THE
TRAVEL
OF
PERSONS
TO
DOWNTOWN
BOSTON
by
ROBERT G. DAVIDSON
B.S., M.I.T.
(1950)
SUBMITTED
OF
IN
THE
PARTIAL
REQUIREMENTS
DEGREE
OF
CITY
at
MASSACHUSETTS
FULFILIKENT
FOR
MASTER
THE
OF
PLANNING
the
INSTITUTE
OF
TECHNOLOGY
June, 1954
Signature of Author
Dbpartment of City Planning
May 24, 1954
Certified by
Thesis Supervisor
Accepted by
Chairman, Depaxr Nnental Committee
on graduate students
ABSTRACT
THE TRAVEL OF PERSONS TO DOWNTOWN BOSTON
Robert G. Davidson
Submitted to the Department of City Planning in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master
of City Planning.
In order to advance the position of research in the
field of 'the movement of people to Central Business Districts',
the general intent of this thesis is to provide
necessary basic information in regard to person-travel to
Downtown Boston, and to make exploratory use of the information towards learning more about the importance of
Downtown Boston and its component parts.
The objectives of this study are twofold. The first
objective is to determine the number and geographic distribution of person-trips to Downtown Boston on an average
day in 1950. The second objective is to examine the relative importance of various non-residential land uses in
terms of their person-trip generating power.
Each of the objectives has been realized after the
The
collection and adjustment of much basic information.
findings of the first section show that 575,OOO persontrips were made to Downtown Boston on an average day by
Of these, 415,ooo were
all modes of motorized travel.
destined for seven zones comprising the core of Bostonts
Downtown Business District.
Section two, which relates these person-trips to four
major classifications of non-residential uses in the seven
zones, finds that the per square foot generating power for
large amounts of each of the four use groupings is substantially different. Retail and consumer services accommodations attract more than twice as many persons per
square foot as office accommodations. Manufacturing facilities generate about one and one-half as many trips per
square foot as do office accommodations. Office facilities,
on the other hand, attract more person-trips per square
foot than wholesale and storage facilities.
The findings also indicate that of the 415,OOO persontrips bound for the seven zone core of Boston's Business
District, approximately 45% are bound for retail, consumer
services accommodations, and the remainder are equally divided between office facilities on the one hand, and manufacturing and utility facilities, and wholesale and storage
facilities on the other hand.
The thesis concludes that a relationship between person-trips and land use facilities is a potentially valuable
tool for describing, evaluating, and designing Central Business Districts and therefore deserves a great deal of additional study and analysis.
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction
Objectives.
Lee.
I **8
Section I - Amount and Distribution of Travel
Objectives
Procedure
...
Findings
Section II - Use, Trip Relationships
...
.i..
Table IV - Amount of Accommodations
Findings
4
9
10
11
Table II - Amount of Travel
Graph I - Amount of Travel
Table III- Distribution of Travel
Procedure
4
5
....
Table I - Traffic Zone Identification
Map
I - Traffic Zone Location
Objective
2
.g.
Graph II - Generating Power *4agnitudes
11
12
13
15
15
15
16
19
20
Conclusions
....
22
Appendix I - Person Travel
.e..
23
Concerning Motor Vehicle Travel
23
Table V - Monthly Variation
Table VI- Monthly Variation
24
26
Concerning MTA Travel
Table VII - Monthly Variation
Concerning Rail Travel
Table VIII - Monthly Variation
Appendix II - Land Use, Person-Trip Relationships
Table IX - Demonstration of Reasonableness
Table XI - Demonstration of Reasonableness
27
28
29
29
30
32
33
INTRODUCTION
The "Central Business District" is the heart of the
Metropolitan Area.
It contains those facilities and oper-
ations that guide and regulate the daily economic, governs
mental, social, and cultural activities of the Metropolis.
It also contains, in this day of increasing mobility, a
malady of the arteries; a disease that impairs efficient
operation of the movement of persons and goods.
This mal-
ady is commonly labeled "traffic congestion".
The future would seem to indicate an even greater mobile
civilization.
This
will magnify circulation problems and as
a result will eventually necessitate a more intense evaluation of the future of central business districts.
It is believed that research has not played enough of
a role in regard to this subject.
Study and research have
not yet provided a way of adequately identifying the problems.
Yet only after the problems are properly recognized
and delineated will means be available to allow the making
of intelligent decisions upon the future design of the
metropolitan core.
It is further believed that the failure
of research is actually caused by a lack of basic information
upon which advance studies must rely.
It is the general intent of this thesis to provide some
of this required basic information as it relates to Downtown
Boston, and in addition, to explore a possible usefullness of
the data.
