

It is an enormous challenge, but the robust bottom-up engagement behind Thinking Beyond the Station opens up long-lasting channels of communication between the community, professionals, and officials. When the needs of less privileged, less empowered communities are not clearly articulated, explicitly voiced and defended, and when planners and transit agency officials do not have the tools to effectively listen, concerns are not addressed. Afterwards, the entire community can get behind the value of transit – whether they ride it or not – because it has been articulated as a key ingredient in the great places and visceral experiences they desire. Thinking Beyond the Station brings together transit professionals, board members, elected officials, designers, developers, and the public to solidify a shared vision for the role that transit facilities should play in the community and what that program of activities should be. Design and management decisions then easily fall into place to support these activities. If the goal is to create a great place, it is essential to start with a clear understanding of the activities that are going to occur in the space. Several key principles illustrate the Thinking Beyond the Station approach: Start with a Community Vision Likewise, the sense of pride and community presence translates into less litter, graffiti, policing, and upkeep. Great experiences in great places attracts people, more people means more ridership. Thinking Beyond the Station strategies in turn provide value to the transportation function.

In addition, we jump start implementation through Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper techniques, evaluating outcomes and adjusting recommendations for greater effectiveness. Our Placemaking process links transit to community institutions and cultural assets and seeks out citizens that may not have been considered or may not have considered themselves as transit stakeholders and engages them in discovering creative solutions. We integrate transit stops into the communities they serve through supportive urban design, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, architecture, cultural programming, public art, and innovative space management. Thinking Beyond the Station is a both theoretical and applied concept crafted by PPS to guide the activation of stations and stops as well-connected, multi-use destinations.

In this way, a great station or stop adds value to the surrounding neighborhoods and increases the viability of commercial districts by connecting businesses to commuters and new customers. The potential uses are boundless, from a café to an art gallery to a venue for performances and markets. That is, the use of it can be expanded, in partnership with the local community, to serve other public purposes. Even the station building or the bus shelter itself can be thought of as place. Through Placemaking, stations and stops become focal points in a community, especially if there is an associated plaza or public space. In fact, a transit station or stop can serve much more than a transportation function it can be a setting for community interaction, a place that fosters a diversity of activities. Yet, memorable and enjoyable stations and stops that create value for neighborhoods are perfectly attainable. Far too often this is the scenario that typifies the transit experience.
