in cycling between 2007 and 2013 in part to completion of the Midtown Greenway.80

The greenway has become part of the city's daily transportation network in part due to a commitment by the City of Minneapolis to remove seasonal impediments to its use. The city maintains the Midtown Greenway and other bicycle trails year round, clearing them of snow no more than 24 hours after snow falls. The high priority placed on ensuring continuous winter use emphasizes the value of the trail as critical transportation infrastructure rather than as a nice-to-have recreational facility.

The city's commitment invites the commitment of developers and investors to follow: year-round maintenance of the facility lowers perceived risk that buildings and destinations oriented toward the trail itself will be disused for a significant portion of the year and ensures the benefits of access are available continuously. The Midtown Greenway Coalition, in its role as advocate for the trail, focuses its design review efforts partly on requesting that buildings step back from the greenway to minimize winter shadows, which can compound ice and make the facility dangerous for winter use.81


A civic asset and an organizer of investment

The attention paid to greenway-adjacent development has paid off. Property values rose 90% along the corridor in the decade after construction, which saw a $750 million total investment in 11 projects (10 of which were residential).82 Since the first segment opened more than 2,500 new housing units have been constructed within 500 feet of the greenway, contributing to a total property value increase of $1.8 billion (adjusted for inflation) and a $30 million annual tax revenue impact. While this period has


77 Active Transportation and Real Estate: The Next Frontier. Urban Land Institute, 2016.

78 Midtown Greenway Land Use and Development Plan. Mineapolis2040.org

79 Midtown Greenway Extension Impact Study. Midtown Greenway Coalition, 2021.

80 Active Transportation and Real Estate: The Next Frontier. Urban Land Institute, 2016.

81 Greenway Improvements - Midtown Greenway Coalition

82 Active Transportation and Real Estate: The Next Frontier. Urban Land Institute, 2016.

coincided with a significant increase in transit, public space, and private development investment in downtown and Uptown Minneapolis, it is clear that the Midtown Greenway is an amenity which helps renew, organize, enrich, and sustain development interest in this part of the city.83

The city and its partners have expressed a commitment to building on the success of the Midtown Greenway and its attendant trail-oriented development for the long term. The city foresees development continuing apace and is planning to make the most of it. Its 2020 comprehensive planning effort, Minneapolis 2040, updated and provided additional regulations for greenway-adjacent development, including increasing the density of development where it has been successful and providing additional shaping strategies for developer interest in the long-disinvested East Lake Street corridor.84 The

longer-term vision looks promising, too: the city and railroad authority have expressed interest in reintroducing passenger rail transit to run alongside the existing bicycle freeway and walking paths, a plan which the Greenway Coalition supports. The coalition has also proposed an eastward expansion of the Greenway, using the historic, disused Short Line Bridge to cross the Mississippi River and provide a new connection to the University of Minnesota, the metropolitan professional soccer stadium, and the city of St Paul. 85


Development spotlight: Midtown Exchange

Image credit: Google Maps.


83 Midtown Greenway Extension Impact Study. Midtown Greenway Coalition, 2021.

84 Minneapolis 2040. City of Minneapolis, 2020.

85 Overview - Midtown Greenway Coalition

Midtown Exchange, like Ponce City Market, is also a historic former Sears distribution facility. The

eight-story structure now contains apartments, offices, and retail space. The first-floor Midtown Global Market houses a variety of independent restaurants, vendors, and specialty grocers. The building is located to the south of the Midtown Greenway with its primary entrance on the building's west side, from Chicago Avenue or Lake Street, with direct access to several transit lines. A secondary entrance on the building's east side provides access from a parking garage on Tenth Avenue.

Trail users access the building by using a stairway leading to the primary western entrance. A few trail amenities exist at this location, including an emergency button, signage, bicycle parking, and enhanced landscaping. Direct access to the building is available via a patio and several doors at greenway level, but these entrances are discreet and currently not marked or programmed in a way that would welcome trail users.



Above: Primary entrance on the building's west side. Image credit: Zillow. Below: View of Midtown Exchange (at left) from the Midtown Greenway in 2016. Image credit: Google Maps.



Above: View of stairs (at center) from Midtown Greenway to Midtown Exchange. Image credit: Google Maps.

