MULTIMODAL ACCESSIBILITY TO VRE STATIONS€¦ · • Although the streets and infrastructure that comprise the first and last mile fall outside the boundaries of VRE jurisdiction

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VIRGINIA RAILWAY EXPRESS

MULTIMODALACCESSIBILITY TO VRE STATIONSREINALDO GERMANOPLANNING INTERN

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MULTIMODAL ACCESSIBILITY TO VRE STATIONS

1. BACKGROUND

a. Why should multimodal accessibility to VRE stations be improved?

b. What are the benefits of multimodal accessibility?

c. How can we encourage multimodal accessibility?

2. CASE STUDY

a. How and from where users access VRE?

b. How different stations compare?

c. How to boost active and public transportation as a way to access VRE stations?

3. FUTURE STUDIES AND LESSONS LEARNED

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THE EASIER IT IS TO ACCESS THE SYSTEM, THE MORE LIKELY PEOPLE ARE TO USE IT

FIRST MILE LAST MILE

TRIP

VRE

87%

4%4%

4%

62%

20%

6%

7% 5%

2017 VRE Master Agreement Survey

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WHY SHOULD MULTIMODAL ACCESSIBILITYTO VRE STATIONS BE IMPROVED?

• Although the streets and infrastructure that comprise the first and last mile fall outside the boundaries of VRE jurisdiction and control, they remain critical components of an effective service.

• It is possible to increase ridership without increasing the need to provide more parking if fewer people drive alone to stations and more people carpool, take the bus, bike, or walk to stations.

• Federal, state, regional, and local policies support increased use of public transportation as a means to ease roadway congestion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support economic and physical health in communities.

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BENEFITS OF MULTIMODAL ACCESSIBILITY

VRE + Multimodal accessibility =

RidershipUser

SafetyHealth in

Communities

Vehicle Miles

Traveled

Greenhouse

GasEmissions

ParkingEquity

EconomicDevelopment

METRO LA: First Last Mile Strategic Plan & Planning Guidelines

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ARE RIDERS DRIVING MORE TO ONE STATION THAN TO ANOTHER? IF SO, WHY?• The average for the system and Fredericksburg line is 87%

• But this number variesfrom station to station,for example, 94% of ridersdrive alone to accessBrooke station, but thisnumber is 76% forFredericksburg station

• For each10 cars parkedat Brooke station parking lot thereare 11 riders boarding,this number is 23 forFredericksburg station1

1: Parking and boarding counts on October 4th 2017

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BUILT ENVIRONMENT AROUND STATIONSMAY HELP UNDERSTAND WHY

Brooke Station½ mile radius

Fredericksburg Station½ mile radius

77%0%

2017 VRE Master Agreement Survey / Google Earth images

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IF NOT DRIVING ALONE…

• Riders are carpooling, or being dropped off, or walking to stations more than taking the bus or bicycling

• Also, when compared, Fredericksburg Line has a more balanced mode share than Manassas Line

MANASSAS LINE

FREDERICKSBURG LINE


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HOW DO STATIONS COMPARE?

• This study aims to identify opportunities for active and public transportation options do access VRE stations.

• To do so, I will explore existing and potential accessibility options to Lorton, Woodbridge, and Fredericksburg stations because of their unique characteristics among stations along Fredericksburg line.

• Fredericksburg station is inserted in a more urban environment, while the others are in a more suburban environment.

• Lorton station has a 20 times smaller a catchment area than Fredericksburg station and more Transit Oriented Development (TOD) near the station.

• Woodbridge has potential for more TOD near the station and more transit service

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HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGEMULTIMODAL ACCESS?

We can start by understanding:

• How do riders access stations today?

• Where are they coming from?

• What is the built environment around the station?

• What is the transportation infrastructure available?

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HOW DO RIDERS ACCESS STATIONS TODAY?

Drive alone Carpool Dropped

off Bus Bicycle Walk Other

Fredericksburg Line 87% 4% 2.5% 1% 0.5% 3.7% 1.3%

Lorton 84% 3% 1.5% 2% 0.5% 7.5% 1.5%Woodbridge 86% 6% 2% 0% 0.5% 3.5% 2%

Fredericksburg 76% 4% 4.5% 4% 0.5% 8.5% 2.5%


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IMPACT OF DISTANCE ON MODE CHOICE

If pedestrians are willing to walk up to fifteen minutes to a given station, and they walk at four miles per hour, the access shed can be defined by a half mile radial circle centered on the station.

Drive alone Carpool

Dropped off Bus Bicycle Walk

Lorton 84% 3% 1.5% 2% 0.5% 7.5%

Lorton ½ mi. radius 38% 0% 5% 0% 0% 57%

Woodbridge 86% 6% 2% 0% 0.5% 3.5%

Woodbridge ½ mi. radius 67% 8% 8% 0% 0% 17%

Fredericksburg 76% 4% 4.5% 4% 0.5% 8.5%

Fredericksburg ½ mi. radius 17% 0% 7% 0% 0% 77%

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WHAT DISTANCE ARE RIDERS WALKING TO LORTON STATION?

Google Maps

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Google Maps

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Google Maps

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1 Mile


Google Maps

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½ Mile


Google Maps

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WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THE STREET GRID?

In reality this access shed is compromised by the street grid, breaks in the access network, location and number of street crossings, and fluctuations in average speed of pedestrians due to crossing characteristics and sidewalk conditions.

Lorton Station½ mile radius

Woodbridge Station½ mile radius


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½ MILE FREDERICKSBURG STATION

• Almost half of all riders walking to the station (47 of 106 riders) reside within this radius;

• Walking is the mode of access of 72% of all riders residing within this radius.