Objectives
The objectives of this study are twofold.
The first
objective is to determine the number of trips made by persons to Downtown Boston, and to identify their destination
distribution within the Downtown Area.
The second objective
is to examine the relative importance of various non-residential land uses in terms of their person-trip generating power.
The achievement of the first objective, the fact finding
or inventory phase, is of course, a prerequisite to undertaking the second objective.
It is emphasized, however, that
the findings of the first section are expedted to be useful
to many studies beyond the reach of this thesis.
for the purpose of
gresenting
Therefore,
a more complete description,
this material has not been confined to only that required
for section two.
A reasonably accurate description of the magnitude and
distribution of person-trips to Downtown Boston does not,
to the author's knowledge, exist in written form.
In 1945
a comprehensive origin and destination survey of Metropolitan
Boston was conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Public
Works.
This survey, which included a 5% sample home survey,
made use of counting and survey procedures that have had
nationwide acceptance.
The results of the survey have been
published in summary form in the 1948 "Master Highway Plan
for Metropolitan Boston".
Although the results of 0 & D
2
ACKIN OWLEDGEMENTS
The nature of this study has demanded a great deal of
contact with many individuals engaged in the field of the
transportation of people in the Boston Area.
The cooper-
ation of these individuals has been outstanding.
The mag-
nitude of the number of persons in the transportation field
who offered help is
so great, however,
that specific acknow-
ledgement is hereby made instead to the agencies the individuals
represent:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
New York, New haven, and Hartford Railroad Company
New York Central Railroad Company
Boston and Iaine Railroad Company
Metropolitan Transit Authority
Massachusetts Department of Public Works
Boston Public Works Department
Boston Traffic Commission
Boston City Planning Board
many bus companies
In addition, the author is most grateful for the aid
contributed by Thomas E. McCormick and Sydnor Hodges, Director
and Principal Planner, respectively, of the Boston City Planning
Board, and Louis B. Wetmore, Professor of City Planning at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and thesis advisor.
survey may have accurately reflected the magnitude of
travel at the time of the survey, the fall of 1945, it
can be demonstrated that they no longer correctly describe
the amount of travel to Downtown Boston during more recent
years.
The means do exist to recompute the amount of travel,
and this, as outlined in section one, has been done.
The
o & D survey results are, however, the only available
sources of information describing the geographic distribution
of these trips and accordingly have been relied upon here.
The second objective is to determine if various kinds
of downtown, non-residential uses do attract different amounts
of trips, and if so, by what magnitude.
The results of this
section are probably of greater interest than those of section
one because they are products of previously unexplored relationships; namely, the number of person-trips with an inventory
of square feet of floor q ace.
The usefulness of this type of relationship is twofold.
First, because it is a density relationship, a sense of meaning and scale is attached to information of travel.
Just as
population can be better visualized in terms of density, so
too can travel data be more usefully described.
Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, this type of relationship (when fully developed) will have immediate and direct
application in the planning and development of central business
districts.
3
SECTION I
Objective
The purpose of this section of the thesis is to determine
the number and geographic distribution of person-trips to
Downtown Boston.
These trips are to be expressed as the
number of trips made during an average day in 1950 to the
Downtown Boston defined below.
An "average day" has no
particular identity in reality; it is merely a hypothetical
24 hour period in which travel to the Downtown Area is most
typical.
It hasbeen selected for use because it is more
easily understood, is easier to compute, conveys a more
proper meaning, and is susceptible to easy and proper conversion when the need requires.
The number of trips are to be expressed as the number
of trips made by individuals to or from Downtown Boston,
A person traveling from Brighton to Downtown Boston, accomplishing the mission of the trip, and returning to Brighton,
would be presented as having made one trip to the Downtown
Area.
0 & D surveys, and most other traffic data of a
similar nature, usually express such a routine as two trips,
and quite appropriately in view of the objectives of a traffic
study.
The objectives here are basically different as emphasis
is on the number of persons.
The number of trips, per se, can
be established by doubling the amounts shown below.
The "Downtown Bostln" that is referred to throughout
this study is that area north and east of Massachusetts
Avenue bounded by the Charles River, Boston Harbor, Fort
4
Point Channel, and South Bay.
This particular area has
been selected, as has the base year of 1950, because of
the nature of the available information that must be relied
upon.
This Downtown Area, which contains residential areas
as well as non-residential areas, has been sub-divided into
smaller zones.
This allows the travel data to become more
meaningful and provides a way for undertaking the analysis
of section two.
Procedure
The procedure that has been used to determine the number
of person-trips to Downtown Boston is a simple one.