The site is surrounded by a medical campus and research facility on the north side of the trail, commercial and retail structures on nearby Lake Street and Chicago Avenue, and primarily single-family housing in the surrounding neighborhoods. Dense development along this section of trail is limited. The closure of the hotel at the top of the access steps between the greenway and Midtown Exchange, and the temporary closure of a trail-side bicycle shop and café, have changed the interface between trail and development in this area in recent years.


Above: Midtown Greenway “skyline” showing land uses and building heights along the trail's length


TrOD best practices from Minneapolis

Additional lessons from emerging trails systems in Tennessee

While the case studies from Charlotte, Atlanta, and Minneapolis provide many relevant considerations for metropolitan Indianapolis to incorporate in its trail and trail-oriented development planning, it can also be instructive to evaluate approaches from places which, like those in central Indiana, are in earlier stages of building out a comprehensive trail system. Best practices are highlighted below using examples from emerging trail networks in Nashville and Blount County, Tennessee.


The Central City Greenway will be a 23-mile loop encircling downtown Nashville. It is currently one-third constructed, and when finished will provide access to the greater network of 300 miles of greenways in metropolitan Nashville.86 The greenway network, built mostly along the county's abundant waterways, is intended to serve as a vital component of the city's transit network and to preserve open space, viewsheds, and floodplains.


The Great Smoky Mountains Greenway is the proposed name for an existing but fragmented 14-mile greenway trail network extending through Blount County, from suburban Knoxville to the rural Great Smoky Mountains. A 2022 report highlighted greenways as a core economic development strategy for this area. A unified greenway experience would build on the county's significant assets, including walkable downtown Maryville and large-scale new mixed-use development at Springbrook Farm in Alcoa, and was projected to have a $65 million economic impact over 10 years.87


Trail identity, management, and governance structure

A key recommendation of the economic development strategy report for Blount County was to establish the "Great Smoky Mountains Greenway" as a unified brand identity for the greenway system, and to enhance the cohesive governance and management structure behind that brand to maximize the greenway's fundraising possibilities and economic, social, and environmental potential. The report found that a single governance structure could yield efficiencies in administration and management and could be a focus point for advocating for trail planning, operations, and funding from public institutions and private donors. Establishing a unified governance and management structure would require collaboration with every municipality involved as well as with businesses, property owners, and regional foundations whose economic or mission interests the greenway can help to advance.

Metro Parks, which manages parks for Nashville and Davidson County, created a Greenways Commission in 1991 to begin planning and developing its system of greenways and open spaces. The commission, in turn, established Greenways for Nashville in 1994; this nonprofit entity (like the Midtown Greenway Coalition and the BeltLine Partnership) gives the general public a means to provide financial and other support for the greenways system.88 While Nashville's sprawling greenway system lacks a singular identity, Greenways for Nashville provides a unified organizational identity and public face for the system's buildout.


86 Metro Greenways, Trails, and Open Space - Nashville.gov.

87 Competing for Talent: Blount County's Roadmap to Smart Growth. Blount Partnership, 2022.

88 Our Mission - Greenways for Nashville.

Finding the right framing

Gathering regional support for greenway development requires appealing to the varying interests of each municipality and neighborhood. While the recreational benefits of greenways are obvious, Nashville is like the previously discussed case studies in positioning greenways as critical transportation infrastructure. The 2011 Nashville Open Space Plan, published by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, recommended the creation of green corridors in and through downtown as a means to improve regional transportation connectivity. Likewise, the plan appealed to environmental interests by positioning trail-oriented infill development as a means of directing development away from critical conservation areas. This tailored messaging about the broad benefits of greenways helps to make the case for investment of political and financial capital by speaking to a wide array of priorities.


Financing strategies that yield economic benefits

The Blount County study recommended assessing greenway-led smart growth opportunities that have a track record of economic impact and recommended value capture mechanisms (like TAD and

tax-increment finance) to fund greenway construction and management. Likewise, the Nashville Open Space Plan noted that green spaces increase property values, and that the resulting increased tax revenue from properties near those spaces can pay for additional green infrastructure investments.

Introducing this funding conversation early in the visioning process can help establish the need for buy-in on value capture mechanisms that are regional in scale (and that deliver benefits to homeowners, businesses, and investors).


