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<br />'%'.J1in:r",.1:0i':fu;PORJCA'X'XOJFf x B1J':fu;'X'XT'V'lCE <br />'FZ0fE TXDX,Jlt.$ j.'if",,/S;I:.2lK1tJNKYEy:-s.Jb1KT"K 'i!~NY$TEM <br /> <br /> <br />Project Summary Report 3904-5 <br />Project 7-3904: Economic Impact of Median Design <br /> <br />Authors: William L. Eisele, P.E., and William E. Frawley, AICP <br /> <br />om 1m <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Recent experiences by <br />transportation officials show <br />adjacent land owners are <br />increasingly concemed by the <br />effects raised medians might have <br />on their businesses and property <br />values. These same transpOltation <br />officials are proposing to install <br />raised medians because there is <br />abundant research showing the <br />operational and safety benefits of <br />this type of increased access <br />management. However, this <br />research does not address a <br />business owner's concems that <br />s/he may lose money if a <br />customer cannot make a left tum <br />directly into his/her property. <br />As traffic volumes grow on <br />urban arterial roads, designers <br /> <br /> <br />look for ways to make sure local <br />access requirements do not <br />hamper the true purpose of these <br />facilities, which is carrying <br />traffic. The raised median is an <br />excellent tool for this. However, <br />public involvement during urban <br />project development would be <br />easier if there were some <br />answers to the questions about <br />the economic impact of raised <br />medians. There has not been a <br />way to study or evaluate any <br />economic impacts to adjacent <br />properties and businesses. By <br />using this methodology, <br />designers could be better <br />informed of the possible overall <br />economic impact of a raised <br />median on adjacent businesses <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Figure 1. Raised median treatment along Texas ,Avenue in <br />College Station, Texas <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />-1- <br /> <br /> <br />and properties. The trends <br />discovt;red through research <br />using this rriethod would provide <br />the information the public and <br />transportation officials seek. <br /> <br /> <br />In the first year of this four- <br />year project, researchers <br />developed and tested a <br />methodology on one case study <br />location in College Station, <br />Texas. The team interviewed <br />business owners along this <br />corridor before and during a <br />construction project with a <br />raised median. <br />In the second year of the <br />project, the research team sought <br />additional case study locations. <br />It identified and collected data <br />in the following cities: College <br />Station, McKinney, Longview, <br />Wichita Falls, Odessa, Houston, <br />Port Arthur and Amarillo. <br />During this year the team tried <br />both personal interviews and <br />mail-out surveys. <br />In the third year of the project, <br />the researchers studied data <br />obtained in the second year. In <br />the fourth and final year of the <br />project, the team went back and <br />collected after-construction data <br />along the College Station corridor. <br />j shows the College <br />Station corridor after <br />construction of the widening <br />