Texas professor studying transit-oriented development

TxDOT provides funding

Steve Hawley, May 20, 10.

The Texas Department of Transportation has granted Jianling Li, a professor at the University of Texas in Austin, a $176,000 grant to study transit-oriented development (TOD) in the state, according to the Fort Worth Business Press. The University of North Texas and the Texas Transportation Institute are also collaborating on the study.

Officials in North Texas have been building and encouraging transit-oriented development around Dallas Area Rapid Transit stations, but transit-oriented development has not taken hold to the same degree in Houston due to intense land speculation.

So far, Li has found that Texans living in transit-oriented developments still use their cars to a large degree. Many of the residents complain that rail does not get them close enough to their destinations or that they do not understand how the transit system works.

The article reports:

That happens to be the issue that TxDOT wants examined as the state entity makes future decisions about road construction. If TOD-proximity residents were to use transit more and cars less, TxDOT would be able to shift resources elsewhere to more auto-oriented environments.