Informa-
tion has been obtained from each agency involved in transporting persons to Dcwntown Boston.
Data on travel by motor ve-
hicle, which has been the most difficult to obtain, is primarily the result of various surveys conducted by the Massachusetts
Department of Public Works and the Boston Traffic Commission.
Information of travel by mass transportation facilities has
been collected from the MTA, each of the railroads, and the bus
companies.
All of this information has been evaluated and ad-
justed, and the results have been grouped together to give the
total number of person-trips to the Downtown Area.
The geographic distribution of the person-trips has been
determined by using the results of the 1945 0 & D survey.
The 0 & D survey, which sub-divided Downtown Boston into
seventeen zones, distributed travelers to each zone by each
mode of travel.
This distribution, on a proportionate basis,
has been applied to the recomputed number of person-trips by
each mode of travel.
5
The following discussion explains in detail how the
findings have been established.
discussed separately.
Each mode of travel is
The manner in which the person-trips
have been distributed, geographically, is explained on
page 8; the findings on page 11.
Concerning the Amount of Travel by Private Motor Vehicle
On a Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, of the second
week of June, 1950, a cordon count was conducted by the
Massachusetts Department of Public Works and the Boston
Traffic Commission.
Each motor vehicle (trucks, buses,
and passenger cars) as it entered and/or left the Downtown Area between 7 a.m. and 12 midnight was counted and
recorded.
The weather conditions were normal; there was
no other apparent abnormal influence to disturb the accuracy of the count.
The results of this cordon count have been used as basic
data to establish the number of persons making trips to
Downtown Boston by private motor vehicle.
The immediate
objective is to transform figures representing the number
of vehicles crossing a cordon line surrounding Downtown
Boston to figures representing the number of average daily
perz n-trips.
This is accomplished by making a series of
adjustments to the cordon count results.
These adjustments
are identified below and described in detail in Appendix I.
The 1950 cordon count has been adjusted:
,
to correct for an improper cordon line location,
to expand the time base to a 24 hour period,
6
. to correct for seasonal variation and to determine
the average day in the most typical month,
. to deduct through traffic, and
. to transform vehicle figures to person figures by
the application of a persons per vehicle ratio.
Concerning the Amount of Travel by MTA
The number of persons bound to or from Downtown Boston
via MTA has been determined from counts and records obtained
from the MTA.
On Wednesday, March 22, 1950, the MTA recorded
the number of fares collected in all underground and elevated
stations during the entire length of the daily service of
these facilities.
All fares collected in Downtown Boston
stations have been tabulated (excluding Massachusetts Station,
Symphony Station, and Northampton Station, which are on the
fringe of the Downtown Area) and are assumed to represent a
proper basis for determing the number of person-trips.
March 22, 1950, was a day of normal weather conditions.
Easter was far enough removed so as not to cause the count
to be abnormal.
date is
The hockey game at the Boston Garden on this
considered as typical of the many events that occur
daily.
A more detailed description of the adjustments that have
been made to this fare count is presented in Appendix I.
The
adjustments are:
,
to correct for seasonal and monthly variation and to
determine the most typical month,
,
to add for unrecorded bus and street car trips, and
to deduct intra-Downtown Area trips.
7
Concerning the Amount of Travel by Railroad and Bus
Information regarding travel by rail has been obtained
directly from the New York, New Haven, and Hartford; the
New York Central; and the Boston and Maine.
The only
adjustment that has been made to this data concerns the
monthly variation.
The details are presented in Appendix I.
The bus companies have furnished the necessary information
regarding bus travelers.
No adjustments have been made
because of the relative insignificance of this type of travel.
Concerning the Geographic Distribution of Person-trips
As previously stated, the 0 & D survey divided Downtown
Boston into seventeen zones.
The number of persons using
each mode of mass transportation and the number of motor
vehicles destined for each zone from outside the Downtown
Area was established by the survey.
From these results,
which were presented graphically at a scale of 10,000 trips
per inch, the proportion of trips destined for each zone by
each mode of travel, expressed as a percent of the total
trips by each mode to the entire Downtown Area, has been
determined.
The person-trips have been distributed by
applying these proportions to the total number of persontrips to Downtown Boston by various modes of transportation
on an average day in 1950.
By using the 1945 data in this way the following assumptions are made:
that the quantity, quality, and pattern of
land uses did not change enough to cause significant changes
in the proportionate generating power of the non-residential
and residential zones from 1945 to 1950, and that there was
8
little change in the destination pattern of the users
of each mode of travel.
The location, and a brief description, of each zone
can best be presented in map and table form.
