A safe and efficient transportation system is an important element of a vibrant economy. The quality of the transportation system affects the economy in a variety of ways: it determines how quickly goods get to market, whether an area is attractive to investors, and the size of the market area for a particular business.

For real estate developers, the importance of well designed access and circulation systems cannot be overstated. The Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Shopping Center Development Handbook warns that "poorly designed entrances and exits not only present a traffic hazard but also cause congestion that can create a negative image of the center".¹

The market area for a business is important to its success as well. Closely spaced or poorly designed access connections reduce average travel speeds and increase delay on the roadway. Market area analysis shows that these increases in average travel times result in longer commute times and reduce the market area for businesses. The National Highway Institute reports that inadequate access management can increase travel time and delay by as much as 40 to 60 percent.² Yet, even a 10 percent reduction in average travel speeds can cause a business to lose 20% of its market area. Although the average size of market area varies for different types of businesses, the proportionate reduction in market area is the same. This relationship is illustrated in Figure 1-4.

The appearance of a corridor and quality of access to development also impact property values and investment. Property values tend to increase rapidly during commercial development, but can decline after the corridor is built out if the character and efficiency of that corridor have been damaged in the process. This is exemplified by the growing number of older highway commercial strips across the state that are now experiencing economic decline; many such areas are the subjects of revitalization efforts that include access management strategies.

Individual business owners are sometimes concerned about the potential impact of access management requirements on business activity. Studies conducted of businesses within areas where access management has been implemented show that improved driveway spacing and design, alternative access, and installation of nontraversable medians have virtually no adverse impact on business activity. For example, a study of the economic impacts of left-turn restrictions in College Station, Houston, McKinney, Longview, Wichita Falls, Odessa, Port Arthur, and Amarillo was conducted for the Texas Department of Transportation in the mid 1990s.⁴ Key findings relative to access management include the following:

A study of the effects of access management on business vitality was conducted in 1996.⁵ Before and after data were collected on a series of corridor case studies. Results indicated that:

The results of these and other studies indicate that access management has little or no adverse impact on business activity. Before and after studies indicate that business owner perceptions of the potential for adverse impacts of access changes tend to be much worse than actual impacts. In addition, levels of business activity often correlate more closely with factors such as competition, the regional economy, quality of management, and other issues unrelated to property access.