1. Place Type: Urban Center
Chula Vista
Place Type: Urban Center
The following visual simulation was created by Steve Price of Urban Advantage, Inc. as a visualization tool to showcase what smart growth and transit-oriented development could look like locally. This simulation is one of the tools in the Smart Growth Tool Box, a set of planning and financing resources being developed by SANDAG to assist local jurisdictions in implementing smart growth principles in the opportunity areas on the Smart Growth Concept Map.
This is a conceptual simulation of how this area could change through the application of smart growth principles, and is meant to generate additional ideas and discussion about smart growth opportunities.
This simulation was created for the City of Chula Vista. The focus is on creating an urban, mixed-use center complimented by the grade separation of the trolley tracks.

2. This aerial shows E Street where it meets Interstate 5
The Bayfront/E Street Trolley Station serves the Blue Line
The vantage point faces west along E Street with the Trolley line in the distance

3. E Street near Bayfront/ E Street Trolley Station – Chula Vista, CA
The simulation begins with a view of existing conditions.
Existing Conditions:
Very wide auto-oriented street with two lanes in each direction and no on-street parking
In this image, the train platform is behind the buildings on the left
The Chula Vista Urban Core Specific Plan calls for high-density development ( feet high) for parcels near the Trolley station.
Click 1:
Public street improvements:
Pedestrian refuges with landscaping, painted crosswalks
Wide sidewalks with plantings near curbs to separate pedestrians from auto travel lanes
Bi-level street lamps with lower lights for pedestrians
Click 2: Mixed-use development
Click 3: Increasing development focused on trolley station
Higher-density development (eight to ten stories)
Possible grade separation of trolley, going over E Street. (An overpass rather than an underpass is simulated here to keep the trolley visible and reinforce TOD identity for the area)
Click 4: Fill in both sides of street with buildings oriented toward street
Transit, architecture, and public spaces function together to compose and vitalize urban life

4. E Street near Bayfront/ E Street Trolley Station – Chula Vista, CA
Existing and conceptual images
Existing
Conceptual

5. Smart Growth Visual Simulations
Smart Growth Tool Box
SANDAG would like to thank Urban Advantage for these visual simulations, and remind you that the 3-D simulations and the photographs of existing smart growth projects will be available this fall.
For more information on the visual simulations and the Smart Growth Tool Box, please visit SANDAG’s website at