Welcome to Aurora’s Transit-Oriented Development Website

This is an exciting time in the Denver-Aurora region! Since the approval of FasTracks in November, 2004, planning is underway for the construction of approximately 119 miles of new transit lines and 50 new stations by 2016 throughout Aurora and the metro area. Our region is not alone in the country with development of light rail systems but our region’s simultaneous buildout of multiple corridors with multiple technologies (light rail, commuter rail and bus rapid transit) is unprecedented.

Over the past decade, there has been a tremendous change in transportation planning, consumer lifestyle preferences, and employer location strategies with the result that a new type of urban development pattern has emerged. This new pattern is called Transit-Oriented Development, or TOD. It refers to compact, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly developments that are built within an easy walking distance of a transit station. Within these zones, development is typically multi-story with a mix of residential, office and retail uses. Plazas, buildings and walkways are oriented to the pedestrian and automobile parking in surface lots is minimized.

In Aurora, the LRT stations at Dayton and at Nine Mile (Parker Road) will open in the fall of 2006. What does this mean for Aurora? Transit offers the possibility to cluster development around stations, providing residents and office workers a choice in transportation modes. Even though the FasTracks stations aren’t projected to open until approximately 2015, development and infrastructure improvements can occur that anticipate the coming stations and changes in travel patterns. Major activity nodes such as Fitzsimons, the City Center area and the hub at Parker Road can become the focus of transit activity. And transit-oriented development can yield tremendous benefits not only in less dependence on the automobile, reduced congestion and associated environmental benefits, but in stimulating creation of new neighborhoods and a variety of employment opportunities.

The City of Aurora is committed to supporting and encouraging neighborhood planning and appropriate development around the stations.

These website pages are dedicated to encouraging and supporting TOD around transit stations in Aurora. We want to inform the citizen’s, businesses and property owners of the planning initiatives and the opportunities for involvement. There will be regular updates to this site so revisit often!

We’ve arranged the information under six topic areas:

• What is TOD?
• Aurora’s TOD Program
• FasTracks
• What’s new?
• Your comments
• Resources for additional information

The stations and surrounding TOD are shown on the following map. Click on map to get more detailed information.

If you have questions about TOD, please email or call Loretta Daniel, Principal Planner, at 303-739-7220.