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Economic Impacts of Access Management A summary of case studies

TRPC, October 2012

Access management is defined generally as configuring roadway entrance and exit points to improve traffic safety and flow. The prospect of replacing a center turn lane with a median and restricting left turns is often controversial Tumwater being no exception as many business owners worry that altering driveway access will hurt their bottom line.

The prevailing view is that all property derives value from its location, exposure and accessibility. The reality is more nuanced, however; location, exposure and accessibility matter far more for gas stations and other pass-by businesses than for dental offices and other destination businesses.

Below is a summary of studies that explore how access management strategies affect business economics and consumer perceptions in various regions of the country. Key takeaways from the research:

Medical offices, specialty retail stores and other destination businesses are affected less by turn restrictions than gas stations, fast food restaurants and other pass-by businesses;

Business owner perceptions tended to be generally pessimistic about access management before a project but turned more positive after it was applied;

Most people have no problem making a slightly longer trip, using U-turn points, to access destination businesses;

Congestion levels decrease and business-exposure levels increase as the flow of traffic becomes more fluid.

REPORT: NE 3rd-4th Corridor Improvements, City of Renton, Transportation Systems Division, May 2005 DESCRIPTION: Transportation engineers provided an overview of access management case studies and applied the findings to a corridor-improvement plan. RESULTS:

Economic effects of access management are dependent upon the type of business. In general, studies indicate that left turn restrictions have little overall adverse impact on business activity, so long as alternate turn routes are designed well and located conveniently;

Destination businesses are less impacted than businesses dependent on automobile-oriented pass-by traffic. However, as road volumes increase, left turns become more prohibitive even without the implementation of access management;

Generally, business owners were more pessimistic of access management prior to implementation. After implementation, a high percentage of both business owners and motorists had a favorable opinion of the roadway improvements;

Motorists thought that the reconfigured roadways were safer and traffic flow had improved.

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REPORT: Economic Impacts of Access Management, Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida, 2000. http://www.cutr.usf.edu/research/access_m/pdf/Econeffects.pdf DESCRIPTION: Authors produced a synthesis of access management studies conducted during the 1990s in Texas, Kansas, Iowa and Florida. RESULTS:

Median projects have little overall adverse impact on business activity. Destination businesses, such as dine-in restaurants and specialty stores, appear less sensitive to access changes than businesses that rely mainly on pass-by traffic, such as gas/convenience stores.

Business owners reported no change in pass-by traffic after median installations; Most business types gas stations and auto-repair shops being an exception reported

increases in the number of daily customers and gross sales; Perceptions of business owners before a median was installed were more pessimistic than

what usually happened.

REPORT: Economic Effects of Restricting Left Turns, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Research Results Digest, No. 231, 1998. http://www.edrgroup.com/pdf/left-turns-digest.pdf DESCRIPTION: Authors surveyed more than 250 federal, state and local government agencies to identify 20 case study sites where left-turn access was restricted to adjacent businesses. RESULTS:

Interviews showed that owners of businesses at mid-block locations perceived left-turn restrictions as more detrimental;

Grocery stores and restaurants appeared to benefit from left-turn restrictions, while gas stations, non-durable goods retailer and service businesses appeared most likely to be affected adversely by such restrictions;

Some business owners perceived that left-turn restrictions impacted their businesses negatively, while other owners reported that the restrictions decreased congestion and improved traffic flow to enable their market areas to expand;

Many patrons surveyed observed that most customers continued to patronize businesses with the same frequency as before the restriction.

REPORT: Retail Gas Properties and the Economics of Access, International Right of Way Association, Right of Way magazine, January/February 2010. http://www.irwaonline.org/eweb/upload/Web_RetailGas.pdf DESCRIPTION: Article author Robert E. Bainbridge, an Oregon-based consultant for retail convenience stores, analyzes research reports and case law about access management projects. RESULTS:

Studies conclude that the economic loss to retail gasoline properties is greater than for any other property type;

Often, the courts have decided compensation claims based on reasonable and convenient and adequate access, so the legal system needs to recognize these differences if fairness is sought in damage claims related to access management projects.

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REPORT: Economic Impacts of Access Management, Washington State Transportation Center, University of Washington, 2002. http://depts.washington.edu/trac/bulkdisk/pdf/554.1.pdf DESCRIPTION: Authors collected 280 surveys from businesses along six major commercial corridors in Western Washington, as well as analyzed business-related data using geographic information systems. RESULTS:

Businesses have varying levels of tolerance for patronage impacts, but conceivably, as economic vitality limits are surpassed, businesses may consider moving to locations with more suitable access;

If a business has a shared driveway, the business views patronage impacts as positive. Authors suggested this may be attributable to the fact that businesses that share driveways tend to be at locations where access management has already been implemented;

Businesses with a large customer base find the impacts of access management to be negative. Authors surmised that perhaps larger businesses are wary of possible access restrictions that would affect their exposure to customers;

Congestion plays a significant role in perception of patronage impacts. Businesses perceive an uncongested roadway as having a positive impact because customers are able to access businesses more safely.

REPORT: A Methodology for Determining Economic Impacts of Raised Medians: Data Analysis on Additional Case Studies, Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A&M University, 1999. http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/10000/10600/10603/3904-3.pdf DESCRIPTION: The four-year research effort developed and tested a methodology for estimating the economic impacts of median design. Authors examined economic variables of interest adjacent business employment trends, gross sales and property taxes for 10 case study locations. RESULTS:

There was almost always an increase in the number of total employees along several of the corridors. Those corridors that did experience a decrease in the number of employees only experienced a decrease for one year and not over consecutive years;

Property values were indicated as increasing 7.7 percent after the raised median installation by those business owners present before, during and after raised median installation;

Specialty retail, fast-food and sit-down restaurants indicated increasing customers per day, gross sales and property values after the median installation. Gas stations, auto-repair shops and other service businesses, rather, indicated decreasing customers per day and lower gross sales after the median was installed.

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REPORT: Access Management: Balancing Access and Mobility, Florida Department of Transportation, 2012. http://www.dot.state.fl.us/planning/systems/sm/accman/pdfs/ampromo3.pdf DESCRIPTION: Florida transportation officials prepared a brochure with access management questions and answers for businesses and drivers. RESULTS:

The University of Florida conducted a statewide study of all urban and suburban multilane state highways. The study showed that there were significant safety improvements for roads with restrictive medians;

Surveys of motorists show that the vast majority of them have no problem making U-turns to access businesses. Some large vehicles, however, may need to take alternative routes as U-turns can be very difficult for some larger trucks.

In summary, the reports analyzed above show that access management does not affect all businesses equally. Destination businesses are affected less by turn restrictions than pass-by businesses. Interviews with both businesses and customers showed that most people have no problem making a slightly longer trip, using U-turn points and traffic circles, to access destination businesses. Further, congestion levels decrease and business-exposure levels increase as the flow of traffic becomes more fluid. The type of turn restriction, businesses affected and mitigation used (e.g., installing an adjacent traffic circle) are all variables local policymakers should consider as part of a comprehensive access management strategy. A University of Kentucky analysis of the economic impacts of access management underscores that policymakers should develop a program comprised of both community participation and information dissemination. Involving the business community early in the planning process is important to mitigate any potential effects, and the provision of information is critical to reducing potential loss in customers and sales, the report concluded.

A summary of case studiesTRPC, October 2012