Anticipate, evaluate, and adjust

While a broad vision that expresses the many and diverse benefits of greenways is essential to achieving regional buy-in for the greenway system, a unified comprehensive plan and detailed local plans can help ensure the powerful economic attraction of greenways results in TrOD that is coordinated, targeted, and meets public benefit objectives. A metropolitan-scale comprehensive plan for greenways and greenway development should be proactive, anticipating that development interest is likely to increase as the greenway network evolves, and should balance preservation of land and open space with economically productive development, especially housing, that is oriented toward the greenways. It should also include performance measures that use available data to assess progress toward project equity and public benefit goals over time.

The Blount County economic development study recommended creating a land use and development strategy for properties within 1,200 feet, or ¼ of a mile, of any existing or planned greenway trail. The study would look for opportunities to balance the economic growth that greenways attract with the preservation of open space, which retains the character of place and helps keep the greenway an attractive asset. Land use recommendations would be responsive to the diverse contexts through which a greenway system will pass, ensuring that some places remain relatively undeveloped and pristine and that others feel connected to civic infrastructure, business districts, and cultural destinations.

Housing is a top priority in the Blount County study and in all of the examples discussed here. Housing near greenways has a high value premium, which can be leveraged for value-capture to fund greenway development, and residents who live near greenways benefit most from the increased transportation

access they provide. As the Atlanta BeltLine experience illustrates, a study should also be clear-eyed about the market shifts the greenway might produce and should, wherever necessary, embed and deploy tools that minimize harm and maximize benefits to communities experiencing housing or other economic stress that increased development interest might exacerbate. Flexibility is key, and when progress against goals falls short lead agencies should adjust course to ensure investment strategies lead to positive public benefit and equity outcomes.

Finally, the comprehensive regional-scale study should lead to further small-scale local studies that provide detailed guidance for development adjacent to the trails. Strategic properties adjacent to the trail should be repositioned where necessary to maximize their value as open space or economically productive uses, and design guidance should ensure that the "back doors" that often face disused rail and other industrial infrastructure are turned into "front doors" that connect with and contribute to a safe and inviting trail experience.


Development highlight: Neuhoff District, Nashville



Image credit: Neuhoff District.

The Neuhoff District is a planned mixed-use complex on a parcel between the Cumberland River Greenway and the Cumberland River. The site reuses the historic five-story Neuhoff Packing Company

building and adds three new structures for office, retail, and apartments. The new structures will range in height between nine and fourteen stories.



Above: Rendering of Neuhoff District development. Image credit: New City Properties.

The two new multifamily residential buildings will feature ground-floor retail and will be located directly along the trail. A planned pedestrian bridge will provide additional connections to neighborhoods and a planned technology campus east of the Cumberland River. The structures planned for the Neuhoff District are much denser than those in the surrounding area, which includes several low-slung industrial sites and lower-density multifamily housing along the trail southward toward downtown.


Above: Cumberland River Greenway “skyline” showing land uses and building heights along the trail's length.


TrOD best practices from Tennessee


Lessons from Central Indiana

Central Indiana, with its extensive network of rail-to-trail conversions and other off-street shared use paths, already has a range of trail-oriented and trail-adjacent development. This section describes additional best practices that can be gleaned from the following five development nodes.

Fishers' Nickel Plate District is a new downtown district that has emerged around the 7.4-mile Nickel Plate Trail, which connects Fishers to the Midland Trace Trail in Noblesville along a disused former rail line.89 A proposed 8.6-mile extension to this line would connect its southern terminus to the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis.90 This extension is funded, but its completion date has not yet been announced.91 While the trail corridor was originally planned to accommodate a rail-with-trail option, this (and a subsequent BRT proposal) were abandoned in favor of converting it to a shared-use path only. A decade ago, when trail conversion began, this area was sparsely developed with a few government buildings and little other activity. Today the area is a nearly built-out mixed-use district filled with office buildings, residential apartments, and shopping and dining options.92 This trail-oriented development plan can play a role in helping to shape a high-quality buildout for remaining development sites in the area.

Carmel's Midtown district is along the Monon Trail, a 25-mile trail connecting communities in Hamilton County to downtown Indianapolis along a disused rail line corridor. This district, built along Monon Boulevard between Center City and Main, is a redeveloped industrial area intended to be distinct from, but serve as a connection to, neighboring City Center (to the south) and Art & Design District (to the north).93 The new development that replaces low-slung industrial uses is of a much higher density and is supported by the open space of the trail, which through this area is enhanced with additional seating features and landscaping, lending it a civic quality that attracts public visitation and long-term real estate investment. The complementary quality of density and open civic space here is a model for trail-oriented development planning.