Map I shows
Table I describes each zone, its size
where each zone is;
and predominate use.
Table I
Zone #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
-
Showing the Size and Use of Each Zone
Size
(Acres)
58
98
62
126
68
228
142
152
104
160
160
106
64
73
136
26
66
Predominate Use
Non-residential
Residential
Wholesale, Storage
Office
Retail
Non-residential
Residential
Residential
Residential
Mixed
Residential
Non-residential
Park
Residential
Residential
Non-residential
Non-residential
9
Remarks
North Station Area
North End
Faneuil Hall Market
Banking, Insurance
Retail Center
S. Sta., Park Sq.
South End
South End
South End
Symuphony Hall Area
Back Bay
Back Bay
Public Garden, Common
Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill, West End
Scolley Sq.
Canal St. Area
)
GEt
DOlWNTO(,V/N 305T0N
M y
a~IO;'~s~v~
-383
OLD$
t[
---
LQ
14044
*O
-77
77:-:-
CT\
T,
FINDINGS
Table II - Showing the number of persons destined for
(an equal number originate in) Downtown Boston via each
and all modes of travel during an average 'day of each
month of 1950,
Month
Pass Car Truck
MTA
Rail
Bus
Total
Jan.
200,000
31,000
228,000
62,000
10,000
531,000
Feb.
206,000
32,000
232,000
60,000
10,000
540,000
March
222,000
33,000
234,000
57,000
10,000
556,000
April
252,000
39,000
223,000
57,000
10,000
581,000
May
276,000
43,000
222,000
55,000
10,000
606,000
June
288,000
44,000
210,000
54,000
10,000
606,000
July
292,000
45,000
174,000
52,000
10,000
573,000
Aug.
288,000
45,000
187,000
51,000
10,000
581,000
Sept.
262,000
41,000
202,000
53,000
10,000
568,000
Oct.
256,000
40,000
213,000
56,000
10,000
575,000
Nov.
252,000
39,000
222,000
57,000
10,000
580,000
Dec.
238,000
38,000
244,000
57,000
10,000
587,000
Thenumber of persons that enter or leave Downtown Boston
on foot and bicycle have not been studied in detail.
The
findings do not include such travel and are incomplete in
this regard.
The significant findings include: the proportion of
trips made by each mode of travel,
to Downtown Boston,
the amount of trips
and the monthly variation of each
mode as well as for the total,
It is also important to
note that the fall months of October and November are the
11
Graph I - Showing the number of person-trips to Downtown Boston
by each and all modes of travel, by months of 1950.
600
'(all
modes of travel)
I,
.0..0
/
"b4
low,--
550J
500
300 I
(Passenger car)
00*
0
250
0
V. 200
(NTA)
I-
IL
150
100
(Rail)
50
.........
Truck )
(Bus)
-9-I
J
F
N
A
M
J
J
A
8
0
1
D
Months - 1950
May,
RGD
1950
1 3
months during which the average day is most likely to occur.
During these months the flow by each mode of travel, and the
total travel by all modes, to Downtown Boston is at or near
the average level.
Therefore the October-November figures
will be used in section two.
Table III - Showing the number of average daily persontrips destined for (an equal number originate in) each
(The figures in the
zone by each mode of travel in 1950.
total column have been rounded off).
Zone # Pass. Oar Truck
Bus
Rail
KTA
4,0 00
Total
300
25,500
200
11,500
300
200
27,000
28,800
16,0 00
1,300
86,500
4,800
71,000
12,5 00
3,300
121, 500
49,500
5,600
33,000
12,5 00
1, 500
102,000
7
8,200
2,600
6,400
300
17, 500
8
6,400
1,600
6,400
300
14, 500
9
6,900
1,200
6,400
300
15,000
10
8,900
1,200
6,400
300
17,000
11
15,600
1,200
3,700
1, 200
200
22,000
12
21,200
2,400
12, 500
5, 000
800
42,000
13
200
14
8,900
700
4,500
15
11,200
1,200
7,300
16
11,700
1,200
7,300
17
7,400
2,400
4,500
1-17
255,OOC
1
13,500
1,400,
6,400
2
6,400
1,300
3,700
3
15,300
5,600
5,400
4
33,000
5,600
5
30,000
6
200
40,000 215,000
13
400
200
15,000
300
20,000
600
300
21,000
1, 200
200
15,500
600
55,000 10,000
575,000
Zones 3,4,5,6,12,16, and 17 are the core of the
business area.
Within these zones exists the major
portion of non-residential uses in Downtown Boston;
to within these zones 72.5% of the total Downtown
person-trips are destined,
These zones and the amount
of travel to them have been selected for further analysis in the following section.
