Expanding Transportation Access to Key Destinations and Opportunities
Transportation access influences how people choose to travel, as well as the viability and desirability of key destinations (e.g., healthcare facilities, jobs, education, and recreation). In general, it is widely accepted that challenges in transportation access have negative impacts for local and regional travel. As the DFW metroplex continues to grow, there is an increased focus on expanding regional mobility. Much work has been done to understand the effects of travel distance on access to destinations. Yet, much remains to be understood about the relationship between transportation infrastructure conditions, trip characteristics, and destination-level characteristics on a person’s ability to travel to key destinations and opportunities. This research fills a gap by investigating access to opportunities, at a small geographic scale, with the aim of (1) identifying localized transportation investments that can improve destination access, and (2) characterizing reginal mobility challenges beyond factors such distance and proximity.
To expand our understanding, digital traces from mobile data will be used to reconstruct trips to key destinations and opportunities. Trip trajectories belonging to study participants will be used to investigate differences in trip characteristics including trip duration, trip distance, and mode choice with a focus on elderly travelers and veterans from small urban and rural municipalities in Dallas. Mobile data will be coupled with infrastructure condition data to allow for the examination of the physical infrastructure with respect to destination access. Interviews with study participants will further highlight specific mobility and access challenges. Destination access will then be linked to trip characteristics, user experience, and infrastructure condition using statistical models. Finally, investment scenarios will be developed to address access to destination concerns.
This study contributes to a better understanding of how transportation factors impact access to key destinations and opportunities. This research will also advance existing work to quantify access to opportunities in transportation planning and decision-making. Finally, this research supports ongoing efforts to connect transportation investments to destination-level outcomes.
Project R7 will be completed in collaboration with cities across Dallas County. This research will specifically advance the goals of location regional mobility plans. Local staff will provide transportation network information and investment data. Additionally, local staff will help to identify priority destinations and understand reginal mobility patterns.
TBD