TECHNIQUES, CASES, & ISSUES USING A VISUAL PREFERENCE SURVEY IN TRANSIT DESIGN

In what may be the first application of visual preference methods to transit facili-ties, transit users, nonusers, and professionals were (a) shown a series of paired slides of bus stops, (b) asked to choose the stop from each pair at which they would prefer to wait, and (c) asked to rate each stop chosen as a place to wait. Subsequent analyses showed that transit-oriented design features most affecting both choices and ratings are (a) a bus shelter at the stop, (b) trees along the street leading to the stop, (c) a vertical curb at the stop, (d) the setback of the stop from the street edge, and (e) a continuous sidewalk leading to the stop. Such surveys may help transit planners choose the best transit stop locations and devote limited financial resources to the most promising transit stop amenities. In dealing with the aesthetic or visual qualities of design, designers tend to impose their own taste instead of user (client) preferences or, at best, tend to make naive assumptions about user preferences. —Im (1984) At least 50 transit-oriented design (TOD) manuals are now available across North America, with many more to come. In Florida alone, two transit operators have developed TOD guidelines. Most manuals contain guidelines related to site planning, pedestrian access, road geometrics, and bus stop siting and design (see Figure 1). The stated purpose is to make devel-opers, public officials, and highway agencies more sensitive to transit needs. Yet of the TOD manuals reviewed here, not one appears to have asked transit users or potential users about their needs and wants. Instead, newer manuals borrow from older ones, and all rely heavily on assumptions (whether naive or not) about user preferences. A TOD manual prepared for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is an excep-tion, being based in part on a visual preference survey (VPS™) of transit users, nonusers, and (for the sake of comparison) transit professionals. This may be the first-ever application of VPS ™ methodology to transit facilities.1 What follows is (a) a brief introduction to VPS™, (b) a description of our survey and results, and (c) a discussion of implications for transit-oriented design