Grand Junction in Westfield is a new park near a historic downtown and the Midland Trace Trail, which follows an abandoned rail corridor for 7.5 miles connecting Westfield (its present western terminus) to Noblesville. Westfield is currently redeveloping its downtown, through which the western end of the Midland Trace Trail passes. Redevelopment here incorporates elements of the trail, but currently lacks some elements which would make it true trail-oriented development.


89 About - Nickel Plate Trail.

90 Indianapolis Nickel Plate Trail - BRAG.

91 "Looking ahead: Fishers expects to see multiple projects begin in 2023." Current, 26 December 2022.

92 "7 developments are adding vibrancy to downtown Fishers." IndyStar, 24 May 2018.

93 Midtown Plaza Carmel.

Downtown Whitestown is redeveloping its Legacy Core District around the intersection of the Big Four Trail and Main Street. The Big Four Trail is a 2.8 mile rail-to-trail segment which will eventually connect through the entirety of Boone County.94 The 2018 Legacy Core District revitalization plan envisions a mixed-use downtown district organized around the Big 4 trail, which will connect this outlying community with downtown Indianapolis.95 The timing of this project, which is currently in its early phases, is right to begin incorporating some of the

trail-oriented development best practices described in this memorandum.


Speedway's Main Street is a commercial thoroughfare connecting two regional trail routes in the city of Speedway. Speedway's 1.6-mile segment of the 7.6-mile B&O Trail is part of what is envisioned to one day be a 60-mile trail stretching from Indianapolis to montezuma.96 At the other end of Main Street is the Peoria & Eastern Trail, a 2-mile rail trail connecting Speedway to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.97 Main Street has an on-street separated bicycle path connecting the two trails and providing access to the heavily visited Indianapolis Motor Speedway.


Trails as an economic development connector

As was the case in the Midtown Greenway example from Minneapolis, trails and trail-oriented development can help extend investment and economic development interest outward from places that are already successful. Carmel's 2021 Midtown master Plan set a vision for redevelopment of a low-slung and underutilized industrial district that sat between two nodes that were already attracting new development: the Arts & Design District to the north and City Center to the south.98 An ambitious vision and carefully executed initial investments of public dollars in civic spaces helped spur private investment in this district. The success of Midtown is now helping to create a contiguously developed and cohesive corridor between Arts & Design and City Center, with many developments completed or under construction along Monon Boulevard. The boulevard acts as the emerging civic spine of Carmel and has been redeveloped with Complete Streets upgrades including high-quality pedestrian and bicycling facilities, landscaping, and buildings and civic spaces which open directly onto it.99

While Midtown acts as a connector between places that were already the commercial and civic cores of Carmel, trail development has also been a spur for downtown redevelopment itself in Central Indiana communities. An influx of commercial and industrial development in Whitestown in recent years has boosted the community's tax base, and City leaders recognized the need for quality of life improvements in anticipation of coming residential growth. Development momentum had previously occurred mostly north and south of the original historic downtown, and the present redevelopment plan focuses on bringing economic vibrancy right into its Legacy District core. Revitalization plans call for a

pedestrian-oriented district anchored around the town's primary intersection and the Big Four trail, with


94 Big 4 Trail (Whitestown) - Trail Link.

95 Legacy Core District Master Plan. City of Whitestown.

96 B&O Trail - TrailLink.

97 P&E Trail - TrailLink.

98 Monon Boulevard and Midtown Plaza - ULI Awards for Excellence Special Mention. Urban Land Institute, 11 May 2022.

99 Monon Boulevard and Midtown Plaza - ULI Awards for Excellence Special Mention. Urban Land Institute, 11 May 2022.

infill development on the many available underutilized parcels and enhanced pedestrian connections to walking and bicycling infrastructure.100 The plan's focus on walkability will help ensure the trail works hand-in-hand with downtown redevelopment to support an economically and vibrant mixed-use place.

Ground-up trail-oriented development can come to life even absent a historic downtown or successful nearby districts. The Nickel Plate Trail serves as a supporting element to a focused redevelopment strategy in Fishers that intensified uses and density along 116th Street, first to the west (near what was a core of government buildings preexisting the intensified mixed-use district today), and now to the east, of Interstate 69. The remarkable success of this area, which has now matured into a nearly fully built-out mixed-use downtown district, demonstrates the value that trail-oriented development has in bolstering downtown development even absent a significant transit hub.


