Examining the Development Effects of Modern-Era Streetcars: an Assessment of Portland and Seattle

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Examining the Development Effects of Modern-Era Streetcars: an Assessment of Portland and Seattle Project 1798 October 2018 Examining the Development Effects of Modern-Era Streetcars: An Assessment of Portland and Seattle Jeffrey Brown, PhD Joel Mendez, PhD MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE transweb.sjsu.edu MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE MTI FOUNDER LEAD UNIVERSITY OF Hon. Norman Y. Mineta Mineta Consortium for Transportation Mobility MTI BOARD OF TRUSTEES Founded in 1991, the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI), an organized research and training unit in partnership with the Founder, Honorable Norman Richard Anderson (Ex-Officio) Steve Heminger* (TE 2018) Dan Smith (TE 2020) Lucas College and Graduate School of Business at San José State University (SJSU), increases mobility for all by improving the safety, Mineta (Ex-Officio) President and CEO Executive Director President Secretary (ret.), US Department of Amtrak Metropolitan Transportation Capstone Financial Group, Inc. efficiency, accessibility, and convenience of our nation’s transportation system. Through research, education, workforce development, Transportation Commission (MTC) and technology transfer, we help create a connected world. MTI leads the four-university Mineta Consortium for Transportation Vice Chair Laurie Berman (Ex-Officio) Paul Skoutelas (Ex-Officio) Hill & Knowlton, Inc. Director Diane Woodend Jones (TE 2019) President & CEO Mobility, a Tier 1 University Transportation Center funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Assistant California Department Principal & Chair of Board American Public Transportation Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and by private grants Honorary Chair, Honorable Bill of Transportation Lea + Elliot, Inc. Authority (APTA) Shuster (Ex-Officio) and donations. Chair Donna DeMartino (TE 2018) Will Kempton (TE 2019) Beverley Swaim-Staley House Transportation and General Manager and CEO Retired (TE 2019) Infrastructure Committee San Joaquin Regional Transit District President MTI’s transportation policy work is centered on three primary responsibilities: United States House of Art Leahy (TE 2018) Union Station Redevelopment Representatives Mortimer Downey* (TE 2018) CEO Corporation President Metrolink Research Honorary Co-Chair, Honorable Mort Downey Consulting, LLC Larry Willis (Ex-Officio) MTI works to provide policy-oriented research for all levels of active assistance of the California Department ofTransportation Peter DeFazio (Ex-Officio) Jean-Pierre Loubinoux President Vice Chair Nuria Fernandez* (TE 2020) (Ex-Officio) Transportation Trades Dept., government and the private sector to foster the development (Caltrans), MTI delivers its classes over a state-of-the-art House Transportation and General Manager & CEO Director General AFL-CIO of optimum surface transportation systems. Research areas videoconference network throughout the state of California Infrastructure Committee Santa Clara Valley Transportation International Union of Railways (UIC) United States House of Authority Bud Wright (Ex-Officio) include: bicycle and pedestrian issues; financing public and private and via webcasting beyond, allowing working transportation Representatives Bradley Mims (TE 2020) Executive Director sector transportation improvements; intermodal connectivity professionals to pursue an advanced degree regardless of their John Flaherty (TE 2020) President & CEO American Association of State and integration; safety and security of transportation systems; location. To meet the needs of employers seeking a diverse Chair, Grace Crunican Senior Fellow Conference of Minority Highway and Transportation (TE 2019) Silicon Valley American Transportation Officials (COMTO) Officials (AASHTO) sustainability of transportation systems; transportation / land use / workforce, MTI’s education program promotes enrollment to General Manager Leadership Forum environment; and transportation planning and policy development. under-represented groups. Bay Area Rapid Transit District Jeff Morales (TE 2019) (BART) Rose Guilbault (TE 2020) Managing Principal (TE) = Term Expiration Certified Research Associates conduct the research. Board Member InfraStrategies, LLC * = Past Chair, Board of Trustees Certification requires an advanced degree, generally a PhD, Information and Technology Transfer Vice Chair, Abbas Mohaddes Peninsula Corridor Joint (TE 2018) Powers Board Dan Moshavi, Ph.D. (Ex-Officio) a record of academic publications, and professional MTI utilizes a diverse array of dissemination methods and President & COO Dean references. Research projects culminate in a peer-reviewed media to ensure research results reach those responsible Econolite Group Inc. Ed