Other findings of interest and import which are
not of direct concern to this thesis can be isolated
at this point.
It is hoped that some of the information
presented will be useful to other advanced studies of
the "Central Business District".
14
SECTION
II
Objective
The purpose of section two is to examine the relationship between the amount and type of non-residential uses,
and the amount of travel to these uses.
The specific ob-
jective is to find out if different classifications of nonresidential uses do vary in their person-trip generating
power,
and if
so, by what magnitude.
Procedure
The procedure has been to relate the findings of section
one with the results of an inventory of floor space accommodations.
The inventory survey was conducted by the staff of the
Boston City Planning Board during the spring of 1953.
The
results of this inventory, which are expressed in terms of
the gross floor area of each type of use for each zone, have
been corrected for major changes in accommodations occurring
since 1950.
They have also been regrouped into four major
use classifications so that the following relationships can
be accomplished.
The four major use classifications are: (a) retail, consumer services, and institutional accommodations, (b) office
accommodations, (c) manufacturing and utility accommodations,
and (d) wholesale and storage accommodations.
As previously stated, the zones to be subjected to this
analysis are 3,4,5,6,12,16, and 17, the core of Boston's
business district.
The amount of each use within
each
zone, and the number of person-trips to each zone, are summarized in Table IV below.
15
Table IV
- Showing the amount of various uses (as prev-
iously classified) and the number of person-trips to Downtown Boston,
in
zones
selected zones as of 1950.
Accommodations (000's sq. ft.)
a
R,OS,I
b
Off.
c
d
MfgUt__WhSt
Trips
Total
3
475
200
1.100
2,300
4,075
27,000
4
1,180
8,700
2,240
2,880
15,000
87,000
5
6,360
2,810
1,230
540
10,940
122,000
6
4,500
3,000
2,000
2,400
11,900
102,000
12 2,340
3,770
180
230
6,520
42,000
16
660
2,250
320
20
3,250
21,000
17 1,065
90
1,720
1,660
4,535
16,000
The table above shows, upon study, that there is a
difference in the magnitude of generating power between
uses.
For example, the retail zone (zone #5)
which contains
a smaller amount of total accommodations than the office
zone (zone #4) attracts substantially more persons.
The question that arises then is, what is the amount of
the difference of person-trip generation between types of
uses?
The answer to this question has been arrived at by
relating a series of algebraic equations; one for each zone.
The ingredients of each equation are as follows:
xR /yO/zM/wW
= P
x equals the number of person-trips destined for each
square foot of retail, consumer services, and
institutional use.
R equals the number of square feet of each such uses.
y equals the number of person-trips destined for each
square foot of office use.
0 equals the number of square feet of office use.
16
z
equals the number of person-trips destined for
each square foot of manufacturing and utility use.
M
equals the number of square feet of such uses.
w
equals the number of person-trips destined for
square foot of wholesale and storage use.
W
equals the number of square feet of such uses.
P
equals the total number of person-trips to these zones.
Values for the unknowns in these equations have been
determined by, essentially, scving the equations simultaneously.
Appendix II contains a more detailed description
of how the equations have been solved.
This process of solving for generating power values
of various types of non-residential uses has certain limitations that require explanation.
First and foremost it
is to be noted that this analysis deals only with large
quantities of space occupied by each type of use.
The
findings therefore apply only to equal quantities, onehalf million square feet of accommodations of each use
or more.
The results do not describe the generating power
of any one establishment (which is liable to be quite different than the results shown here).
The findings of this
analysis represent the average generating power of many
many establishments.
Secondly, it is to be recalled that the person-trip
data used in this analysis included only those trips made
to (or from) Downtown Boston from (or to) elsewhere.
The
trips made between one part of Downtown Boston to another
are not incuded.
In effect the major portion of the motor-
ized trips are included; the many walking trips
taurants, etc., are not.
to res-
Therefore, the findings presented
17
below show a substantially lower generating power than
would be the case if the intra-area trips were accounted
for.
This is especially the case regarding retail and
consumer services uses which undoubtedly attract the
greatest number of intra-area trips.
Thirdly,
but much less importantly,
the simultaneous
equating process assumes that all kinds of establishments
are generators of inter-downtown trips.
is not necessarily true.
establishments,
This, of course,
Many retail and consumer services
a restaurant for example,
or a bank,
prob-
ably are not generators of this type of trip at all but
generators of only intra-area trips.
This analysis would
be more accurate if those establishments catering to intraarea trips could be identified and corrected for.
This
cannot be done and as a result the findings in the case
of retail
and consumer services show a slightly higher
generating power, and in the case of the other uses probably show a slightly lower generating power.
