Evaluating the Impact of Transit-Oriented Development Page: 39
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congestion did affect their choice of travel destination. One participant in the Mockingbird
focus group said that because of traffic, he has decided to have his lunch locally, rather than
driving to somewhere else to eat as he did before. A few mentioned that they purposely avoid
shopping at the Mockingbird Station and rather go to North Park because it's difficult to find
parking. "You have to go into the cave [parking garage] and you're gone forever." This
metaphor depicts the difficulty and frustration of finding parking in Mockingbird Station and
seemed to get the most interest from the group with nods. There seemed to be an overall
feeling that while Mockingbird Station was meant to have convenient shopping, dining, and
entertainment for residents, it really does not have a pedestrian-friendly design.
A few participants in the Cedars group talked about the limitation of transit and how the
limitation has affected their travel destination:
* "No rail connection to Arlington causes me not to go there."
* "I can't go to downtown or to Fort Worth for drinks because the trains stop running
too early [in the evening]."
Travel Mode
Although most agreed DART was the best way to get Downtown during rush hour and
for evenings on the town/special events (and expressed interest in using the DART rail system),
they would still choose to travel by car. Reasons included that they don't want to use transit or
don't know the system; the system does not get them where they need to go; schedule
limitations due to the train schedule; or they have safety concerns. The phrase "I would ..., but
..." occurred frequently, and it reflects the common sentiment about mode choice decisions of
many participants. The following are some of the statements about mode choice of the
participants and reasons for their decisions:
* "I don't want to take the time to learn how to use the system; too complicated."
* "I would use DART during major work hours, more trains, people and it feels safer."
* "Different people ride the train at night. It is not safe."
* "I work in McKinney and there is no access."
* "I work at a high school and drive along George Bush Turnpike against the flow of
traffic...it's a very easy commute."
* "The train schedule lags the closer you get to downtown, so I drive."39
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Clower, Terry L.; Ruggierre, Paul; Bomba, Michael; Arndt, Jeffrey C.; Li, Jianling; Edrington, Suzie et al. Evaluating the Impact of Transit-Oriented Development, report, October 2010; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc32970/m1/55/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Center for Economic Development and Research.