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MTC is conducting a “TOD Study” to address the transit oriented development opportunities in the Bay Area. This report looks at demographic characteristics of transit users to estimate the households and jobs with a preference for living/working near transit in the Bay Area, by 2030. It compares these estimates by county with ABAG Projections 2003 and the Smart Growth Vision.

The academic literature on the impact of urban form on travel behavior has increasingly recognized that residential location choice and travel choices may be interconnected. We contribute to the understanding of this interrelation by studying to what extent commute mode choice differs by residential neighborhood and by neighborhood type dissonance—the mismatch between a commuter this current neighborhood type and her preferences regarding physical attributes of the residential neighborhood. Using data from the San Francisco Bay Area, we find that neighborhood type dissonance is statistically significantly associated with commute mode choice: dissonant urban residents are more likely to commute by private vehicle than consonant urbanites but not quite as likely as true suburbanites. However, differences between neighborhoods tend to be larger than between consonant and dissonant residents within a neighborhood. Physical neighborhood structure thus appears to have an autonomous impact…

Abstract: This research paper describes how GIS has been used to study and implement a regional vision for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) within the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. The potential for TOD in the region was originally studied by using computer databases to map land use within a half-mile radius of existing and potential future rail and ferry transit station locations. Now, MTC has adopted a TOD policy that requires certain thresholds of development to be planned around stations prior to the release of regional discretionary funding for transit capital expansion projects. This paper will explain the role of GIS as the analytical foundation guiding the implementation of MTC’s TOD policy, to explain it in outreach sessions, and to support the analysis leading to the formulation of the thresholds contained in the policy.

Parking policy is an important element of transit-oriented development (TOD). It shapes travel behavior, community design, and development economics; it can improve the performance of both rail transit and TOD. This article is based on the study of residential TODs, office TODs, and joint development of transit agency station parking in California. The research includes surveys of travel behavior, stationarea characteristics, parking supply, interviews with real estate developers, and studies of replacement parking issues at joint development sites. Research results show that TOD parking supply and pricing policy seldom are structured to support transit ridership goals. Policy recommendations for improving parking policy for TODs are offered to transit agencies, cities, and developers.

MTC is conducting a “TOD Study” to address the transit oriented development opportunities in the Bay Area. This report looks at demographic characteristics of transit users to estimate the households and jobs with a preference for living/working near transit in the Bay Area, by 2030. It compares these estimates by county with ABAG Projections 2003 and the Smart Growth Vision.

Designing With Transit is written to foster and facilitate these positive trends. It is a tool kit, a road map for East Bay communities that want to refocus on transit. It is not a blueprint for a community, because each community is different and must develop its own approaches. Designing With Transit outlines key concepts for communities to consider as they improve their transit-friendliness. It highlights key planning and engineering steps and warns of pitfalls to avoid. It illustrates how the bus system as well as the rail system is integral to East Bay transit (see Chapter 2, “The East Bay Transit System”). Designing With Transit demonstrates that East Bay and Bay Area communities are already taking steps towards greater transit-friendliness.

In 1999, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District Board, in California, adopted a policy creating a framework for BART system expansion that placed new emphasis on cost-effectiveness, ridership generation, multimodal access, transit-oriented development, local partnerships, and the use of appropriate transit technologies. The board directed staff to develop criteria and a detailed process for implementing these goals. The resulting expansion planning process and criteria for the BART system, adopted by the BART board in December 2002, are described along with the method used to develop the criteria and process. Some of the implementation issues that have arisen are assessed.

This paper provides a comparative perspective on the relative economic benefits (as capitalized into nearby home values) of five California heavy and light rail transit systems