“Add it In or Take it Out?” Reasoning with Transit Station Data (Part 2)
“What is the tallest building in the United States?” It depends on how you define building height. New York City’s One World Trade Center (1,776 feet) is the tallest on the basis of architectural height, which includes spires and architectural elements on a roof but excludes antennae, signage, and flagpoles. On the other hand, on the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in Chicago is the tallest on basis of roof height, which considers the building’s roof as it’s highest point. The Willis Tower’s roof is 1,451 feet compared to One World Trade Center’s roof at 1,368 feet.
How many transit stations are there in the United States? Again, it depends on your your preferred methodology. In my last post, I discussed ways to determine whether a station should be counted as a single entity or multiple facilities bundled together. This post highlights other methodological choices: whether to include closed stations, part-time stations, or future stations, as well as stations from lesser known transit modes in the Transit-Oriented Discoveries database.
Closed Stations
Nothing lasts forever. Although some of America’s rail stations have been operating since the 19th century, others have closed due to budget shortfalls, because they provide redundant service, or they no longer attract ridership to support their operations. Some, like the Randolph Wabash station which closed in 2017 (top left) have been demolished. Others, like the Altherton Station (top right) which closed in 2020 due to low ridership, are now fenced in. The MBTA closed six commuter rail stations such as the Silver Hill station (lower image) have been closed indefinitely due to low ridership in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clockwise: the Randolph/Wabash, Altherton, and Silver Hill stations.
Many closed stations continue to be listed on Wikipedia sites, GTFS stops data, and the National Transit Database’s station inventory list. It is important to have a record of stations that used to exist or are still around but are not currently serving the public. However, it is hard to find data on which closed stations have been demolished, which are slated to be repurposed, and which are in “cold storage” and may reopen again in the future. In some cases, no one may know for sure. Transit-oriented development around some closed stations could eventually create enough demand to re-open some of them, but it’s more important to promote development that sustains or increases use of operational stations. I’ve decided to exclude all permanently closed stations from the initial Transit-Oriented Discoveries database. Stations that re-open can always be added in during a future update.
“Special Occasion” Stations
Some rail systems include one or two stations that are open fur service only occassionally. For example, the MetroLink Commuter rail system opens it’s Fairplex station once a year for people attending the Los Angeles County Fair. In Palo Alto, the Caltrain Stanford Station opens for football games and other large events at the stadium, while the Virginia Railway Express operates it’s Clifton station for the town’s annual Clifton Day festival (coming up on October 13, 2024 for those who celebrate).
In Cleveland, Amtrak passengers can transfer to the Greater Cleveland Rapid Transit Authority (GCRTA) at the light rail line’s Amtrak station—at least in theory. Amtrak trains currently stop in Cleveland between midnight and 5 am, hours that the light rail does not operate. Given this timing, transferring from the Amtrak to GCRTA would be a special occasion indeed.
From left: the Fairplex, Stanford, and Cleveland Amtrak Stations.
Infrequently used transit stations may not be the ideal hubs for transit oriented development, but I am including them in the Transit-Oriented Discoveries database. It’s possible that these stations could open more frequently as land uses and trip patterns change over time.
Stations that May Be Operational in the Future
America’s rail transit infrastructure is in flux. Dozens of projects are in different stages of development, from general proposals that are many years away from becoming a reality (if they are ever constructed at all) to lines and stations that are months away from opening. The Federal Transit Administration also publishes a CIG dashboard which currently lists 57 projects seeking funding and these projects collectively include 860 stations. (FTA also posts a series of tables of projects that are currently receiving construction funding under the Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program or may receive a construction grant in the future. There are currently 65 projects on the list but it’s not clear how many total stations are included). Examples of future stations include the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA’s) Story Road station, on the future East San Jose light rail line (top) the Silver Spring Transit Center station on the Maryland Transit Administration’s Purple Line, scheduled to open in 2027 (bottom left) and the Wilshire/La Brea station on the Los Angeles County MTA’s D-Line extension, which is scheduled to open in 2025.
The Story Road, Silver Spring Transit Center, and Wilshire/La Brea stations.
