Case Study:

San Francisco Bay Area, California

Conclusions

Further Development

The MTC analysis illustrates an important improvement in analysis capabilities. Opportunities for further development in the application of accessibility measures are possible. For example:

• Accessibility measures and the equity analysis demonstrated here could potentially be applied for other purposes, in addition to comparing the RTP project vs. no-project alternatives. These applications might include: 1) a comparison of alternative RTP packages (as demonstrated in the Montgomery County case study); 2) evaluation of major projects, either on an individual or package basis, as candidates for inclusion in the RTP; or 3) to assist in the development and selection of project alternatives within another process, such as a major investment study, corridor study, or subarea study.

• Alternative definitions could be explored for describing existing and future neighborhoods that might be termed disadvantaged. Information such as households by auto ownership and household-income-level forecasts could potentially be used to assess the location of existing as well as future "disadvantaged neighborhoods."

• Microsimulation modeling techniques are currently under development that will assist in tracking impacts at a disaggregate level. Currently, the computation of the measures based on aggregate (TAZ)-level population characteristics, rather than at the disaggregate (individual) level, masks differences in mobility needs and limitations within neighborhoods and population groups.

• Accessibility measures could also be used to evaluate access to specific types of activities and services. Accessibility of residents to employment is currently used as a proxy measure for all types of accessibility. This is a reasonable proxy, and it helps to keep the results of the analysis relatively simple. However, accessibility to shopping, health care, recreation, or other activities could also be considered important. Similar accessibility measures could be developed using home-based other (HBO) attractions or subsets of HBO attractions such as home-based shopping, if available in the regional travel model. Also, accessibility to other specific activities, such as health care facilities, could be measured if the locations of these facilities were known. While this level of analysis would likely be too detailed for the assessment of a regional transportation plan, it could be used for assessing the availability of different types of services for different population groups.

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