Impact of Light Rail on Megacenter Growth in Downtown Houston

Abstract

Light rail systems are typically built to cover transportation in the heart of big cities, with the intent of reducing traffic congestion in downtown and adjoining areas. While there is clear evidence that light rail systems can reduce traffic congestions of large cities to a significant extent, the reinforcement of existing and emerging downtown features to restore economic development has remained, at best, unclear for many cities with light rail systems. In January 2004, Houston, one of the fastest growing cities in the US, has implemented the light rail system to serve the downtown, medical center, University of Houston, Astrodome, and Rice University areas. Although an ongoing study is somewhat successful in being able to quantify congestion reduction in the downtown Houston area, no study so far has attempted to evaluate the impacts of light rail on megacenter growth in downtown Houston. This evaluation is the focus of this paper. To this end, several surveys were conducted, and the data collected from the surveys analyzed. Results show that the potential for megacenter growth is high, while that for small businesses is low after the implementation of the light rail system in downtown Houston. Based on the survey data, an evaluation was also conducted to see whether the light rail system best fits the needs of the commuters of Houston, as an alternative to transportation systems such as the Metro bus and High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane systems.