Abstract

A Nontraditional GIS Method to Select Future Transit Centers
Track: Transportation
Author(s): Caijun Luo, Michael Demmon, Jared Dunbar

An effective location is essential for a successful transit center. A nontraditional GIS method was developed to identify future transit centers along Richmond Highway Corridor in Fairfax County, Virginia. With ArcGIS Network Analyst, an irregularly shaped buffer was created using distance along the street centerline from the potential transit center instead of Euclidean distance. Assuming street centerlines are paralleled by sidewalks, extra walking distances needed to bypass any obstructers were considered.

To evaluate the different market coverage for various walking distances, a model was built using ArcGIS ModelBuilder. The walking distance in ArcGIS Network Analyst became a user-defined variable (1/4, 1/3, 1/2 mile) in this model, which was applied to all 15 potential locations to select the best three facility locations.

This method was successfully applied in the transit center location study. With appropriate modification, this method could also assist in selecting the best location for future park-and-ride sites.

Caijun Luo
Fairfax County Department of Transportation
12055 Government Center Parkway
Suite 1034
Fairfax , Virginia 22035
United States
Phone: 703-324-1179
E-mail: Caijun.Luo@FairfaxCounty.gov

Michael Demmon
Fairfax County Department of Transportation
12055 Government Center Parkway
Suite 1034
Fairfax , Virginia 22035-5511
United States
Phone: 703-324-1148
E-mail: michael.demmon@fairfaxcounty.gov

Jared Dunbar
Fairfax County, GIS office
12000 Government Center Parkway
Ste #117
Fairfax , Virginia 22035
United States
Phone: 703-324-4097
E-mail: jared.dunbar@fairfaxcounty.gov