Transportation System Plan 2018-2038

Chapter 4 Transportation and Land Use Overview This chapter presents a discussion of the interrela tionship between land use and transportation with particular em phasis on how Medford will m anage land uses through its planning program to optim ize perform ance of the transportation sy stem and to iden tify future im provem ent needs. Included in the chapter is: • A discussion of the current land use-based assum ptions regarding generation of travel dem and in the Medford area including anticipated growth in population and em ployment; • A discussion of how land use policy will change in response to policy direction set by the 2001- 2023 Rogue Valley Regional Transportation Plan ; • A discussion of activities that are currently underw ay to respond to regional and local policies, including the encouragem ent of m ixed-use devel opment and developm ent of transit-oriented districts in the greater Medford area; and • Future actions to be taken by the City of Me dford to m onitor progress carry ing out regional and local policies. Population/Employ ment Growth and Transportation Forecasts Traffic patterns and the dem and for transportation ser vices within a com munity are closely interrelated with existing and anticipated future land use pattern s. The location of housing, places of employment, shopping, education and other services, and the relati onships between these land uses in terms of distance and transportation sy stem connections, all influence the ty pe and m agnitude of travel dem and that is experienced in a com munity . Locations where land u se patterns are dispersed and built at lower densities will be difficult to serve by any other m ode than th e autom obile. More com pact, m ixed use developm ent where good m ulti-m odal transportation sy stem connections are provided will encourage the use of a variety of transportation m odes m aking it possible for the traveler to choose whether to drive, walk, bicycle or take transit. To estim ate the future relationship of land uses and transportation sy stem perform ance, land use developm ent expectations m ust be m ore specifically defined to describe the ty pe, am ount and location of anticipated future housing and em ployment grow th. Planning for the com munity ’s land use and transportation sy stem begins with a vision of wher e and how the community wants to grow, and follows with m ore technical analy sis of population forecasts, allocations of future housing and em ployment to areas of the com munity and an analy sis of how la nd use patterns affect the need for transportation facilities, and vice versa. Medford Community Development Vision As noted in the introduction to this plan, Medford’s Vision Strategic Plan identifies the long-term goals for com munity developm ent. Com ponents and speci fic actions provide a fram ework for integrating decisions about land use and transportation sy stem investm ent in the community . Most importantly , the vision reflects a desire by the com munity to change past practices in order to create a balanced land use Medford Transportatio n System Pl an 4-1 Transportation and Land Use