Who is TOD in Metro Denver ?

Benchmarking the Evolution of TOD in Metro Denver

A Summary of Key Findings from the Business, Employee and Resident Surveys June 2010

Who is TOD in Metro Denver Surveys

This initial benchmark study corroborates other recent evidence that a substantial number of people are attracted to the lifestyle benefits of living and working in walkable, mixed-use communities served by transit, and this attraction is influencing their location and travel decisions. ? According to the Denver Post on June 14, 2010, "People are willing to pay about 4 percent more a month to rent an apartment within a quarter-mile of a light-rail stop." ? In a presentation given at a November 2009 Urban Land Institute workshop, Nathan Johnson, senior managing director for Fredrick Ross Company, reported that nearly all new office buildings that have opened within the past two years within mile of a rail transit station were 100% leased at delivery.

The Who is TOD in Me tro Denver? study confirms if you have density, mixed use , limited or expensive parking an d highquality transit service, large numbers of people in the Denver region will use transit wh o could otherwise afford to use a car. . . the evolution mirrors wh at has happened in places like Portland, Oregon where TOD ha s really taken root. GB Arrington, Parsons Brinckerhoff

This brochure highlights key findings from the study. A consistent finding throughout was a significant difference in perceptions and behaviors between employees and residents in station areas downtown and those in station areas outside of downtown.

Travel Mode
Residents and employees in downtown Denver use alternative modes significantly more than those outside downtown for both commute and non-commute trips. For Commute Trips: ? Residents of downtown Denver use alternative modes (transit, carpooling, walking, and biking) for 44% of commute trips. People living near station areas outside downtown use alternative commute modes 32% of the time. ? Downtown Denver employees use alternative modes for half of all commute trips. In contrast, employees who work in station areas outside downtown use alternative modes for only 12% of commute trips. ? Employers in downtown Denver are also more likely to offer their employees incentives to drive less and use more alternative modes. Thirty-three percent of employers in downtown Denver provide employees with free or subsidized transit passes. Only 4% of businesses outside downtown provide this benefit. Non-Commute Trips: ? Downtown Denver residents use alternative modes nearly twice as often as residents near station areas outside of downtown to access groceries, shopping, restaurants, open space and parks, and entertainment venues. ? Employees in downtown Denver walk to lunch or to conduct personal errands ten times more often (60% vs. 6%) than those in station areas outside of downtown. ? For work-related midday trips, employees in higher employment density station areas outside of downtown reported driving alone more than twice as often as downtown employees (82% vs 30%).

Residents using alternative mode by trip type

Grocery Trips Shopping Trips Restaurant/Coffee/Bar Trips Open Space/Park Trips Entertainment Trips

Not Downtown Downtown

48% 56% 63% 90% 65%

Urban
30% 45% 44% 80% 46%

Suburban
13% 25% 20% 79% 16%

Parking
Employees in downtown Denver are much less likely to park for free right next to their place of employment than their peers in station areas outside of downtown.

Downtown Denver
13% reported free parking is right next to their workplace Employees who pay reported an average cost of $155 per month ($80 to $215).

Not Downtown
86% reported free parking is right next to their workplace Employees who pay reported an average cost of $39 per month ($15 to $75).

Importance of Transit to Employee Job Choice

Employees in downtown Denver rated the benefits of an easy commute by rail or bus transit, access by walk/bike, and access to amenities (mix of uses) as significantly more important to job choice than employees outside downtown. Nearly 25% rated these as a strong influence versus only 10% of employees who work outside of downtown.

Workers indicating a strong influence of amenity on job choice*

Salary/wage Benefits (healthcare, retirement, etc.) Company reputation Interesting work Easy commute by car Easy access to car parking Easy commute to rail transit Easy commute to bus transit Access by walk/bike Convenient amenities nearby (food, shopping, etc.)
* Amenity rated 7-10 where 1 = no influence and 10 = very strong influence

Downtown Denver
79% 69% 64% 76% 27% 26% 22% 23% 15% 28%

Not Downtown
75% 71% 69% 71% 46% 34% 8% 5% 6% 11%

Business Location Decisions

?

Auto Access: Sixty-four percent of businesses in station areas outside of downtown rated access and parking for cars as a strong influence in their location decision versus only 32 percent of downtown businesses. Transit Access: Twenty-five percent of downtown Denver businesses rated transit amenities as a strong influence in their business location decision versus only 7% of businesses outside of downtown.

Demographics
Downtown residents tended to be younger and to have fewer people per household. They were least likely to have children. They also tended to have a lower income than those in a suburban transit area or in the greater metro Denver area. Residents downtown were also less likely than other metro Denver residents to own their home.

