Public transportation is an integral part of regional development projects—so the first concern is making sure that it has a place at the table from the beginning.

This is especially true in the case of Greater Bridgeport Transit (GBT), a comparatively small public transit agency that operates 57 fixed route buses and 40 demand-response vehicles in the Bridgeport, CT, region. GBT currently is working with local and federal partners on three transit-oriented development (TOD) projects in its service area.

“There’s nothing particularly unique about partnerships,” said Doug Holcomb, AICP, GBT chief executive officer. “What’s really gratifying to us is that public transit, both rail and bus, is central to the region’s planning process.”

Holcomb explained that GBT has been a critical element of regional development and growth during the past 10 years. “We want to be sure our needs are considered up front in the planning and development process,” he said. “We’ve developed strong working partnerships with the municipalities we serve, especially the city of Bridgeport and the Greater Bridgeport Regional Council (GBRC), part of the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).”

GBT is currently involved in TOD projects in Bridgeport, Fairfield, and Stratford, using existing public transit lines that become hubs of mixed-use development that allow for walkable neighborhoods and minimal disruption of the environment.

The agency is working with Bridgeport, GBRC, and others to develop a mixed-use community in the city’s East End—using a $3.5 million HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant to integrate housing, economic development, transportation, and environmental planning along the MTA Metro-North Railroad corridor.

“We’ve been involved in some of the East Bridgeport projects since the beginning,” Holcomb said. “We’ll be the conduit for funding for the alternative modes analysis: we received $180,000 in federal funds. Other parts of the project will flex urban Surface Transportation Program funding to Section 5307 [Urbanized Area Formula Grants] for use in the East Bridgeport Development Corridor and long-range transportation plan.”

In Fairfield, GBT and the regional council are working with the town to connect bus service with a new Metro-North station that opened in December 2011.

“A large-scale office park is planned near the new station in Fairfield,” Holcomb said. “It will have lots of parking—but it also lays a foundation for mixed-use transit-oriented development.”

He cited the role of the federal Sustainable Communities Partnership—comprising DOT, HUD, and EPA—in providing funding to this project: “The partnership supports existing communities and promotes affordable housing and public transit through coordination of its policies and investment in the work.”

The TOD project in Stratford will rebuild the town center with the existing Metro-North station serving as the hub. This development should help ease severe congestion in the town center, caused by inadequate parking for the commuter rail station, difficulty accessing the station by shuttles and buses, and a lack of pedestrian and safe bicycle access between public transit points and commercial properties.

The question is, how does a public transportation agency reserve its place in the regional planning process?

“First,” Holcomb said, “it’s a matter of coordination with the other participants: the regional entities, city, towns. GBT is a voting member of the MPO, so we’re already at the table with the regional planning agency, discussing projects.”

He described how GBT employees serve on technical advisory committees considering city or regional development. For example, one committee is preparing to select a consultant for a new rail station on the east side of Bridgeport, which will act as the anchor of development in that area.

GBT also is a member of the city’s Design Review Committee, which provides information to developers. “This means we’re at the table early in the planning; we can see how a development site may be served with transit or what amenities will be needed,” he added. The public transit agency also works closely with the business community through the Bridgeport Regional Business Council.

“We work hard to understand and avail ourselves of resources that support these development efforts. If it’s important to the region and the riders, it’s important to us,” Holcomb said. “It’s important to say that we’re part of the process.”