` WESTSIDE SUBWAY EXTENSION PROJECT Century City TOD and Walk Access Study February 2012 Century City TOD and Walk Access Study Table of Contents Table of Contents 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Purpose ............................................................................................................................ 1-1 1.2 Key Findings .................................................................................................................... 1-1 2.0 STUDY OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Purpose ............................................................................................................................ 2-1 2.2 Analysis Summary ........................................................................................................... 2-2 2.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 2-2 2.4 Assumptions ................................................................................................................... 2-3 2.5 Key Findings .................................................................................................................... 2-3 2.5.1 Distance Matters ................................................................................................ 2-3 2.5.2 Influence of the Walking Environment .............................................................. 2-4 2.5.3 Population Density and Distribution ................................................................. 2-4 2.5.4 Comparison of Alternative Station Locations ................................................... 2-4 2.5.5 Comparison to Travel Forecasting Results ....................................................... 2-4 3.0 WALK ACCESS ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 3-1 4.0 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Identify Station Walksheds ............................................................................................. 4-1 4.2 Existing Population ......................................................................................................... 4-1 4.3 Full Development Population ......................................................................................... 4-1 4.4 Walking Behavior—Literature Review ............................................................................ 4-5 4.4.1 Walking Distance to Transit ............................................................................... 4-5 4.4.2 Walk Environment .............................................................................................. 4-5 4.4.3 Other Walking Factors ....................................................................................... 4-5 4.5 Walk Environment Evaluation......................................................................................... 4-6 4.5.1 Evaluation Framework and Summary Results .................................................. 4-6 4.5.2 Santa Monica/Century Park East Station .......................................................... 4-6 4.5.3 Santa Monica/Avenue of the Stars Station ....................................................... 4-6 4.6 Ridership Estimates ........................................................................................................ 4-7 4.7 Comparison to Metro Forecast Results ....................................................................... 4-15 5.0 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 5-1 6.0 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................... 6-1 WESTSIDE SUBWAY EXTENSION PROJECT February 2012 Page i Century City TOD and Walk Access Study Table of Contents List of Figures Figure 1-1: Comparison of Century City Stations Full Development Intensity by Walkshed ................. 1-3 Figure 1-2. Comparison of Century City Stations Existing Development Intensity by Walkshed ........... 1-3 Figure 2-1: Westside Station Locations .................................................................................................... 2-1 Figure 4-1: Santa Monica/Century Park East Station Walksheds and General Plan Designations ........ 4-2 Figure 4-2: Constellation/Avenue of the Stars Station Walksheds and General Plan Designations...... 4-3 Figure 4-3: Santa Monica/Avenue of the Stars Station Walksheds and General Plan Designations ..... 4-4 Figure 4-4: Santa Monica/Century Park East Station Existing Development Intensity by Walkshed .. 4-10 Figure 4-5: Constellation/Avenue of the Stars Station Existing Development Intensity by Walkshed ....................................................................................................................... 4-11 Figure 4-6: Santa Monica/Avenue of the Stars Station Existing Development Intensity by Walkshed ....................................................................................................................... 4-12 Figure 4-7: Santa Monica/Century Park East Station Full Development Intensity by Walkshed ......... 4-13 Figure 4-8: Constellation/Avenue of the Stars Station Full Development Intensity by Walkshed ....... 4-14 Figure 4-9: Santa Monica/Avenue of the Stars Station Full Development Intensity by Walkshed ...... 4-15 List of Tables Table 2-1: Distance and Walk Mode Share............................................................................................... 2-4 Table 4-1: Walkshed Population and Jobs—Existing Development ........................................................ 4-4 Table 4-2: Walkshed Population and Jobs—Full Development ............................................................... 4-5 Table 4-3: Quarter-mile Walkshed Evaluation Criteria and Grades Table ............................................... 4-7 Table 4-4: Estimate of Ridership—Existing Development ....................................................................... 4-8 Table 4-5: Estimate of Ridership—Full Development .............................................................................. 4-8 Table 4-6: Development Intensity by Walkshed—Existing Development ............................................... 4-9 Table 4-7: Development Intensity by Walkshed—Full Development ...................................................... 4-9 Table 5-1: Ridership Estimate and Sensitivity Analysis—Full Development .......................................... 5-2 Appendices Appendix A Century City Station Options Updated Jobs & Population Inventory Memorandum Appendix B Walking to Transit Literature Review and Evaluation Appendix C Century City Stations—Jobs and Population Calculations—Full Development Appendix D Century City Stations—Existing and Full Development ridership Calculations WESTSIDE SUBWAY EXTENSION PROJECT Page ii February 2012 Century City TOD and Walk Access Study 1.0—Executive Summary 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 Purpose To assist Metro in analyzing station options in Century City, this report evaluates the relative accessibility of three potential station locations to surrounding commercial and residential development within a 1/2-mile walking distance. The report estimates the number of Westside Subway Extension riders who would walk to and from the stations. This analysis is a supplement to the Metro travel forecasts that were conducted for the two Century City Station options in the Final Environmental Impact Assessment/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR)—Century City Constellation (referred to in this report as Constellation/Avenue of the Stars or Constellation Station) and Century City Santa Monica (referred to in this report as Santa Monica Boulevard/Century Park East Station). A third station location on Santa Monica Boulevard at Avenue of the Stars (which is the Century City Santa Monica Station option previously evaluated in the Draft EIS/EIR) was added for this analysis, but a corresponding updated Metro travel forecast has not been prepared. 1.2 Key Findings This analysis shows the Constellation/Avenue of the Stars Station is, and will continue to be, in the most advantageous location for attracting the most Westside Subway Extension riders compared to the station locations along Santa Monica Boulevard. The Constellation Station outperformed the Santa Monica/Century Park East and the Santa Monica/Avenue of the Stars Stations based all of the key indicators examined in the analysis. It has the best pedestrian environment, can be expected to attract the most transit riders, and is centrally located to help shape the redevelopment of Century City as an important transit-oriented destination on the Westside Subway Extension. A review of literature on walking to transit was conducted to establish best practice in thinking about walking and transit. The review shows that proximity to transit has a bigger impact on ridership than the absolute total number of jobs and residents near transit. This is because as distance increases from the station, walking rates decline significantly. Importantly for a major employment center like Century City, this “distance decay” effect is more pronounced