18
Findings
The actual results are shown in Chart II on the next
page.
range.
is
The generating power of each use is presented as a
Somewhere in each range, usually near the middle,
the average generating power for the total Downtown
Business District accommodations of each type of use
classification.
The range itself expresses the apparent
size of the generating power variation that occurs from
one zone to another.
The most significant finding is the difference in the
person-trip attractiveness between one use and another.
Retail and consumer services accommodations attract more
than twice as many persons per square foot as office accommodations.
Manufacturing facilities generate about one and
one-half times as many trips per square foot per day as do
office accommodations.
Office facilities, on the other
hand, attract more person-trips per square foot than wholesale and storage accommodations.
Some indication of the relative drawing power of various
sections and kinds of uses in Downtown Boston can be gained
by reinserting these findings into the equation (as shown
in Appendix II).
Of the 575,000 person-trips destined for
the entire Downtown Area, approximately 415,000 are destined
for the seven zones described as the core of the business
area.
Of the 415,000 person-trips so destined, about 45%
are bound for the retail, consumer services, and institutional
uses, slightly more than one-quarter are bound for office
accommodations,
and slightly more than one-quarter are bound
19
Graph
- Showing the magnitude of the relative generating
II
power of various land use classifications in
Downtown Boston (as based on a scale of the
number of square feet of use per person-trip
during an average day in 1950).
e
(High)
50
Retail
Consumer Ser.
Institutional
100
Manufacturing
(Utilities)
Generating
Department
Stores
Specialty St.
Furniture St.
Garment
Power
'
150
Ratio
Square Ft.
Persons
200
Office
Meat
250
and
Produce Mkt.
(Low)
Wholesale
Furniture
300
Storage
400
May,
RGD
1954
for the remaining manufacturing, utility, wholesaling,
and storage facilities.
It must be recalled here that the above findings
relate the many person-trips to Downtown Boston with
the kind of facilities acting as destinations, regardless
of trip purpose.
Therefore the trips described here as
bound for retail facilities (or any other kind of establishment) include all kinds of person-trips, regardless
of whether the purpose of the trip is work, business or
shopping.
21
CONCLUSIONS
The substance of the conclusions of this thesis is
to be found in the findings of sections one and two.
These
findings are offered in the belief that they will contribute some knowledge about Downtown Boston, and in the
hope that they will prove valuable to those undertaking
necessary advance studies of Downtown Boston and other
"Central Business Districts".
Equally important, especially from the standpoint of
a thesis, is the development of a measurement of the generating power of specified types of non-residential uses.
The development of this measurement, expressed here in
terms of person-trips per square foot of accommodations,
is far from completed in this analysis.
In fact this work
represents but an introduction to the subject.
Further
correction and refinement must at least compensate for
the limitations mentioned in section two.
To accomplish
this it will undoubtably be necessary to undertake a complete new survey (most profitably in conjunction with a
comprehensive origin and destination survey) rather than
utilize the results of past surveys.
It
is
concluded that further development of a measure
of generating power can and should take place.
When it
does take place valuable knowledge can be added to that
which now exists about the many characteristics of the
"Central Business District".
22
APPENDIX
I
Concerning the adjustments made to the 1950 cordon count
1.
The 1950 cordon line was located on the southwestern side
of the intersections of Massachusetts Avenue and the inboundoutbound streets (for example, Beacon Street).
Therefore veh-
icles entering an intersection from the southwest were counted
before crossing Massachusetts Avenue.
The possibility of many
of these vehicles turning left or right and not entering the
Downtown Area was examined.
However, investigation of traffic
counts made at many of these intersections indicates that approximately as many vehicles pass the northeastern side of
these intersections as pass the southwestern.
Therefore, no
adjustment has been made.
2.
The 1950 cordon count also included those vehicles using
the Harvard Bridge on the north and Massachusetts Avenue on the
south.
Because many of these vehicles do not come from, or
go to, Downtown Boston, the cordon count has been adjusted
accordingly.
It has been estimated by the author, after un-
recorded observation, and after investigation of two intersection traffic counts, that 60% of those using Harvard Bridge
and Massachusetts Avenue at the cordon line are bound to or
from the Downtown Area.
Therefore, a figure amounting to 40%
of the motor vehicles passing these points have been deducted
from the total cordon count.
This amount (40%) is approxi-
mately 4% of the total number of vehicles recorded in the
cordon count.
3.
The 1950 cordon count was made over a 17 hour period,
from 7 a.m. to 12 midnight.
