News & Updates

Transit-Oriented Development: Why Transit Infrastructure Alone is Not Enough

By: Robert Keel, MSc. Pl, MCIP, RPP - Manager, Transportation Planning

Across rapidly urbanizing regions, significant investment continues to be directed toward expanding rapid transit systems to help shape sustainable urban growth. However, achieving the successful delivery of transit infrastructure requires effective integration with its surrounding land use and mobility context, particularly through the application of transit-oriented development (TOD) principles.

Beyond Increasing Densities
At its core, TOD refers to the concentration of higher-density, mixed-use development within walking distance of major transit facilities such as a subway station.

TOD is not a single outcome, but an integrated system that depends on interaction between factors such as land use mix, block structure, active transportation facilities, and station integration.
 

Building transit infrastructure alone does not guarantee transit-oriented travel behaviour.

When one or more of these components are missing or weakly coordinated, the relationship between transit investment and urban development becomes significantly less effective. For example, the Line 4 Sheppard subway in Toronto is often cited as an underperforming transit asset, and one of the contributing factors has been the construction of new stations in a low-rise residential context, surrounded by a suburban street grid and the presence of high speed arterials with no cycling infrastructure or comfortable pedestrian facilities. 
 
The First-and-Last Mile Challenge
The main reason that transit investment alone is insufficient is the importance of first- and last-mile connectivity. Providing strong first- and last-mile connectivity typically involves redesigning urban street grids, addressing missing gaps in the active network, and establishing clear road hierarchies that balance mobility, access, and placemaking objectives.

Experience from LEA projects in the Greater Toronto Area include work associated with the Yonge Street North subway extension and the iON Light Rail Transit in Toronto and Kitchener respectively. For both projects, existing street network limitations and built form conditions were creating gaps between stations and their walking/cycling catchment areas. Addressing these gaps often require rethinking right-of-way allocation and mode priority so that stations function as integrated access points rather than isolated infrastructure.

Street Design, Trade-Offs, and Urban Form
Street design also plays a central role in TOD implementation, particularly within constrained urban corridors where available road space is limited. Complete streets principles are often applied to redistribute space between transit operations, pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicular traffic.

As part of the Finch Avenue East Complete Streets Feasibility Study (a ~7km major arterial corridor in northeast Toronto), the LEA team balanced complex trade-offs between competing mobility objectives while also addressing practical constraints such as utilities and property access. These conditions necessitated frequent multidisciplinary coordination with the local transit agency and municipal stakeholders.

Integrating Transit Infrastructure with Development
Transit stations are not standalone destinations; given that they serve as an interface between regional mobility systems and the local urban environment. Successful TOD requires careful consideration of how transit facilities integrate with surrounding development. This includes:

• bus terminal and interchange design;
• pedestrian access and circulation systems;
• cycling and multimodal facilities; and
• connections with adjacent developments.

The design of these facilities requires an understanding beyond providing the physical space for their operational requirements, but also how comfort and convenience influence the user experience.

LEA has developed significant experience in this area, including the Orbit GO station (Innisfil) and Eastgate Transit Terminal (Hamilton), that involved developing design solutions that would ensure effective station integration while maintaining core functions such as bus circulation and passenger pick-up/drop-off. 

From Transit Investment to Urban Transformation
Transit infrastructure is a necessary component of sustainable urban development, but it is not sufficient on its own to deliver transit-oriented outcomes. Successful TOD depends on the coordinated alignment of the surrounding development and street network to support the creation of a cohesive, walkable neighbourhood. Ultimately, the effectiveness of TOD is determined less by the presence of transit infrastructure and more by the land use and mobility system that surrounds it.
 

For more information about LEA or to discover how LEA can support your transportation planning and engineering needs, contact:

Robert Keel, M.Sc. Pl, MCIP, RPP
Manager, Transportation Planning – Western Canada
rkeel@lea.ca