Light Rail Transit is applied into major suburban activity centers with concentrations of office complexes, shopping centers, and retail establishments. LRT can indeed improve access for many employees of these centers, particularly reverse commuters from lower income urban residential areas. This was the case of applying a brand new LRT system in the City of Athens in 2002. Following this, an increased interest was shown in mass transit investments for other Greek Cities, such as Patras, Pireaus and Kalamata. The Greek Ministry of the Environment, Land Planning and Public Works has commissioned a feasibility study for an LRT system for the city of Patras, to the Transport Study Unit of the University of Patras. The emphasis of this study was in determining the feasibility of an LRT investment of planning engineering and environmental study funds. The model process followed is applicable on a broader scale to assist decision makers in prioritizing corridor LRT planning investments. This paper describes the process and general findings of the specific study with respect to a set of discrete steps, which are applicable to other corridor transit investment planning efforts. For the covering abstract see ITRD E120462.
Samenvatting