= 2 riders walking to the station

= 2 riders driving to the station

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½ MILE FREDERICKSBURG STATION

• Almost half of all riders walking to the station (47 of 106 riders) reside within this radius;

• Walking is the mode of access of 72% of all riders residing within this radius.




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½ MILE WOODBRIDGE STATION

• 23 riders walk to this station, only 6 reside within a ½ mile radius;

• Walking is the mode of access of 17% of all riders residing within this radius, while 67% drive alone and park.




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½ MILE WOODBRIDGE STATION

• 23 riders walk to this station, only 6 reside within a ½ mile radius;

• Walking is the mode of access of 17% of all riders residing within this radius, while 67% drive alone and park.




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½ MILE LORTON STATION

• 88% of all riders walking to the station (42 of 48 riders) reside within this radius;

• Walking is the mode of access of 57% of all riders residing within this radius, while 38% drive alone and park. Lorton Station

½ mile radius



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½ MILE LORTON STATION

• 88% of all riders walking to the station (42 of 48 riders) reside within this radius;

• Walking is the mode of access of 57% of all riders residing within this radius, while 38% drive alone and park. Lorton Station

½ mile radius



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Parked bicycles average based on counts from July 2016 and June 2017

Lorton

Woodbridge

Rippon

Quantico

Brooke

Leeland

Fredericksburg

Spotsylvania

WHERE ARE RIDERS BICYCLING FROM?

FREDERICKSBURG• In average there are 5 bicycles parked at the station each day;• 4 origins were mapped and only one is along the Virginia Central Railway

Trail;• In average a rider bikes 1.2 miles to access the station.

WOODBRIDGE• 2 origins were mapped, one 5.1

miles away from the station, another 0.9 mile away

• There are not bicycle paths or lanes

LORTON• 1 origin was mapped, 3.6 miles away

from the station• There is bicycle lanes along 75% of

the way

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LORTON ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Google Street View

Bicycle lane on Lorton Road

• There is a bicycle lane, but in high stress environment

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LORTON ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Lorton Station Blvd

• High speed (35 mph), wide lanes, few intersections, lack of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure

Google Street View

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Parked bicycles average based on counts from July 2016 and June 2017

WHERE ARE RIDERS TAKING THE BUS FROM?

FREDERICKSBURG• Several FRED bus routes

serve the station, two of them act as feeder routes;

• Spotsylvania County VRE Feeder Bus (VS1) runs along Route 3 and connect Salem Church Crossing and Gordon Road Commuter lots;

• Fredericksburg VRE Feeder Bus connects Idlewild to the station.

Train Number

Fredericksburg Station VS1 VF1

300 5:05 5:00 5:00

302 5:15304 5:31 5:25

306 5:45 5:40

308 6:11 6:05 6:00

310 6:31 6:25 6:25

86 6:56312 7:16 7:10 7:10

314 7:44 7:35 7:35

174 8:0084 9:1994 11:57

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Origin of riders taking the bus to

Fredericksburg Station

FRED FeederBus routes

FREDERICKSBURG

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FREDERICKSBURG

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FREDERICKSBURG 24% of riders driving alone to the station reside within a buffer of ½ mile from one shuttle bus route

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WHO IS ACCESSING WOODBRIDGE ANDLORTON STATIONS BY BUS?

WOODBRIDGE• According to the 2017 VRE Master Agreement survey results, no

rider accessed the station by bus• The station is served by two local bus services, OmniLink routes:

Woodbridge/Lake Ridge and Route 1• Neither are operationally integrated to VRE service

LORTON• 10 riders (2%) access the VRE by bus• Connector buses 171, 305, 371, 372, 373, 494 serve Lorton Station• None are operationally integrated to VRE service

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OPPORTUNITIES

• Over half of the riders traveled fewer than 5 miles from their homes to a VRE station1, improvements in a ½ mile (walking) or 3 mile (bicycling) radius from the stations would impact many riders.

• 0.5% of the riders access an origin station along the Fredericksburg line using bicycles2 and there is opportunity to increase that share by providing infrastructure and low-stress environments.

• Operational integration between feeder buses and VRE trains could contribute to mode shift and new riders. Lorton is served by several bus routes that carry 2% of the riders boarding at the station; while FRED operates 2 bus shuttle routes with fewer trips and transport 4% of the station’s riders.

• Promoting carpooling and kiss-and-ride could impact the ration of parked cars per boarding.

1: 2017 VRE Customer Opinion Survey | 2: 2017 VRE Master Agreement Survey

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CHALLENGES AHEAD OF US

• There are a number of challenges associated with improving first last mile connections.

• Most of them challenges can be addressed through thoughtful consideration, strategic planning, engineering, design, and, most importantly, active coordination.

• What is the role of active and public transportation in suburban areas? Or more to the point, how do you create a transit-and-walking culture in a place where driving is so easy?

www.itdp.org/walk

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FUTURE STUDIES

• Continue to geographically analyze survey data for Manassas Line and the rest of Fredericksburg Line stations

• Add to the analysis land use, population, and employment data

• Address multimodal options for accessing destinations in stations that typically an origin, for example:

• Shuttle bus is used by 40% of riders detraining at Woodbridge

• 20% reach their destination by bus from Lorton station, but 75% drive a second car


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LESSONS LEARNED

TDP Draft map edited

1. We can dedicate more time to understand the data that we collect

2. We are also missing the geographic dimension of the survey data

3. We can suggest improvements for Master Agreement survey form

4. By asking the user address on the customer survey we can add a more accurate geographic layer in our rider profile analysis

Documents

MULTIMODAL ACCESSIBILITY TO VRE STATIONS€¦ · • Although the streets and infrastructure that comprise the first and last mile fall outside the boundaries of VRE jurisdiction