How can planners maximize the benefits of transitways in areas of concentrated poverty?

light rail station
Photo: Eve Daniels

The expanding Twin Cities transitway system will connect some of the region’s areas of concentrated poverty with more opportunities. Although proposed transitway routes are largely set, decisions about station sites, connecting bus service improvements, and station-area pedestrian infrastructure improvements have yet to be finalized. These decisions may affect the extent of the accessibility benefits people actually receive.

In a new study, U of M researchers explored how planners and policymakers can maximize the benefits of transitways for people living in areas of concentrated poverty—census tracts where 40 percent or more of the residents have incomes below 185 percent of the federal poverty threshold. (In 2017, this was $46,424 for a family of four or $23,103 for an individual living alone.)

“Twin Cities residents who live in these areas face burdensome commutes to reach jobs and other opportunities,” says Professor Yingling Fan of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, the project’s principal investigator.

In their work, researchers took an innovative approach to collecting input from residents in these areas. They began by meeting people at locations in their daily lives, including food shelves, social service providers, libraries, and transit centers. In this way, data collection filled study participants’ waiting time rather than taking their free time.

Additionally, researchers employed a brief, graphical survey that used visual aids and a mix of closed- and open-ended questions. Meeting locations were in both urban and suburban areas. For data analysis, they used an unusual approach that blended quantitative and qualitative techniques. 

Study participants indicated a clear need and desire for improved regional transit services. “We learned that the commutes of residents without access to a car aren’t much shorter than households with a car,” Fan says. “People need to travel throughout the region for jobs and other purposes.” 

Their actual travel, however, varies significantly based on whether a car is available and the quality of the pedestrian environment near transit stops. “The quality of pedestrian access to the transit system via the street network stands out as a critical issue,” Fan says.

The team also found that transit issues such as safety, comfort, and security shape the quality of life of regular transit users, particularly those who have no other transportation options.

“This research is an important addition to the growing literature on how important good pedestrian access is for transit customers, especially for those who live in areas of concentrated poverty,” says Lucy Galbraith, director of transit-oriented development for Metro Transit.

Based on their findings, the researchers conclude that enhancing the regional transitway system will help residents in areas of concentrated poverty reach jobs and other activities. In addition, they believe best practices for improving neighborhood walkability—such as wide and well-maintained sidewalks, traffic-calming measures, and convenient and safe street crossings—are best practices for everyone, whether or not they have other transportation options.

“People want these attributes not because of stigmas or fads, but because they are genuinely good things,” says co-investigator Andrew Guthrie, assistant professor with the University of Memphis and former Humphrey School research fellow. “Improvements often proposed to attract new riders also help people who already use transit and need it most.”

As a result, the research team says transit- and pedestrian-oriented design is a social equity issue. “The equitable implementation of a modern regional transit system in the Twin Cities requires a comprehensive program of pedestrian improvements,” Fan says. “An easy, safe, pleasant walk to a transit stop, and the wait for a transit vehicle, should be an unremarkable occurrence throughout the region—including areas of concentrated poverty.”

The project was funded by the Transitway Impacts Research Program. Other researchers included Fernando Burga, an assistant professor at the Humphrey School, and Shannon Crabtree, a former Humphrey School graduate student.

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