Can Transit Oriented Developments Reduce Austin's Traffic Congestion

Can Transit Oriented Developments Reduce Austin's Traffic Congestion PDF Author: Ming Zhang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Local transit
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Can Transit Oriented Developments Reduce Austin's Traffic Congestion

Can Transit Oriented Developments Reduce Austin's Traffic Congestion PDF Author: Ming Zhang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Local transit
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Book Description


The Feasibility of Transit-oriented Development at the Bus Rapid Transit Stations in Austin

The Feasibility of Transit-oriented Development at the Bus Rapid Transit Stations in Austin PDF Author: Lauren Katherine Kniejski
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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The population of Austin, Texas is projected to reach 1.6 million people by the year 2040, which doubles the city's current population. The populations of cities in neighboring counties, Hays and Williamson, are projected to experience even more growth within the same time frame. For the first time in history, over half of the world's population lives in urban areas, so sustainable development is currently relevant for urban planning. Until 2010, Austin lacked a mass public transportation system. Currently, Capital Metro, Austin's main public transportation operator, operates the Red Line of the MetroRail, a commuter rail system. The Red Line only serves a specific subset of the population in Austin and its northern neighbors, running from the city of Leander, through northern Austin, before its final stop in downtown Austin. Because of this, Capital Metro will begin operations on a new method of rapid mass transit: a bus rapid transit system called MetroRapid. With two lines opening in 2014, MetroRapid will function as a mass rapid public transit option for two of the busiest north-south corridors in the city. The opening of MetroRapid will provide opportunities to stimulate growth in areas focused around this transit system. Transit-oriented development can be a method of guiding Austin's future growth that will theoretically facilitate and encourage public transit use. The benefits to such growth would be reduced congestion, less dependency on automobiles and fostering communities that are vibrant and self-sustaining. This paper defines Transit-Oriented Developments (TODs), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), and analyzes the MetroRapid stations themselves as Austin moves toward becoming a sustainable city.

Investigating Potential Impacts of Corridor TOD Along Austin’s Rapid Bus Line

Investigating Potential Impacts of Corridor TOD Along Austin’s Rapid Bus Line PDF Author: Neha Diggikar
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
In the recent years, Austin has grown rapidly, and traffic congestion and low transit ridership have become issues that need to be addressed. City of Austin has tried to apply the concepts of Transit-Oriented Development to grow sustainably and solve some of these issues and found many station areas lacking compact mixed-use development. This report, adhering to principles of TOD, applies compact mixed-use development patterns to undeveloped parcels on the 801 Rapid Corridor. Using the Envision Tomorrow Scenario Builder and the MXD tool, impacts of this development on mode choice and other directly related indicators such as public health, affordability, and emissions are measured. At the same time, the study also tests the reliability of the MXD tool by approaching the TOD scenarios at three different spatial scales. It re-emphasizes the benefits of mixed-use development around transit, and gives a quantitative measure of the impacts it will have along the 801 Rapid Bus corridor in Austin.

Performance-based Transit-oriented Developments

Performance-based Transit-oriented Developments PDF Author: Pooja Anil Chaudhari
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
Transit-oriented development is a planning instrument where land use and developments are driven by the presence of transit around them. This planning tool is particularly crucial in urban cities facing rapid growth, where local and regional governments encourage sustainable developments via land use planning, zoning laws, and changes to building codes, among other things (Transit-Oriented Development, 2015). Many metropolitan cities may have Council-adopted districts to promote transit-oriented developments with an aim to balance density, mix use, affordability, sustainability, alternate modes of transportation, using land use policies and public transit investments. The objectives of any given city for their transit-oriented developments will be unique, subject to context and priorities. Currently, the City of Austin regulates and promotes such developments for three transit-oriented developments and two special regulating districts. It is important to evaluate the performance of Austin’s transit-oriented development districts against the city’s larger strategic goals. The City of Austin adopts many strategic plans with different scopes; some are city-wide, while some as program-based or area-specific. These comply with each other in order to address various city priorities. A crucial component of Austin’s strategic planning process is performance management. While there are many ways to approach performance evaluation in planning, currently there is no globally accepted gold standard for assessing transit-oriented developments. The City also revises and updates these plans/ ordinances when required, to reflect the current conditions and challenges. Large public investments, capital improvements and partnerships are driven by these strategic plans. Hence it becomes important to evaluate the results of implementation. By identifying and informing the gaps and opportunities from periodic performance evaluation, the city stands to optimize the benefits of transit-oriented developments. This report identifies ideal metrics for TODs in Austin, derived from the city’s strategic planning goals and evaluates these metrics using empirical data. This progress report will focus on a quantitative approach and serve as an important tool for making informed revisions in policy and providing transparency and accountability in decision-making. This assessment has potential importance to the city’s officials to keep track of progress, or lack thereof, of their implemented policies. Such studies also help for future relevant planning decisions

