Walking the Last Mile: Barriers and Solutions to Suburban Transit Access

Author:

Braun Lindsay M.1ORCID,Barajas Jesus M.2ORCID,Lee Bumsoo1,Martin Rebecca3ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL

2. Institute of Transportation Studies and Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA

3. Foursquare ITP, Rockville, MD

Abstract

Pedestrian infrastructure plays a critical role in facilitating first-/last-mile access to transit. Efforts to connect pedestrians to transit through infrastructure improvements, however, often face considerable implementation barriers. These barriers can be particularly pronounced for suburban transit providers, which serve low-density, automobile-oriented development and often must coordinate across many jurisdictions. In this analysis, we examine strategies that transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, and municipalities use to build pedestrian infrastructure near suburban transit services in the United States, and the barriers they face in this process. We use Pace Suburban Bus, a transit provider in the Chicago, Illinois region, as an illustrative case study, conducting surveys with planners and interviews with diverse stakeholder groups in the agency’s service area. To complement these findings, we conduct an online survey of similar agency types in ten peer regions across the United States. The results suggest that agencies support pedestrian access to transit through a variety of plans, policies, programs, and partnerships. However, agencies face significant implementation barriers, including limited funding, competing investment priorities, jurisdictional/coordination issues, automobile-oriented planning and development, regulatory compliance issues, and limited staff capacity. Based on these findings, we propose recommendations related to planning (e.g., better inclusion/documentation of pedestrian needs in plans), policy (e.g., regional support for Complete Streets and Americans with Disability Act related policy efforts), funding (e.g., regional platforms for sharing funding opportunities), and education (e.g., staff training and community awareness campaigns). These recommendations provide specific actions that agencies at multiple levels of government can take to better support pedestrian access to transit in suburban communities.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Mechanical Engineering,Civil and Structural Engineering

Reference21 articles.

1. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2014 First Mile-Last Mile Strategic Plan & Planning Guidelines. media.metro.net/docs/sustainability_path_design_guidelines.pdf. Accessed February 28, 2019.

2. The Regional Response to Federal Funding for Bicycle and Pedestrian Projects

3. A multiple case study of local & creative financing of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure

4. Improving Pathways to Fixed-Route Transit: Transit Agency Practices to Expand Access for All Users

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