FHWA-NJ-2009-010 Economic Development Benefits of New Transit Service: RiverLINE FINAL REPORT June 2010 Submitted by: Daniel G. Chatman, Ph.D. Stephanie DiPetrillo Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center Rutgers University NJDOT Research Project Manager Edward S. 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 author(s) who is (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 or the Federal Highway 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-2009-010 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date June 2010 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BENEFITS OF NEW TRANSIT 6. Performing Organization Code SERVICE: RIVERLINE 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Chatman, Daniel, Ph.D., Jeffrey Zupan, Robert Paaswell, Joseph FHWA-NJ-2009-010 Berechman, Stephanie DiPetrillo, Naomi Mueller, Nicholas Tulach, Rodney Stiles, Kyeongsu Kim, and Herman Volk 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. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered New Jersey Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration PO 600 U.S. Department of Transportation 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Trenton, NJ 08625 Washington, D.C. University Transportation Research Center Marshak Hall, 910, The City College of NY New York, NY 10031 15. Supplementary Notes Edward Kondrath was the NJDOT Project Manager. Camille Kamga was the UTRC Project Manager. Jeffrey Zupan, Robert Paaswell, Ph.D., and Joseph Berechman, Ph.D., were Co-principal Investigators. 16. Abstract This report documents the economic impacts of the RiverLINE, a light rail line connecting Trenton and Camden, New Jersey. The study examined whether and how the line impacted local land use, residential property values, travel behaviors and firm performance. Data included structured interviews, evaluations of local zoning ordinance and land use change, surveys of households and firms within a four-county area with an oversample of those located within a half-mile of the 20 stations, and real estate data. We find modest and mixed economic impacts of the line in its early years of operation. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement RiverLINE, Light rail, Economic benefits, Property value change, Land use change, Household survey, Firm survey 19. Security Classif (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 185 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-69) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to the the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration, through the University Transportation Research Consortium (UTRC) of the City University of New York, for funding the study. Many thanks to Jeffrey Zupan for his analysis of building permits; to those at the University Transportation Research Center, City College of New York – Robert Paaswell, Ph.D. and Joseph Berechman, Ph.D. for their insight on research design and to Camille Kamga for his project of oversight; Herman Volk of the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey for his extensive interviews; Marc Weiner and Orin Puniello of the Bloustein Center for Survey Research for their tireless pursuit of excellence; to members of the VTC staff, including Martin Robins, Jon Carnegie, Andrea Lubin, Claudia, Danku, and Milan Patel, for their help and advice; to Naomi Mueller, Nicholas Tulach, Rodney Stiles, and Kyeongsu Kim for contributions too numerous to list; to Nicholas Klein and Matthew Keating for their technical expertise; to Aaron Sugiura, Andrew Besold, Bushra Mahmood, Kate Lawrence, Lewis Thorwaldson, and Megan Massey for their energetic and comprehensive efforts in the firm survey follow-up field work; to Elizabeth Maher Muoio, Kristi M. Howell-Ikeda, and Stephen F. Dragos for their endorsement of the firm survey; and to the staff at SRBI for their assistance in administering the household survey. Special thanks to Jan Wells, who began this project with us and contributed to the project after leaving VTC. , ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 1 Structured interviews ................................................................................................ 2 Household survey ...................................................................................................... 2 Firm survey ................................................................................................................. 3 Review of local land use regulation ......................................................................... 3 Construction activity ................................................................................................. 3 Property value analysis ............................................................................................. 4 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 6 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................. 9 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 9 Land values and land development .......................................................................... 9 Job growth, employment and income .................................................................... 13 Transportation development effects and complementary policies ..................... 14 Literature review summary ..................................................................................... 15 STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS ...................................................................................... 17 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 17 Economic interest .................................................................................................... 18 Business response .................................................................................................. 20 Hope for the future ................................................................................................... 21 Accommodating development ................................................................................ 22 Ridership .................................................................................................................. 23 Criticisms .................................................................................................................. 24 HOUSEHOLD SURVEY ................................................................................................ 26 RiverLINE ridership .................................................................................................. 27 Neighborhood factors .............................................................................................. 28 Satisfaction with the RiverLINE .............................................................................. 32 Travel to work ........................................................................................................... 33 Non-work travel ........................................................................................................ 36 Housing tenure ......................................................................................................... 39 FIRM SURVEY .............................................................................................................. 42 Factors for opening a new business ...................................................................... 42 Changes since the opening of the RiverLINE ........................................................ 46 Expected changes for business ............................................................................. 47 Employee and customer modes of travel .............................................................. 49 Summary ................................................................................................................... 53 LOCAL REGULATION ................................................................................................. 55 Trenton ...................................................................................................................... 56 Trenton Rail Station .............................................................................................. 57 Hamilton Avenue Station ..................................................................................... 58 Cass Street Station ............................................................................................... 59 iii Bordentown .............................................................................................................. 59 Florence