23
Because all the information
herein is to be presented as daily flow, the count has been
The factor commonly used and generally accepted
expanded.
by traffic engineers in this area for this particular type
of expansion is 1.10.
This factor has been used here but has
been applied so that the adjusted number of vehicles entering
and the number leaving the Downtown Area during a 24 hour period are equal.
A
factor of 1.08 was applied to entering traffic
flow, and a factor of 1.12 was applied to leaving flow.
4.
The 1950 count was taken on a Tuesday, Wednesday, and
These days of the week are considered by traffic
Thursday,
engineers as normal and average days.
No adjustment has been
made to the count in this regard.
5.
The cordon count was taken during the middle of June.
In
terms of the flow of motor vehicles to Downtown Boston, June is
not a representative month, and the cordon count has been
adjusted accordingly.
Extensive search for a basis for mak-
ing a proper adjustment has not been very successful.
The
information that has been obtained is summarized below in
Table V.
The monthly variation of motor.vehicle flow is des-
cribed as the percentage deviation of a given month from the
average month.
Table V
-
Month
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Showing sample monthly variations
Sumner Tunnel*
a
b
.82
.81
.75
.82
.88
.89
.97
1.00
1.10
1.09
1.14
1.12
1.14
1.16
1.15
1.14
1.02
1.03
1.03
1.02
.98
.97
.97
.96
24
MDPW**
.78
.85
.90
.95
1.00
1.10
1.25
1.35
1.10
1.00
.90
.85
of motor vehicles
Route 138***
a
b
.80
.78
.72
.79
.88
.89
.96
.98
1.13 1.11
1.14 1.16
1.20 1.18
1.18 1.17
1.03 1.05
1.05 1.03
.98 1.00
.91
.90
* These figures were established from Sumner Tunnel collection
records for 1950.
Column "lal is the result of the actual
monthly counts without adjustment.
Column "b"' is the result
of correcting each month for a varying number of days per month.
**
These are figures used by the Massachusetts Department of
Public Works for general application to all state highways,
***
These figures are the result of a long term traffic
count on Route 138 in Milton, Massachusetts.
"a"l represents the results of the actual
Again column
ounted flow; column
"b" results from the author's adjustment so that the number of
days per month would be equal.
It should be pointed out that none of the groups of figures
is a particularly good or error-less guide to the actual monthly
traffic variation to and from Downtown Boston.
The Sumner
Tunnel counts are influenced by: the flow of traffic to Suffolk Downs and Wonderland Race Track during the spring and
summer months,
the flow of vacation traffic during the summer
months, and the limitation of traffic flow during the summer
months due to the operational capacity of the Tunnel.
The count on Route 138 may not be indicative because it
is affected by vacationists and joy-riders during the summer
months.
The figures used by the Massachusetts Department of Public
Works are not considered representative of Downtown Boston
travel and are presented only for interest and contrast.
A set of figures has been selected that are similar to
and vithin the spread established by the Sumner Tunnel and
Route 138 variations.
This selected variation is presented
in Table VI.
25
Table VI
-
Showing the selected monthly variation of motor
vehicle flow to Downtown Boston in 1950.
Percent Deviation
Month
.80
.82
.88
1.00
1.10
1.14
1.16
1.15
1.04
1.02
1.00
.95
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
6.
The 1950 cordon count records those motor vehicles that
passed through Downtown Boston as well as those destined or
originating in the area.
This thesis is not concerned with
those passing through except to eliminate them from-the cordon
count totals.
The Origin and Destination Survey made in 1945
offers the only information available regarding the magnitude
of this type of travel.
The O&D survey indicates that 16.8% of the motor vehicles
that enter Downtown Boston continue through.
This amount has
been deducted from the total amount entering and leaving according to the adjusted cordon count.
The remainder is the
number of vehicles that have origins or destinations in the
Downtown Area.
By using this figure in the manner outlined,
it is assumed that the proportion of through traffic was the
same in 1950 as it was in the fall of 1945, and that the proportion of through traffic is constant from month to month.
26
7.
To transform motor vehicle counts into person movements,
the results of a survey made by the author during the month
of May, 1953, have been used.
This survey, which counted
13,000 passenger cars as they entered and left Dcwntown Boston
(a 2.5% sample) on various major streets between 7 a.m. and
8 p.m. on a Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, established that
the average number of occupants per l ssenger car was 1.57.
This figure has been used here.
In using this 1.57 ratio the following assumptions are made:
that the number of occupants per vehicle was the same in 1950
as in 1953, that the number of occupants per vehicle did not
fluctuate from month to month, and that the ratio applies to
Downtown Boston destined traffic although motor vehicles passing through the area were included in the count.
