(February 21, 2020) With the proposed introduction of Valley Link commuter rail service into Downtown, the City of Tracy is committed to assessing, and potentially planning for, how this transformative project can impact development opportunities in Downtown and the surrounding areas. This Downtown Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Study marks the first step in the City’s efforts to plan for transit-oriented and supporting development in its core area, encouraging revitalization efforts, significant new residential development, business and job growth, quality design that creates a sense of place, and improved connectivity.
The Downtown TOD Study comprises the first phase of the Downtown TOD Project, an effort that will plan for the introduction of Valley Link commuter rail service in Downtown Tracy and the surrounding areas. The study identifies a transit-oriented and supporting planning concept, comprising land use and access/circulation components, that, upon implementation, can create a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use station area; support the project area’s broader revitalization efforts; spur the development of new, well-planned residential neighborhoods and other synergistic uses; and provide the necessary circulation facilities to support all users’ convenient access to the rail station and throughout the project area. The study also provides recommendations for planning tools that the City can prepare and adopt to implement the concept, along with possible grant funding sources to help fund the preparation of the planning tools, catalyze development, and pay for infrastructure improvements. Taken together, the study’s components will assist the City with deciding how to proceed with planning for the introduction of commuter rail service through the project’s future phases.
Links to the Downtown Tracy Transit Oriented Development Project Website and the Planning Commission Working Session Draft Downtown TOD Study are available for viewing, and will be discussed at the next Planning Commission Meeting on February 26, 2020, TCCA CenTen Committee Meeting on February 27, 2020, and the City Council Meeting on March 17, 2020.