Benjamin Mills

Academic Year: 2010-2011


Transit Oriented Development: Light Rail Transit in Dense Urban Area

Area of Concentration

  • Transportation Planning

Key Terms:

Public Transit, Light Rail Transit, Transit Integration

Significance/Broader Impact:

This topic is important because cities are becoming ever more dense. Traffic congestion and pollution are two down sides to dense urban areas, light rail transit can help alleviate the problem. By researching and finding where light rail systems are the most efficient, planners can better accommodate public transit. This will be beneficial for both future city plans and the residents of the cities which have effectively implemented light rail transit stations. I hope to find not only where the most efficient areas are for light rail transit, but also what the factors are behind both a efficient system and one which was not implemented correctly.

References

Alshalalfah, B.W, and A. S. Shalaby. 2007. Case Study: Relationship of Walk Access Distance to Transit with Service, Travel, and Personal Characteristics. Journal of Urban Planning and Development. 114-118
http://scitation.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=JUPDDM000133000002000114000001&idtype=cvips&prog=normal


Arrington, G.B.. Light Rail and the American City State-of-the-Practice for Transit-Oriented Development. DRCOG. 189-204
http://www.drcog.org/documents/LRT%20and%20TOD.pdf


Cervero, Robert, and Michael Duncan. 2002. Land Value Impacts of Rail Transit Services in San Diego County. National Association of Realtors Urban Land Institute. http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/16ceaa004e88a567b7eff76019b6e772/sandiego.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=16ceaa004e88a567b7eff76019b6e772


Davis, Judy S. and Samuel Seskin. 1996. Effects of Urban Density on Rail Transit. Land Lines. 8:3 http://www.lincolninst.edu/pubs/516_Effects-of-Urban-Density-on-Rail-Transit

Krug, Stephan. Public Transport: Energy Efficiency of Light Train Systems. Energy Efficient Public Transport. Session 2. http://www.p2pays.org/ref/17/16368.pdf

Promising Practices in Transportation Efficiency. Institute for Sustainable Communities. http://www.iscvt.org/who_we_are/publications/Chicago_CLA_Resource_Guide.pdf

The Effect of Rail Transit On Property Values: A Summary of Studies. 2001. Parsons Brinckerhoff.
http://fastracks01.thenewpush.com/media/uploads/gl/The_effect_of_Rail_Transit_on_Property_Values_Summary_of_Studies1.pdf

Yonah, Freemark. 2010. San Diego Plans Extension to Its Trolley Network, Mostly Skipping Over Inner City. The Transport Politic.              http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/04/29/san-diego-plans-extension-to-its-trolley-network-mostly-skipping-over-inner-city/

Links:

http://scitation.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=JUPDDM000133000002000114000001&idtype=cvips&prog=normal

http://fastracks01.thenewpush.com/media/uploads/gl/The_effect_of_Rail_Transit_on_Property_Values_Summary_of_Studies1.pdf

http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/16ceaa004e88a567b7eff76019b6e772/sandiego.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=16ceaa004e88a567b7eff76019b6e772

 

Fall SRP Proposal Abstract

This study focuses on the most efficient placement of light rail systems in San Diego. The objective of the study will provide insight into the relationship between transit participation and dense urban areas, elaborate on both the positives and negative features of light rail transit development, and to objectively critique the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project. The project will utilize a comparative case study process, GIS, statistical research, and interviews with professionals in the field. The case study will show the relationship between efficient transit systems and dense urban areas. The GIS and statistical research will offer spatial and non-spatial data to support the project and to provide factual evidence. Interviews with professionals in the field will give real world experience to the transit problems in University Heights and National City and how they can be corrected. The study’s main goal is to discover which areas light rail transit is the most efficient and for what reasons, in order to evaluate if light rail would be the most economical and efficient approach to connecting dense regions in San Diego.

Winter Senior Research Project (SRP) Abstract

This study focuses on the most efficient placement of light rail systems in San Diego. The objective of the study is to provide insight into the relationship between transit participation and dense urban areas, elaborate on both the positive and negative features of light rail transit development, and to objectively critique the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project. The project utilized a comparative case study process, GIS, and statistical research. The case study shows the relationship between efficient transit systems and dense urban areas. The GIS and statistical research offer spatial and non-spatial data to support the project and to provide factual evidence. The study’s main goal was to discover what factors impact the efficiency of a light rail transit system and the explanation of those factors. By doing so, this paper can evaluate the efficiency of SANDAG’s Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project. The result is that the Mid-Coast Corridor Project is not the most efficient implementation of light rail transit due to factors including population density, income level, property values and access to the light rail stations.

Study's Major Findings and Contributions

This study focuses on the most efficient placement of light rail systems in San Diego. The objective of the study is to provide insight into the relationship between transit participation and dense urban areas, elaborate on both the positive and negative features of light rail transit development, and to objectively critique the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project. The project utilized a comparative case study process, GIS, and statistical research. The case study shows the relationship between efficient transit systems and dense urban areas. The GIS and statistical research offer spatial and non-spatial data to support the project and to provide factual evidence. The study’s main goal was to discover what factors impact the efficiency of a light rail transit system and the explanation of those factors. By doing so, this paper can evaluate the efficiency of SANDAG’s Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project. The result is that the Mid-Coast Corridor Project is not the most efficient implementation of light rail transit due to factors including population density, income level, property values and access to the light rail stations.

Evidence

Transition_Plan_USP_186.docxTransition_Plan_USP_186.docx

Spatial Dimension

My project mainly focuses on the light rail system that is being implemented in San Diego. Although, in order to find much of my evidence I will need to use case studies from other cities. I will be studying transit flows and where they are both most efficient and inefficient. Other factors that will play a part in project include access to transit stations, land use, poverty rates, and population density,


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