Heuristic Analysis of Impacts of Commuter Rail Station Consolidation on Pedestrian Access

Abstract

A mode-of-station-access survey at the Milwaukee District North Line Grayland and Mayfair Stations in Chicago is described. The study was conducted to determine the impacts of consolidating these two stations into a single new station. Patterns of different station access modes were studied. The analysis focused on the most sensitive market segment—walkers. Two different methods were used to determine how current walkers would be affected by such a station change. The first estimate was based on changes in walking distances. A heuristic procedure was developed to estimate the number of walkers currently using the system who would possibly walk to the proposed new station. This estimate assumed that stations would attract walkers from a circular area referred to as the catchment area. The average walking distance to each station determined its catchment area size. Further assumptions were made to predict those walkers who were not currently in the catchment areas but who would decide to walk to the new station. This study provides intuitive results and methodology that show promise for use in similar situations.

Effect of Individual or Neighborhood Disadvantage on the Association Between Neighborhood Walkability and Body Mass Index

“…Several authors have posited that poor or disadvantaged groups would be most likely to respond to their residential environment, lacking means to go elsewhere. 1,8 On the other hand, some disadvantaged individuals may be ''captive walkers'' who rely on walking for transportation, 12 thus being unable to respond to the local environment by retreating into their vehicles. Meanwhile, the often discussed problem of ''self-selection'' could bias observational studies of neighborhoods and health 13 and could imply that relatively affluent and advantaged individuals will have the strongest (albeit noncausal) associations between their neighborhood environment and obesity because more resources facilitate the selection of an environment to fit one's preferred lifestyle.…”

The Effects of Commuter Rail on Population Deconcentration and Commuting: A Salt Lake City Case Study

“…Since the APTA first quantified the benefits of commuter rail in 1997, literature on the effects of commuter rail have been conducted nationwide (Levinson & Allen, 2014;Cervero, 1996;Lane et al, 2006) and on individual commuter rail systems (Ayvalik & Khisty, 2002;Engel-Yan, 2014). Pushkarev et al (1982) studied the relationships among commuter rail ridership, demography, transportation, and physical aspects for nationwide commuter rail systems.…”

“…Since the APTA first quantified the benefits of commuter rail in 1997, studies of the general effects of such transit systems have proliferated nationwide (Allen & Levinson, 2014;Belzer et al, 2011;. Some studies demonstrate how commuter rail can improve economic development, expand housing options, reduce dependence on automobiles, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions (APTA, 1997;Ayvalik & Khisty, 2002;Deka & Marchwinski, 2014;Kennedy, 2002;. Since this report intends to add to commuter rail literature, this section provides a brief overview of what commuter rail is and describes commuter rail and its ridership in the U.S.…”

“…This research was also motivated by a stark lack of existing research specifically covering the demographic or land use implications of commuter rail systems. Since the APTA first quantified the benefits of commuter rail in 1997, an abundance of literature regarding the effects of commuter rail have been pursued (Ayvalik & Khisty, 2002;Cervero, 1996;Engel-Yan, 2014;Lane et al, 2006;Levinson & Allen, 2014). Pushkarev et al (1982) studied the relationships among commuter rail ridership, demography, transportation and physical aspects for nationwide commuter rail systems, but the analysis was published prior to the development of many of the datasets and analytical methods now available.…”

“…Commuter rail systems help metropolitan areas mitigate urban issues by decreasing dependence on automobiles and the related release of greenhouse gas emissions, improving economic development and expanding housing options (APTA, 1997;Ayvalik & Khisty, 2002;Deka & Marchwinski, 2014;Kennedy, 2002;. With such benefits-in addition to the fact that sprawl continues across the United States (Hamidi & Ewing, 2014)-it is unsurprising that commuter rail has expanded ridership even though the transit industry experienced decline (Allen & Levinson, 2014).…”