A new report underscores the economic development potential of transit investments like the METRO Red Line launched this summer along Cedar Avenue and planned Arterial Bus Rapid Transit lines in the Twin Cities.
The report from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy analyzed the impact of 21 transit corridors around the country, measuring the amount of transit-oriented development investment per dollar of transit investment.
The study did not include any local transitways but found that BRT lines in Cleveland, Ohio and Kansas City, Mo., each led to more than $5 billion in private development – more than $100 for every $1 spent on transit. Investment in transit-oriented development outweighed transit investments in two-thirds of the corridors included in the study. Researchers also looked at light rail and streetcar lines in their study.
Government support was found to be a leading contributor to transit-oriented development in the study, followed by market conditions and "transit quality."
Photo of Cleveland HealthLine courtesy Greater Cleveland RTA
> ITDP: More Investment For Your Transit Dollar
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> Met Council: Strategic Investments in TOD
> The A Line: Snelling Bus Rapid Transit