If stations in design or under construction in the Transit-Oriented Discoveries database, urban planners and others could make pro-active improvements to station areas and mitigate negative impacts of station growth in the years before a train, ferry, or bus rapid transit makes its first station stop. This type of work has occurred recently: a coalition of planners, academics and consultants called the Purple Line Corridor Coalition received funding from FTA’s Transit-Oriented Development Pilot Program to develop the Purple Line Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Strategy. This document includes plans for affordable housing, small business preservation, safe pedestrian/bicycle access and inclusive economic growth around the future stations. Data on land uses, transportation features, and points of interest could also help planners make informed choices on where to locate a station to maximize development and walkability as well as system ridership.
However, to my knowledge, there is no comprehensive database of future transit stations. While details on future stations are publicly available, it would take time to sift through various studies and reports to extract station data and monitor changes to proposed station locations over time. Transit-Oriented Discoveries does not include future stations—at least not for now. Stay tuned for a second round of data once the list of current stations are published.
Monorails, People Movers, Trams and Incline Planes
TOD practitioners have traditionally focused on rail-based modes like heavy rail, light rail, and commuter rail due to their ability to drive high-density, mixed-use development. However, modes like streetcar systems, Bus Rapid Transit, and ferries are increasingly being included due to their lower costs and flexibility in fostering transit-oriented environments.
In addition, a handful of agencies in the United States operate less common fixed guideway modes including people movers, monorails, incline planes (also referred to as fanicularies) and aerial tramways such as the ones shown below.
Should stations associated with these “boutique” fixed guideway systems be included as well? On the one hand, many of these systems have a short route, a small number of stations, are designed to attract tourists, or have been criticized for low ridership. On the other hand, there’s not much difference between a people mover and monorail and a modern streetcar: both are meant to circulate traffic in a downtown area or central business district. And since streetcars have been shown to help stimulate commercial development in downtowns, it’s fair to assume that these similar systems could do so as well.
Downtown Bus Circulators
If Transit-Oriented Discoveries includes BRT and streetcar systems along with people movers, incline planes, monorails and aerial trams, why not also add in bus circulators like the Charm City Circulator in Baltimore, the DASH King Street trolley in Alexandria Virginia, or the Free MetroRide in Denver? These systems are configured similarly to BRTs or streetcar lines (relatively short routes with multiple stops) work to improve circulation in central business districts and connect people to key destinations.
Clockwise: Charm City Circulator, DASH King Street Trolley, and Free MetroRide route and station map.
Transit-Oriented Discoveries draws the line at including bus systems (with the exception of BRT) because the TOD conventional wisdom is that fixed guideway modes are more permanent and tend to encourage long-term development, The presence of a fixed station signals to developers and other stakeholders that the area will remain transit-connected, fostering TOD. In contrast bus circulators can change stations and operations over time, and some become discontinued.
Amtrak Stations
The Amtrak rail network consists of approximately 500 stations across the United States, serving 46 states, Washington, D.C., and three Canadian provinces. These stations vary in size and significance, ranging from major urban hubs like New York Penn Station and Chicago Union Station to smaller, rural stops with less frequent service.
Should Transit-Oriented Discoveries include Amtrak stations in it’s database? Some Amtrak and transit stations are co-located in multi-modal transportation hubs (for example, Boston Sout Station, Philadelphia 30th Street Station, Washington DC’s Union Station, and Denver’s Union Station). These multimodal facilities are are often located in significant, strategic locations—such as downtowns or major regional centers—where development opportunities exist or could be enhanced.
Denver's Union Station serves Amtrak as well as commuter rail, light rail, and bus transit.
However, outside of the Northeast Corridor, most Amtrak stations connect to long-distance and often infrequent service. Adding in Amtrak stations would expand the database to include additional cities and towns, but could also distract from the focus on daily transit use and urban development. I plan to explore ways to identify and highlight transit stations that are co-located with Amtrak stations but will not include all Amtrak stations in the Transit-Oriented Discoveries database.
Regardless of which mode is being analyzed, change over time is inevitable when it comes to compiling a transit station database. Some currently operational stations may close in the future, other planned stations will open, and some temporary ones may be come permanent and vice versa. My next post in this series will address how often various data in the inventory may change, how often to update the Transit-Oriented Discoveries data set and how best to manage the risk that data will be overtaken by events.