Effect of Smart Growth Policies on Travel Demand

Effect of Smart Growth Policies on Travel Demand PDF Author: Maren Outwater, Colin Smith, Jerry Walters, Brian Welch, Robert Cervero, Kara Kockelman, and J. Richard Kuzmyak
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISBN: 0309274419
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
This report from the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2), which is administered by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, explores the underlying relationships among households, firms, and travel demand. The report also describes a regional scenario planning tool that can be used to evaluate the impacts of various smart growth policies.

A Planning Tool of Equity Transit-oriented Development (ETOD)

A Planning Tool of Equity Transit-oriented Development (ETOD) PDF Author: Yingrui Zhao
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This study develops a set of planning tools for achieving equitable goals at the 133-bus stop of the Project Connect plan in Austin, Texas. This topic is important for Austin is that the upgrading of the city is forcing vulnerable groups to displace them from their original communities. As part of a 7-billion-dollar public transit expansion plan, Project Connect gave 300 million dollars in anti-displacement funding. This report answers the three questions on implementing the anti-displacement: First, whether the neighborhood of stops has issues of inequality funding. The second one, stops are the vulnerable stop. Finally, this report answers how economic, social, and environmental impacts will be brought about by the Project Connect plan. This report uses a node-place-vulnerability model, finding that vulnerable groups have a below-average transportation supply. Continuously, the K-means clustering algorithm identifies the vulnerable bus and rail stops located around the Rundberg stop and Riverside stop. Lastly, this study applies Genetic Algorithms (GA) to optimize land use, finding that the transit system will greatly benefit accessibility to housing. Besides, the high-intensity development will result in an unproportionally high level of emissions from buildings and traffic

Above I-35

Above I-35 PDF Author: Sarthak Gupta (M.S. in Community and Regional Planning)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Book Description
Growth of a city calls for choices to be made, and given its rapid pace, Austin’s growth requires smart solutions. The void created by an insufficient transit system creates the need for more people to drive to work/school. This in turn generates a greater need for wider roads and more lanes for people to drive on. On the 30th of November, 2017, the Texas Department of Transportation announced its plans to lower I-35 in Downtown Austin and add two managed lanes in each direction. The project would have allowed for faster commutes for some of the north- or southbound drivers, provided they chose to pay variable toll rates. This, in the longer run, would have generated substantial revenue for TxDOT but failed to promote east/west connectivity and to solve the traffic congestion problem Austin is dealing with today. There has been a lot of political involvement in the decision-making processes, because of which we do not know if TxDOT plans on rethinking the project. This project, as per Architect, Planner and Urban Designer, Sinclair Black’s Vision, revolves around addressing the primary issue of congestion and emphasizing on how through smarter and farsighted solutions, we can advance towards a more prosperous Austin. The key solutions include depressing and capping the highway, reclaiming valuable downtown land and returning it to the City of Austin for revenue generating real estate development. This will reconnect the city grid, minimize congestion, diminish pollution, and provide dedicated public transit corridor lowering overall commute times. This project largely focuses on estimating the taxable property and the property taxes generated through the deployment of this idea.

Spatial Analysis of Traffic Congestion and Transit Accessibility in Austin, Texas

Spatial Analysis of Traffic Congestion and Transit Accessibility in Austin, Texas PDF Author: Adam Bakiera
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Geospatial data
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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A Portfolio of Transit Oriented Development

A Portfolio of Transit Oriented Development PDF Author: Austin Transportation Study
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages :

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The Contradictions of Smart Growth

The Contradictions of Smart Growth PDF Author: Kendal Kawaihonaokeamahaoke Asuncion
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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Book Description
Smart Growth is a comprehensive approach to planning that aims to shape more compact and well-connected communities across the United States. Among its principles are leveraging existing infrastructure, developing around transit, providing a mix of housing types and price ranges, and increasing community participation in the planning process. However, research suggests the comprehensive approach at times obscures potential tensions between these principles, in particular when Smart Growth principles are applied to a specific property. This is the case in Austin, Texas' Lamar/Justin Lane TOD, where the City of Austin is currently evaluating development scenarios for a publicly-owned 5.6 acre parcel located within the TOD area. How equity and access is addressed in Smart Growth comes to fore in conversations between the City and affluent, neighborhood residents. This report examines the history of Smart Growth, reviews its implementation in cities across the U.S., and considers how the City of Austin may learn from other cities.