A common theme through all of the examples in this memorandum is that trails can support economic diversity by building on existing assets, be they a successful or languishing existing district or, in the case of Speedway, a major nearby tourist draw. Speedway's downtown was revitalized through careful planning by city leaders that recognized the economic value of the nearby Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a belief that visitors would, if they could, visit the speedway by bicycle. A 2019 grant will help the city complete the remaining gap in the B&O Trail, connecting Speedway (and the speedway) out to the suburbs and right into downtown Indianapolis.101 A large and well-used bicycle parking facility near downtown that is used for speedway events facilitates additional event-day bicycle traffic to Main Street.102 Such supporting amenities help to ensure that trails and trail-oriented development broaden the economic base of Speedway beyond race day by inviting more visitation at all times of year.


Setting the table for private development

Successful trail-oriented development is ultimately a matter of attracting a meaningful scale of private investment, and local governments have a critical role to play attracting that investment by making the first big public space moves. Public ownership of land, and a strong redevelopment authority, helped Fishers organize redevelopment efforts in the Nickel Plate District by providing a high-quality public environment and a sense of momentum that private developers could build on. In Carmel, the redevelopment authority made initial public space investments (particularly around public space and Complete Street upgrades to Monon Boulevard) that helped attract private development.103 The Carmel Redevelopment Commission was able to purchase land for Midtown Plaza, the area's centerpiece park, around which the City zoned for intensified density and a mix of uses.

This approach requires a cohesive vision and commitment to realizing a pedestrian-oriented future for the trail-oriented district, and that may involve coordination with the state agencies that own nearby roadways. The Grand Junction redevelopment projects in Westfield envision a walkable future and welcoming public spaces as the future for the town's downtown, but the town's Main Street is a

State-owned route that is currently being widened to improve vehicular traffic flow.104 Widened streets


100 Legacy Core District Master Plan. City of Whitestown.

101 "A Short History of Speedway Bike Trails." Speedway Town Talk.

102 "Inside Track: Pedal & Park a Perk for Cyclists." Indianapolis Monthly, 26 May 2012.

103 Monon Boulevard and Midtown Plaza - ULI Awards for Excellence Special Mention. Urban Land Institute, 11 May 2022.

104 "Westfield reveals State Road 32 construction plan." Wishtv.com, 28 January 2022.

reduce the safety, comfort, and convenience of people walking, which can adversely affect the inviting and intimate sense of place which drives successful downtown economic development. This example illustrates the critical role that governments play not only in leading with major public space investments but also with ensuring all stakeholders and parties share a vision for a human-scaled, walkable environment where trail-oriented development can flourish.


Connectivity and context

The environment around trails and trail-oriented development matter as much as the presence and quality of the trail itself when building a complete and economically vibrant place. Investing in

high-quality public spaces and walkable urban design can help ensure the trail becomes a civic asset (rather than just a transportation one) and that it connects seamlessly to the surrounding street environment.


The City of Fishers has demonstrated attention to detail in the civic space around the Monon Trail as it passes through its newly vibrant downtown by building an inviting pedestrian and bicycle tunnel beneath busy 116th street, a monumental stairway and community gathering space, and a pedestrian plaza and bridge connecting the trial to the downtown.105 The City is also renovating and expanding the Fishers Amphitheater, a centerpiece of the downtown district and a cultural draw that will invite visitation deeper into the Nickel Plate District.106 As developers buy and hold property in this area, the City's continued investment in the human-scaled civic quality of the district, can help encourage a correspondingly high quality of private development in the area.


