Impacts of Ctfastrak on Real Estate and Urban Economic Development: Phase 1
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Impacts of CTfastrak on Real Estate and Urban Economic Development: Phase 1 Jeffrey P. Cohen, Ph.D. Joseph J. Danko III, Ph.D. Report Number: CT-2301-F-17-7 Final Report July 30, 2017 SPR 2301 University of Connecticut Connecticut Transportation Institute, & Center for Real Estate Submitted to: Connecticut Department of Transportation Bureau of Policy and Planning Roadway Information Systems Unit Research Section Michael J. Connors Assistant Director of Policy and Planning TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. CT-2301-F-17-7 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date July 30, 2017 Impacts of CTfastrak on Real Estate and Urban Economic 6. Performing Organization Code Development: Phase 1 SPR-2301 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Jeffrey P. Cohen, Ph.D.; Joseph J. Danko III, Ph.D. CT-2301-F-17-7 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRIS) University of Connecticut N/A Connecticut Transportation Institute, and 11. Contract or Grant No. Center for Real Estate SPR-2301 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Storrs, CT 06269 USA Final Report August 18, 2016-July 31, 2017 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Connecticut Department of Transportation 2800 Berlin Turnpike 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Newington, CT 06131-7546 SPR-2301 15. Supplementary Notes A study conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration 16. Abstract CTfastrak, a bus rapid transit service connecting four municipalities (Hartford, West Hartford, Newington, and New Britain) in Central Connecticut (CT), received final funding approval in 2011 and opened for service in March 2015. This new service may be encouraging transit-oriented development (TOD) along the busway, including new retail stores, restaurants, office space and housing. These potential impacts of CTfastrak are expected to affect property values. But, a priori, the magnitude of the impact is unknown. The overall aim of this study is to measure the impact of CTfastrak on real estate and urban economic development in these four municipalities. The change in property values and economic development will be analyzed before and after two crucial dates: the announcement of the funding commitment for the project in 2011 and the commencement of service in 2015. The first phase of this project – the focus of this report – involves collecting the necessary data for the second phase, which could encompass a data analysis study on the potential impacts on residential property values, businesses, residents, and towns in the areas surrounding CTfastrak stations over approximately the next five years. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement CTfastrak, bus rapid transit, real estate, No restrictions. This document is available to the public through economic development the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA. 22161. The report is available on-line from National Transportation Library at http://ntl.bts.gov 19. Security Classif. (Of this report) 20. Security Classif. (Of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 128 N/A ii DISCLAIMER The contents of this report reflect the views of the author, who is responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Connecticut Department of Transportation or the Federal Highway Administration. This report does not constitute a standard, specification or regulation. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report was prepared by the University of Connecticut, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. The opinions, findings and conclusions expressed in the publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Connecticut Department of Transportation or the Federal Highway Administration. This publication is based upon publicly supported research and is copyrighted. It may be reproduced in part or in full, but it is requested that there be customary crediting of the source. The following organizations provided assistance, data and/or other information that was helpful in this project: Capitol Region Council of Governments; Connecticut Housing Finance Authority; Connecticut Department of Housing; United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 1 (New England) Office; Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development; Connecticut’s Office of Policy and Management; City of Hartford’s Assessment Division; City of Hartford’s Department of Development; Town of West Hartford Assessor’s Office; Town of West Hartford’s Economic Development Department; City of New Britain Assessor’s Office; Town of Newington Assessor’s Office; Town of Newington’s Information Systems and Technology Department; Town of East Hartford Assessor’s Office; Town of East Hartford’s Information Technology Department; Town of Wethersfield’s Assessor’s Office; Town of Farmington’s Assessor Office; Town of Glastonbury’s Assessor Office; Town of Southington Assessor’s Office; Town of Windsor Assessor’s Department; Town of Rocky Hill’s Assessment Office; Town of Plainville Assessor’s Office; and Town of South Windsor Assessor’s Office. iv METRIC CONVERSION FACTORS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS SYMBOL WHEN YOU KNOW MULTIPLY BY TO FIND SYMBOL LENGTH in inches 25.4 millimeters mm ft feet 0.305 meters m yd yards 0.914 meters m mi miles 1.61 kilometers km AREA in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2 ft2 square feet 0.093 square meters m2 yd2 square yard 0.836 square meters m2 ac acres 0.405 hectares ha mi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2 VOLUME fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters mL gal gallons 3.785 Liters L ft3 cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m3 yd3 cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m3 NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3 MASS oz ounces 28.35 grams g lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg T short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or "metric ton") Mg (or "t") TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) oF Fahrenheit Celsius oC 5 (F-32)/9 or (F-32)/1.8 ILLUMINATION fc foot-candles 10.76 Lux lx fl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2 FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS lbf poundforce 4.45 newtons N lbf/in2 poundforce per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa v TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page ............................................................................................................................................................. i Technical Report Documentation Page .............................................................................................................. ii Disclaimer .......................................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................. iv Standard Conversions Table ............................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures .................................................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................................................... xii Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................... xiv Chapter 1 Background ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Review of Existing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Literature............................................................................. 2 1.3 Problem Statement ............................................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 2 Research Approach .................................................................................................................. 17 2.1 Objectives .............................................................................................................................................. 17 Chapter 3 Data And Methodology ........................................................................................................... 22 3.1 Geographic Extent of Subject Sites in Current BRT Studies .................................................................. 23 3.2 Data ....................................................................................................................................................... 23 3.3 Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 93 Chapter 4 Next Steps ................................................................................................................................ 94 4.1 Phase 1 Conclusions and Recommendations for Subsequent Phases .................................................