perfect distance to a light rail stop????????

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by joninaz

Studies (in other cities) show the avg. distance that most people will walk to a rail or bus station is 1/4 mile. Others say up to a half mile, if the walk is pleasant. By pleasant, that means safe/secure/protection from elements, etc. In PHX, the sun would be a factor for several months.

That doesn't seem far for people who like to walk for exercise, etc. (I walk 2-3 miles in the morning just to wake up), but it's different if you're dressed for work, carrying stuff, or simply aren't much of a walker - which is most of the population.

What you stated is quite plausible. I live near the Mormom Temple here in Mesa and the future Light Rail station at Mesa Dr is about 1 mile from where I live. In the summer; such a walk would suck and I hoof it 2-3 miles a day (except in the rain).

[joninaz]

For a different perspective, the avg. person walks about 3 miles per hour at a good pace. So a mile requires 20 minutes of walking with intent.

A person walking 20 minutes to a stop, then 30 minutes to ride a train, has a commute of 50 minutes.

- This doesn't include the wait time for the train, which is random, but could be 10-20 minutes when averaged out over multiple uses.

- Or factor their walk from the stop. If a mile, add another 20 min.

The additional X Factor is the train segment. I used 30 minutes as a random travel time, but it'll differ for each person and is likely more. For example, I recently boarded the rail at 38th St/Washington/Gateway and it took about 50 minutes of travel time to get to Camelback/Central. If that was my regular commute, it would be

50 minutes of train time
+ time to get to the station from home
+ wait time for train
+ time to get to my destination from the stop

(repeat for return trip)