New Bedford 2020 - VHB.com

A City Master Plan New Bedford 2020Recognizing the importance of welcoming residents, visitors, and workers to our city, the Gateways Initiativeaims to enhance New Bedford’s “front doors” by implementing improvements in the areas seen by the mostpeople. Each gateway provides a unique opportunity to make the entrances into our neighborhoods anddistricts visually appealing and inviting through representation of our rich history and cultures. ProposedGateway improvements generally include:> Identify a special space through built elements (i.e., signage);> Create “green” asphalt areas with grass medians, street trees and shrubs, planters;> Create pedestrian-friendly intersections and crosswalks that are fully accessible;> Provide pedestrian-scale lighting that may be unique to each gateway location;> Create space for public art, benches and other seating; and> Provide way finding signage that is visually appealing, consistent and easy to follow.TRANSIT- ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT AREASTransit-Oriented Development, also known as Transit Oriented Design, or TOD, is a growing trend in creatingvibrant, livable communities. TOD is the creation of compact, walkable communities centered on high quality trainservice. This makes it possible to live a higher quality life without complete dependence on a car for mobility andsurvival. Through the South Coast Rail (SCR) project, New Bedford has the potential for two TOD sites: the Whale’sTooth and the Kings Highway locations (refer to Figures 4.7 and 4.8, respectively—located at the end of this chapter).The Whale’s Tooth site is located adjacent to the HLS District, south of I-195, east of Route 18 and west of theAcushnet River. The SCR project identifies a TOD at the Whale’s Tooth location that provides:> A new hub for transportation in New Bedford that will integrate local bus services and shuttles (i.e., SRTA),inter-city buses, the Fast Ferry service to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, and regional passenger rail;> A modern, green, state-of-the art, multi-modal facility. The station building will house the New BedfordCareer Center—a one-stop center that provides workforce development services—as well as provideadditional space that will be programmed to meet community health, daycare or education needs;> Public investment in the station area that will anchor significant transit-oriented development and createreal places on parcels that are now abandoned or dilapidated brownfields;> A build-out capacity that yields approximately 1,250 new dwelling units and 487,000 square feet ofcommercial space; and> Pedestrian links between the station and Downtown New Bedford, the working waterfront, and the HLSDistrict.For additional information on the proposed multi-modal facility, refer to the Transportation InvestmentGenerating Economic Recovery (TIGER) I Discretionary Grant Program application. 18The Kings Highway TOD is located off Exit 4 on Route 140, and along Kings Highway (Tarkiln Hill Road)parallel to the CSX line at Route 140. The area covers roughly 55 acres and is home to an older marginalcommercial mall. Extensive paved parking is located throughout the area. The site has potential for TOD thatprovides:> Direct connections to rail service and mixed-use opportunities including residential and commercial development;> Pedestrian and bicycle-friendly connections to the surrounding neighborhoods;18 http://www.newbedford-ma.gov/PortofNewBedford/tigergrants/Intermodal%20Transportation%20Infrastructure%20Proposal/Intermodal%20Grant%20Proposal.pdfShaping the City4-17