Workshop on Transportation Corridor Evaluation With a focus on Economic and Community Development.

Workshop on Transportation Corridor Evaluation

With a focus on Economic and Community Development

Workshop Overview

• Hiawatha operational for nearly 1 year

• Little consistency in current research to measure economic and/or community impacts of transit corridors

• Need for improved and consistent methodology, and for minimizing redundant data requests

Workshop Goals

• Learn what data is already available / being collected

• Take advantage of lessons from other projects and evaluation efforts

• Agree on key elements for academic evaluation of impacts of Twin Cities transit corridors

• Understand how methods or benchmarks may vary

Workshop agenda

• Overview of SLPP Research– One way to frame the discussion

• Overview of Transit Corridors in the Twin Cities– To understand the planning context

• Overview of data being collected for FTA– To understand what is currently being collected and

reported

• Lessons learned from other evaluations• Discussion of what methods should be applied in

evaluating Twin Cities corridors

SLPP Research

Or, How We Got Here

SLPP Research

• 1997 Study– Recommend that transportation and community and

economic development be integrated in transportation corridors

• Subsequent studies recommend developing an integrated framework which recognizes that corridor development affects five areas

• Citizen Preferences• Governance• Financing• Economic Impacts• Design

Analytical Framework

Decision Tree

Policy Cycle

Policy Proposal Development

Issue Identification

Problem Definition, Analysis

Public Policy Debate

Policy Action

Events

Data

Policy Shortcut

Policy CycleIssue Identification

Lessons Learned:

Do not let technology or design drive the planning process.

Policy Cycle




Lessons Learned:

Get to know for whom you are planning.

Tailor the five components to meet local conditions

Priorities can change as scale changes.

Have a champion

Connect with the regional transportation planning and funding process.

Policy Cycle





Lessons Learned:

Amend local zoning as necessary

Don’t let economic conditions affect a future vision.

Policy Cycle





Policy Action

Policy Shortcut

Where the “rubber meets the road”

(or the steel meets the rail)

Policy Cycle





Policy Action

Events

Data

Policy Shortcut

Qualitative and quantitative results that are used to measure the success of the project

Compare with other similar corridors

Decision Tree

Policy Cycle





Lessons Learned:

Amend local zoning as necessary

Don’t let economic conditions affect a future vision.

Economic and Community Development

Economic Development

• Typically a local government issue

• What it encompasses varies greatly by locality and agency– Dependent on goals of agency

• Examples: maximizing real estate, reducing travel times, etc.

• Different governing bodies incorporate and weigh these factors in myriad ways

How is Economic Development Defined?

• Traditional economic analysis looks at economic costs and travel times

• …“an increase in total jobs and income in a region.”.. MNDOT, “Transportation and Economic Development.”

• …a case in which income and product generated in an area increase. Ten Keys to Using Transportation Investments to Promote Economic Development, David J. Forkenbrock

How is Economic Development Defined?

• …The achievement of a community’s economic goals via an increase in economic productivity, employment, business activity and improvements to the environment, equity and in other quality of life measures.. Litman, T. Economic Development Impacts of Transportation Demand Management. 2002. Victoria Transport Policy Institute Page 1

Economic Development

• Economic Development is More of an Art than a Science

• Little agreement on how to:– Define the impact area– Assign value to all variables– Determine causality– Account for policy/governance changes

Increase- total jobsand income in a region.

Differentiate economic and community development.

More Focused Definitions

Measuring Economic DevelopmentTiers of Evaluation

Incorporate elements of community

development

“New Starts” Criteria

STEAM



More Focused Definitions


Additional Impacts

• New Starts Criteria– Mobility Improvements– Environmental Benefits– Operating Efficiencies– Cost Effectiveness– Transit Supportive Land Use and Future Patterns– Other Factors (economic impact)

• FHWAs Surface Transportation Efficiency Analysis Model (STEAM) – evaluate trade-offs between economic benefits and

non-monetizable social and environmental impacts

Evaluating development impacts of leveraged

partnerships (with local governments) to provide

infrastructure catalysts for economic development

Objective: bring economic vitality to the state through collaborative efforts of

municipal governments and state transportation agencies’ economic development efforts.


development


STEAM



More Focused Definitions More Comprehensive Definitions


Additional Impacts• In latter model, state agencies, together with the local

economic development offices, aim to revitalize economic growth by leveraging on economies of scale.

• Often the local economic development agency is the lead partner

• Both partners participate in the selection process of economic development–related transportation projects.

• The state transportation agency is the prime source for funding of construction projects.

• Among the common elements of program requirements are either compatibility with the state agency’s transportation improvement plans and long-range transportation plans, or job creation and capital investment in the region.

Economic development measures include non-

market impacts (ie. human health, environmental quality, equity), versus conventional economic

measures

Economic development indicators attempt to

account for qualitative and non-market values.

Evaluating development impacts of leveraged

partnerships (with local governments) to provide

infrastructure catalysts for economic development

Objective: bring economic vitality to the state through collaborative efforts of

municipal governments and state transportation agencies’ economic development efforts.


development


STEAM



More Focused More Comprehensive Definitions


Potential Guidelines

• Temporal analysis– “Do not let economic conditions affect a future

vision”– Lag time between transportation investment

and economic development ranges between 2-3 years for short term analysis, 6-8 years for medium term analysis and 15-20 years for long term analysis


• Causality (“Do not let economic conditions affect a future vision”)– Transportation projects typically serve areas

where economic development activities are already happening

– Challenge is defining how much can be attributed directly to infrastructure investment as opposed to location, development of adjacent areas, overall market in locality


• Planning in advance of transportation projects being built creates additional demand/opportunities– Changes in zoning prior to investment– Demand that occurs because infrastructure

investment is planned

– “Amend local zoning as necessary”

Workshop on Transportation Corridor Evaluation With a focus on Economic and Community Development.

Documents

Transcript of Workshop on Transportation Corridor Evaluation With a focus on Economic and Community Development.