Carmel has made its 7.4-acre Midtown Plaza the centerpiece of its trail-oriented development. The public park has amenities and programming that make it an attractive front door to the surrounding 3- to 6-story office and residential buildings. The park is highly accessible from the surrounding

pedestrian-first street environment and serves as a useful "backyard" for Midtown residents by hosting a large number of annual events and generating significant everyday use.107 The quality of this anchor public space earned it an honorable mention in Excellence in Development from the Urban Land Institute.108

Westfield's investment in Grand Junction Plaza, the new park at the centerpiece of the downtown Westfield redevelopment master plan, envisions a well-programmed park with events and amenities, similar to Midtown Plaza.109 The park connects to the one-block Park Street business district, the city's new public library, and a new township hall and community space. The project will also improve connections to the Midland Trace Trail. This civic investment could play an important anchoring role in setting the tone for a walkable and human-scaled future for an economically vibrant downtown Westfield, but the automobile-oriented objectives of the Main Street (State Route 32) widening project run contrary to urban design principles that would make the street an inviting place. A more walkable


105 Nickel Plate Trail - Fishers Parks and Recreation.

106 "7 developments are adding vibrancy to downtown Fishers." IndyStar, 24 May 2018.

107 Monon Boulevard and Midtown Plaza - ULI Awards for Excellence Special Mention. Urban Land Institute, 11 May 2022.

108 Monon Boulevard and Midtown Plaza - ULI Awards for Excellence Special Mention. Urban Land Institute, 11 May 2022.

109 Grand Junction Plaza.

plan for Westfield might better connect the important investments the City is making to attract and facilitate private reinvestment in this promising historic downtown.


Each of the downtowns described above includes a major investment in a public park, plaza, or civic space. These are powerful organizers that increase land values and attract private investment, but a more economically vibrant future is possible even by simply rethinking the street environment. After a long downtown decline, in 2005 the redevelopment commission in Speedway issued a redevelopment plan that included adding a protected bike lane to Main Street. Redevelopment began in earnest in 2011 and has brought new vibrancy, and significant new visitation by people bicycling, to this six-block main street.110 The narrower street provides space for an intuitive connection between the trails that bookend the main street and brings trail users right to the front door of the community. As importantly, the bicycle lane also helps introduce a more human scale to Main Street by narrowing crossing distances, reducing the speed of vehicle travel, and creating a buffer between the roadway and the sidewalk. This design promotes the safety, comfort, and convenience of people walking and bicycling and is a relatively low-cost investment that invites bicycle-friendly private development.


TrOD best practices from Central Indiana


TrOD best practices summary

The best practices from each section above are summarized in the following table, arranged by theme. A check mark indicates the case study that best illustrates each practice, though most practices can be observed in multiple case studies in this memorandum.


Transit and transportation

CLT

ATL

MSP

TN

IN

Coordinate transit-oriented and trail-oriented development to maximize the benefits of both.





Integrate trails and TrOD with the regional transportation network, partnering with the regional transit agency for coordinated buildout and seamless access between the two systems.





Plan greenways to leave space for potential rail transit in the future.







110 Speedway Main Street - Travel Indiana

Prioritize maintenance of trails, year-round





Identify trail segments and trail-oriented development opportunities that close critical gaps in the system wide network.





Regularly evaluate progress toward project goals and adjust planning and regulatory strategies as needed to ensure equity impacts and other public benefits are realized.

Planning and engagement

CLT

ATL

MSP

TN

IN

Frame greenways as a transportation strategy, and trail-oriented development as an open space preservation strategy.




Use trail-oriented development as an economic development strategy.





Talk early and often about creative financing strategies and long-term economic value.




Create a comprehensive plan that anticipates economic growth and increased development interest.



Partner with nonprofits that will advocate for the success of trails and trail-oriented development.





Establish a unified governance and management structure with a coordinated branding and marketing message.




Housing and social impacts

CLT

ATL

MSP

TN

IN

Anticipate where rising property values around planned and constructed trails are most likely to result in gentrification and displacement. Consider acquiring land in those areas as future sites for affordable housing before property values rise.





Use a broad variety of tools to achieve the economic, environmental, cultural, and social benefits of the project - and use those tools in targeted ways that respond to the different needs and opportunities for each neighborhood and section of the trail network.





Establish achievable affordable housing goals grounded in market and funding realities.





Urban design and development regulations

CLT

ATL

MSP

TN

IN

Lead with targeted local government investments in civic spaces that "set the table" for private development to come.





Ensure trails connect intuitively to walkable, human-scaled neighborhood streets and land uses.





Carefully craft development regulations to influence how trail-adjacent land is used, especially when the City does not own or directly control key parcels.





Require that trail-adjacent buildings have a "front-door" orientation toward the trail, specify trail-friendly densities and uses, and mandate completion or upgrades of trail segments as parcels are developed.





Use parking maximums and density minimums to incentivize mode shift to trails (and transit if applicable).