Residential Demographic
Average Age Children in Household Household $49,000 or less Income $50,000 to $74,999 $75,000 or more Own/mortgage Home

Live within 1 Mile of Rail Transit More than Downtown Urban Suburban 1 mile
38.6 0.2 49% 34% 17% 48% 45.1 0.3 48% 33% 19% 53% 46.6 0.4 33% 34% 33% 65% 46.5 0.6 23% 49% 28% 71%

Future Housing Preferences

The resident survey asked respondents how much of an influence 40 different housing choice factors played in the selection of their current home. Three housing market segments emerged. Overall, there appears to be demand for communities that provide a mix of uses and transit within walking distance. Market Segment Access Focused Description 21% of metro Denver residents were most concerned about what was nearby. They wanted easy access to restaurants, transit, parks, shopping, and other amenities and were less concerned about their living space. Defining Characteristics
? Younger (32% are 18 - 29, average age 41) ? Generally, single adult or (41%) or two adults (41%), but 18% have 3 or more adults in household ? Least likely to have children (13%) ? Most likely to live within 1 mile of a rail transit station (32%) downtown (17%) or urban (11%) ? Most likely to commute by alternate mode (61% of commute days) ? Shortest work commute (6.3 miles average)

Home Focused 25% of metro Denver residents were more interested in the size of their house and yard and were interested in a quite neighborhood with low crime rates

? Older (average age 48) ? Single adult (38%) or 2 adults in household (60%) ? Unlikely to have children (25%) ? Unlikely to live within 1 mile of a rail transit station (10%) ? Commute by alternate mode 30% of commute days ? Longer work commute (12.3 miles average)

Family Focused

54% of metro Denver residents were most interested in living in a safe neighborhood with good schools and enough room in the house for everyone.

? Older (average age 48) ? Most likely to have two adults in household (84%) ? Most likely to have children (57%) ? Least likely to live within 1 mile of a rail transit station (8%) ? Commute by alternate mode 32% of commute days ? Longest work commute (13.3 miles average)

Resident Survey: Respondents Location of Residence

Resident Survey Stratification This map shows the geographic stratification for the resident survey along with the approximate location of respondent's home. Households were surveyed across the region with an emphasis on those within one mile of a rail transit station. The emphasis (higher sampling level) on those living within one mile of transit stations avoided the potentially biased assumption that a transit station's influence ends at exactly one-quarter or one-half mile from the station, and provided the opportunity to compare the characteristics, behaviors and perceptions of households near transit stations to those further away.

Those within 1-mile were stratified by three areas (determined by an assessment of household and intersection density by census block groups): downtown, urban, and suburban.

Business and Employee Surveys: Respondents Location of Business

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Businesses
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Downtown High Density of Employment Low Density of Employment
5 10 Miles

Survey Respondents RTD Light Rail Stations RTD Light Rail Lines
0 2.5

Business & Employee Survey Stratification This map shows the geographic stratification for the business and employee surveys along with the approximate location of business respondents. Representatives from 300 metro Denver businesses located within a mile of a rail transit station were interviewed from April 13 to April 24, 2009. The sample of businesses was stratified by three geographies: downtown Denver; higher employment density areas outside downtown; and lower employment density station areas outside downtown.

Who is TOD in Metro Denver Surveys

This research documents existing characteristics, behaviors and perceptions of residents, employers and employees who live and/or work near existing rail-transit stations. Over time, if the study is repeated every five to ten years as recommended, single points will transform into trend lines providing greater understanding of how well policy and investment decisions have achieved their desired outcomes at the local and regional levels. The research is comprised of three surveys: ? A resident survey: Information on demographics, as well as behaviors and perceptions of residents regarding mode choice and home location decisions, at varying distances from rail-transit.

? A business survey: Information from business owners and managers

within one-mile of existing rail-transit stations regarding motivations for selecting current location, attitudes and perceptions regarding parking and transit access, and use of transportation demand management strategies and incentives.

? An employee survey: Information from employees of businesses that

participated (and agreed to have employees surveyed), including commute distance, influence of transit access and mix of uses on employment decisions, mode choice, location and cost of parking, and use of transportation demand management strategies and incentives. Full reports for the business and employee studies are available at http://www.drcog.org/index.cfm?page=WhoIsTOD90. A full report from the resident study will be available late summer 2010.

For questions or more information on DRCOG's TOD program, contact TOD Project Manager Tom Boone at tboone@drcog.org or 303-480-6776.
Note: The resident mode shares shown in this summary will be validated by the Front Range Travel Counts (FRTC) study in Summer 2010. DRCOG expects the relative proportions of these statistics to stay the same (i.e. more transit use downtown), but the absolute level of commuting by alternative mode may be lower.

Enhancing and protecting the quality of life in our region

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