Pedestrian-Oriented Transit: A New Criteria for Pedestrian Network Building

US Transportation Collection2016PDFTech ReportCherry, ChristopherUniversity of Tennessee, KnoxvilleTennessee. Department of TransportationUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway AdministrationTennessee. Department of TransportationUnited StatesPedestrian flowPedestrian movementWalkingBus transitGeographic information systemsPopulation densityEquity (Justice)Pedestrian infrastructure invesmentGIS pedestrian dataPedestrian route directness (PRD)RES2013-2322B268August 2013 to November 2016This research develops a framework to evaluate pedestrian improvements such that the transit system can be supported by the proposed pedestrian infrastructure in a way that can boost transit ridership and improve safety and access for riders. The research has three main spatial data inputs, which are available in most cities: transit bus stop location, pedestrian infrastructure configuration, and land use data (population density, income etc.) paired with transit boarding data from fare boxes at those bus stops as available. Using these data, one can optimize investment in pedestrian infrastructure that likely has the greatest impact on transit using network connectivity metrics like Pedestrian Route Directness (PRD) or similar metrics, weighted to account for the influence of existing and potential demand (e.g., socioeconomic and land use data and bus boarding data). The results are seen in two guidebooks demonstrating GIS-based methods. These provide approaches to optimize investment in pedestrian infrastructure with a focus on accessing transit, which has compounding benefits (e.g., increasing ridership and fare revenue etc.). Indeed, pedestrian infrastructure improvements could be more cost effective than transit service improvements or other ridership strategies in some cases.120