New light rail transit and active travel: A longitudinal study

Abstract

We use panel data to investigate the before-and-after impact of a new light rail transit line on active travel behavior. Participants were divided into a treatment group and a control group (residing < ½ mile and > ½ mile from a new light rail transit station, respectively). Self-reported walking (n=204) and accelerometermeasured physical activity (n=73) were obtained for both groups before and after the new light rail transit opened. This is the first application of an experimental-control group study design around light rail in California, and one of the first in the U.S. Our panel design provides an opportunity for stronger causal inference than is possible in the much more common study designs that use cross-sectional data. It also provides an opportunity to examine how an individual's previous activity behavior moderates the role that new light rail transit access plays in promoting active travel behavior. The results show that, when not controlling for subject's before-opening walking or physical activity, there was no significant relationship between treatment group status and after-opening walking or physical activity. However, when controlling for an interaction between baseline walking/physical activity and treatment group membership, we found that living within a half-mile of a transit station was associated with an increase in walking and physical activity for participants who had previously low walking and physical activity levels. The results were opposite for participants with previously high walking and physical activity levels. Future policy and research should consider the possibility that sedentary populations may be more responsive to new transit investments, and more targeted approaches in transit service would be needed to encourage people to make healthy travel choices.

Do Natural Experiments of Changes in Neighborhood Built Environment Impact Physical Activity and Diet? A Systematic Review

“…Throughout the results/discussion section, the 15 unique experiments are considered (the number of papers that are associated with the specific experiment are referenced). Five studies focused on cycle and/or walking trails [ 29 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 40 ], four on rail stops/lines [ 33 , 34 , 39 , 41 , 42 ], two on park and green space [ 28 , 43 ], and four on food retail (including supermarkets [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 45 , 46 ]) and farmers’ markets [ 44 ]). Two papers reported on the same supermarket developments (one in Glasgow, Scotland [ 30 , 31 ], and one in Leeds, England [ 45 , 46 ]), two reported on the same cycle/walk trail exposure [ 37 , 38 ] and two reported on the same rail stop introduction [ 41 , 42 ]; each paper addressed different health outcomes or extending analyses.…”

“…Two papers reported on the same supermarket developments (one in Glasgow, Scotland [ 30 , 31 ], and one in Leeds, England [ 45 , 46 ]), two reported on the same cycle/walk trail exposure [ 37 , 38 ] and two reported on the same rail stop introduction [ 41 , 42 ]; each paper addressed different health outcomes or extending analyses. The publication date ranged from 2002 [ 45 ] to 2016 ( n = 2 studies) [ 34 , 40 ]. Ten studies were conducted in the U.S. [ 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 39 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ], three in the UK [ 30 , 31 , 37 , 38 , 45 , 46 ], one was conducted in South America [ 40 ] and one was conducted in New Zealand [ 28 ].…”

“…The publication date ranged from 2002 [ 45 ] to 2016 ( n = 2 studies) [ 34 , 40 ]. Ten studies were conducted in the U.S. [ 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 39 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ], three in the UK [ 30 , 31 , 37 , 38 , 45 , 46 ], one was conducted in South America [ 40 ] and one was conducted in New Zealand [ 28 ].…”

“…Eleven/15 studies (73%) were of a single group pre-post/longitudinal design [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], while the remaining four studies included a comparison group [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Two studies had more than one follow-up data collection time point at one and five [ 35 ] months and at 12 and 24 months [ 37 , 38 ].…”

Objectively measured active travel and uses of activity-friendly neighborhood resources: Does change in use relate to change in physical activity and BMI?

“…This renovation included five new rail stops, improved sidewalks, bike lanes, and landscaping. Generally, transit riders show more total objectively measured PA ( Chaix et al, 2014 , Saelens et al, 2014 , Wener and Evans, 2007 ), although in one case only for those who were less active initially ( Hong et al, 2016 ). In our past research, residents who started using the complete street transit post-construction were found to have increased their cpm and MVPA ( Brown et al, 2015 ), especially for days riding transit ( Miller et al, 2015 ), and reduced their BMI ( Brown et al, 2015 ), with similar findings for PA bouts among Seattle transit riders ( Saelens et al, 2014 ).…”