FHWA-NJ-2014-014 Measuring Benefits of Transit Oriented
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FHWA-NJ-2014-014 Measuring Benefits of Transit Oriented Development FINAL REPORT June 2013 Submitted by: Robert B. Noland, Ph.D. Kaan Ozbay, Ph.D. Stephanie DiPetrillo Shri Iyer Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center Rutgers University NJDOT Research Project Manager Edward Stephen Kondrath In cooperation with New Jersey Department of Transportation Bureau of Research and U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration DISCLAIMER STATEMENT The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration or the Federal Transit Administration. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. TECHNICAL REPORT STANDARD TITLE PAGE 1. Report No. 2.Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. FHWA-NJ-2014-014 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Measuring Benefits of Transit Oriented Development June 2013 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Noland, Robert B., Ph.D., Kaan Ozbay, Ph.D., Stephanie DiPetrillo MNTRC Report 12-18 and Shri Iyer 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey 11. Contract or Grant No. 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered New Jersey Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration PO 600 US Department of Transportation Trenton, NJ 08625 Washington, D.C. 20590 14. Sponsoring Agency Code 15. Supplementary Notes Mineta National Transit Research Consortium, Mineta Transportation Institute, College of Business, San José State University San José, CA 95192-0219 Report is available, with separate covers, from each sponsor. 16. Abstract Transit-oriented development (TOD) in New Jersey is evaluated using a variety of methods and different outcome measures. Data was gathered from respondents residing around eight train stations in New Jersey and up to two miles away from those stations. Additional data was gathered from four focus groups of those living near various train stations with some development and interviews with stakeholders engaged with the land development process. Three areas were also selected for a detailed case study analysis. Qualitative analysis focused on the perceptions of the benefits of TOD and any shortcomings that are seen. Analytical work included an analysis of travel behavior, including frequency of walking, driving and using transit; potential health benefits associated with living in proximity to a train station; social capital or civic engagement in areas proximate to the train station; traffic safety associated with proximity to the train station and other built environmental measures; residential property valuation associated with train station access and TOD amenities; benefits to users of rail transit for commute access to New York City and other destinations; and, an analysis of regional impacts using a regional travel demand model to examine changes in train usage and highway congestion. Beneficial effects of TOD and development near train stations is found in most of our results. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement transit-oriented development, transit, train stations, rail stations, pedestrians, travel behavior, traffic safety, social capital, public health, travel demand modeling, hedonic analysis 19. Security Classif (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 294 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-69) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks to all who have contributed so greatly to this work: members of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center staff including Nicholas Tulach, Elizabeth Harvey, Ugo Lachapelle, and Andrew Kay; Bloustein planning students Kimberly O’Neill and Grant Engel; Civil Engineering students Sandeep Mudigonda and Ozgur Ozturk; Marc Weiner and Orin Puniello of the Bloustein Center for Survey Research; Vivian Baker, Janice Pepper and Tom Marchwinski of NJ TRANSIT; and Edward S. Kondrath and Camille Crichton-Sumners of the NJ Department of Transportation. Thanks are also given to Zillow™ Real Estate Research for providing property valuation data for part of this study. The authors also thank MTI staff, including Executive Director Karen Philbrick, Ph.D.; Director of Communications and Technology Transfer Donna Maurillo; Research Support Manager Joey Mercado; and Webmaster Frances Cherman, who also provided additional editorial and publication support. This report is available from the New Jersey Department of Transportation as report FHWA-NJ-2014-014 and from the Mineta National Transit Research Consortium as report 12-18 (project #1142). ii TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 1 Background ................................................................................................................ 1 Methodologies ........................................................................................................... 1 Findings ...................................................................................................................... 2 Case Study Analysis .............................................................................................. 2 Perceptions of Residents, Planners, and Developers ........................................ 2 Frequency of Walking, Transit Use, and Driving ................................................. 3 Social Capital and Civic Engagement .................................................................. 3 Public Health Benefits ........................................................................................... 4 Pedestrian, Bicycle and Vehicle Casualties......................................................... 4 Average Residential Property Value ..................................................................... 5 Out-of-pocket and Travel Time Costs................................................................... 5 Regional Congestion Costs and Other External Costs....................................... 6 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 6 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 8 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................ 11 Transportation Impacts ........................................................................................... 11 Potential economic impacts ................................................................................... 12 Property Valuation ............................................................................................... 13 Congestion and Other External Costs and Benefits ......................................... 14 Agglomeration Benefits ....................................................................................... 16 Health benefits of TOD ............................................................................................ 16 Physical Activity ................................................................................................... 17 Automobile Crashes and Pedestrian Safety ...................................................... 19 Air Pollution .......................................................................................................... 19 Mental Health and Stress ..................................................................................... 19 Community Impacts ................................................................................................ 19 Civic Engagement and Social Capital ................................................................ 20 Potential environmental impacts ........................................................................... 20 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 21 QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS ........................................................................................... 22 Key Informant Interviews ........................................................................................ 22 Methodology ......................................................................................................... 23 Detailed Analysis ................................................................................................. 24 Focus Groups .......................................................................................................... 27 Methodology ......................................................................................................... 28 Analysis ................................................................................................................ 30 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 34 Case Studies ............................................................................................................ 35 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS ......................................................................................... 39 Survey Data Collection ...........................................................................................