Hamberger (Ex-Officio) Lucas College and Graduate President & CEO School of Business publication, available on TransWeb, the MTI website (http:// for managing change. These methods include publication, Executive Director, Association of American Railroads San José State University transweb.sjsu.edu). seminars, workshops, websites, social media, webinars, Karen Philbrick, Ph.D. Mineta Transportation Institute and other technology transfer mechanisms. Additionally, San José State University Education MTI promotes the availability of completed research to The Institute supports education programs for students seeking a professional organizations and journals and works to career in the development and operation of surface transportation integrate the research findings into the graduate education Directors Research Associates Policy Oversight Committee systems. MTI, through San José State University, offers an program. MTI’s extensive collection of transportation- related AACSB-accredited Master of Science in Transportation publications is integrated into San José State University’s Karen Philbrick, Ph.D. Ben Tripousis Frances Edwards, Ph.D. Management and graduate certificates in Transportation world-class Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Executive Director National High-Speed Rail Political Science Management,T ransportation Security, and High-Speed Rail Connectivity Center Director San José State University Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Ph.D. Management that serve to prepare the nation’s transportation Education Director Jan Botha, Ph.D. Taeho Park, Ph.D. managers for the 21st century.With the National Transportation Finance Center Civil & Environmental Engineering Organization and Management Urban and Regional Planning San José State University San José State University San José State University Katherine Kao Cushing, Ph.D. Christa Bailey Hilary Nixon, Ph.D. Enviromental Science Martin Luther King, Jr. Library Research & Technology Transfer Director San José State University San José State University Disclaimer Brian Michael Jenkins Dave Czerwinski, Ph.D. The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the information presented National Transportation Safety and Marketing and Decision Science Security Center Director herein. This document is disseminated in the interest of information exchange. The report is funded, partially or entirely, by a grant from the U.S. San José State University Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Centers Program. This report does not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the U.S. government, State of California, or the Mineta Transportation Institute, who assume no liability for the contents or use thereof. This report does not constitute a standard specification, design standard, or regulation. REPORT 18-09 EXAMINING THE DEVELOPMENT EFFECTS OF MODERN-ERA STREETCARS: AN ASSESSMENT OF PORTLAND AND SEATTLE Jeffrey Brown, PhD Joel Mendez, PhD October 2018 A publication of Mineta Transportation Institute Created by Congress in 1991 College of Business San José State University San José, CA 95192-0219 TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. 18-09 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Examining the Development Effects of Modern-Era Streetcars: An Assessment October 2018 of Portland and Seattle 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Authors 8. Performing Organization Report Jeffrey Brown, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2569-3873 CA-MTI-1798 Joel Mendez, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0356-1156 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. Mineta Transportation Institute College of Business 11. Contract or Grant No. San José State University 69A3551747127 San José, CA 95192-0219 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered California Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Final Report Division of Research, Innovation and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Systems Information Research and Technology 14. Sponsoring Agency Code MS-42, PO Box 942873 University Transportation Centers Program Sacramento, CA 94273-0001 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 15. Supplemental Notes 16. Abstract Most U.S. cities pursuing streetcars are doing so primarily for their purported development effects, as opposed to for their transportation role, yet there is little evidence about the nature or magnitude of these development effects due to a scarcity of rigorous, empirical research. Most available work simply presents descriptive information about development outcomes (typically measured as changes in population, employment, land values, or permit activity) within streetcar corridors as indicators of the streetcar’s development effects. Alternate factors which may have influenced such
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