Introduction

Health professionals promote transport-related physical activity because travelers oftentimes walk or bike to and from transit stops or stations. Although previous studies have examined the associations between macro-scale built environment features surrounding light rail transit (LRT) stations (e.g., density) and LRT ridership, this study examined the associations between numerous micro-scale features (e.g., street-level noise pollution) and ridership.

Methods

This analysis originated from the Houston Travel-Related Activity in Neighborhoods (TRAIN) Study, a project evaluating how an LRT extension impacted adult physical activity in Houston, Texas. In 2014, researchers used the Analytic Audit Tool to quantify 58 micro-scale built environment features within six categories: Land Use Environment, Transportation Environment, Facilities, Aesthetics, Signage, and Social Environment. Feature data were obtained from 590 street segments within 0.25 miles of 22 LRT stations. For each station, separate composite indices were created per category by averaging the computed feature scores (1–7) within each category, with higher scores signifying more physical activity-promoting features. Station-level LRT ridership data were obtained from monthly ridership reports for the 12 months following station opening. Linear mixed models were constructed to examine the associations of the six built environment categories with ridership, adjusting for season, weekday vs. weekend day, and station as a random intercept.

Results

Holding all other variables constant, every one-unit increase in composite index scores for Transportation Environment and Social Environment was associated with an increase in daily ridership by 425 and 488 riders, respectively (p < 0.05). Every one-unit increase in composite index score for Signage was associated with a decrease of 722 riders daily (p < 0.05). The relations of Land Use Environment, Facilities, and Aesthetics with ridership were statistically null (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

Enhancements to the Transportation Environment and Social Environment may slightly increase overall LRT ridership, and consequently, utilitarian physical activity.

中文翻译：

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体育活动的交通环境：德克萨斯州休斯顿轻轨站周围的微型建筑环境特征与乘客量之间的关系。

介绍

卫生专业人员提倡与交通相关的身体活动，因为旅行者经常步行或骑自行车往返中转站或车站。虽然之前的研究已经研究了轻轨交通 (LRT) 站周围的宏观建筑环境特征（例如，密度）与 LRT 乘客之间的关联，但本研究研究了众多微观特征（例如，街道噪音污染）之间的关联) 和乘客量。

方法

该分析源自休斯顿社区旅行相关活动 (TRAIN) 研究，该项目评估了轻轨延长线如何影响德克萨斯州休斯顿的成人体育活动。2014 年，研究人员使用分析审计工具对土地利用环境、交通环境、设施、美学、标牌和社会环境六大类中的 58 个微型建筑环境特征进行了量化。特征数据来自 22 个轻轨站 0.25 英里范围内的 590 个街道段。对于每个站点，通过对每个类别中计算的特征分数 (1-7) 进行平均，为每个类别创建单独的综合指数，分数越高表示促进身体活动的特征越多。车站级轻轨客流量数据来自车站开通后 12 个月的月度客流量报告。

结果

在所有其他变量不变的情况下，交通环境和社会环境的综合指数得分每增加一个单位，每天的乘客人数分别增加 425 人和 488 人（p < 0.05）。标牌综合指数得分每增加一个单位，每天减少 722 名骑手（p < 0.05）。土地利用环境、设施和美学与客流量的关系在统计上为零（p > 0.05）。

结论

交通环境和社会环境的改善可能会略微增加整体轻轨乘客量，从而增加实用的体育活动。