The number of occupants per truck has been assumed as 1.40.
This is
not the result of a survey, as such, but the result of
untabulated observation, and examination of traffic reports of
other large cities.
Concerning the adjustments made to MTA information
1.
March is not an average month for travel via MTA.
The
variation of monthly travel has been established from MTA
records that show the total revenue collected in all Downtown
Stations (except Devonshire and Mechanics) for each month dul. ng
1950.
Table VII presents this acceptable monthly variation.
The
figures represent the deviation, expressed as a percent, of each
month from the "average month".
27
Table VII
-
Showing the monthly variation of MTA riders to
Downtown Boston in
Month
Percent Deviation
a
b
1.09
1.06
1.08
.99
1.11
1.085
1.02
1.035
1.045
1.03
.98
.97
.81
.83
.89
.87
.93
.94
1.00
.99
1.05
1.03
1.12
1.13
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Column "a"
1950.
is the result of the actual count; column "b"
has been adjusted for a constant number of days per month.
The figures in column "b" have been used here.
2.
The March 22, 1950, count included those persons paying
fares in the Downtown Area and traveling to other parts of
the Downtown Area.
These person-trips are not part of those
destined for, or originating in, the Downtown Area and traveling elsewhere.
count totals.
This group has been deducted from the fare
The 1945 0 & D survey indicates that this
group represents 10.5% of the total amount of persons boarding
the MTA in the Downtown Area.
In deducting this amount it is assumed that the proportion
of intra-downtown MTA riders to total Downtown MTA riders has
not changed from 1945 to 1950.
It is further assumed that
the proportion of intra-area travel is constant from month
to month,
28
Concerning the adjustment made to railroad travel information
The only adjustment to railroad travel data that has been
made is to correct for monthly variation.
The adjustment is
based directly upon information obtained from the rail companies, and is presented below.
Table VIII - Showing the monthly variation of rail riders to
Downtown Boston in 1950.
Month
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Percent Deviation
b
a
1.12
1.13
1.01
1.08
1.03
1.04
1.03
1.00
.99
1.00
.98
.96
.955
.95
.94
.93
.95
1,02
.97
1.02
1.03
1.04
.93
1.04
Column "a" is the result of the actual count; column
"b" has been adjusted for a constant number of days per month.
The figures in column "b" have been used here.
29
Appendix
-
II
Concerning the method of relating the amount
and type of uses with the number of person-trips,
It has been recognized from the outset that the relationships sought could not be obtained from a pure mathematical
The fact that x, y, z, and w, the unknowns, do
process.
vary from zone to zone (because of differences in type of
establishments, building design, location, etc.) introduces
limitations in the process of solving the equations simultaneously.
The more general relationships can be established,
however, if care is used in selecting the most useful equations,
and if they are handled in a manner
cance of the numbers.
that retains the signifi-
Specifically, it has been found neces-
sary to first solve for the most influential members of the
equations (or first eliminate those members that have least
influence upon the final product) and in addition, cause -the
least possible change in the value of the numbers in the equations.
a.
The procedure used is as follows:
Because there are but four unknowns, six of the zone
equations have been combined into four of approximately
equal value.
The data representing zones 3, 12, and 16
have been combined into one equation and related to equations 4, 5, and 6.
The simultaneous equating process first
eliminated z and w, and then x.
Values of y and x were
obtained; values which are the average generating power for
all office and all retail accommodations in the business
district (except zone 17).
The equation for zone 17 has not been used in the solving process.
This area ia a very special kind in that it
30
contains a large amount of wholesale-retail furniture
establishments which the accommodation inventory has
classified as retail.
The generating power of these
establishments is not as great as other retail facilities and including this zone in the analysis distorts
the results.
This distortion has been avoided by omit-
ting the numbers representing zone 17 from the calculations.
It is also to be noted that the 102,000 person-
trips made to zone 6 includes approximately 5,000 trips
originating or destined for the residential sections of
the zone.
This amount has been deducted from the total
number of trips to zone 6.
b.
Values for x and y somewhat greater or less than the
average have been selected (as based upon a potential
inaccuracy of the previously determined person-trip data,
a knowledge of the kind of establishments in each zone,
and maintaining the average generating power for all accommodations) and inserted into the original zone equations.
(Equations 12 and 16 become practically s lved because of
the insignificance of z and w.)
c.
Using selected values of x and y, equations 3, 4, and
5 and 6 are reduced to two unknowns,
These equations have
been solved mathematically after combining 3 with 4, and 5
with 6 (or 3 with 6, and 4 with 5).
The values of z and w
have also been expressed as a range.
d,
Selected values of x, y, z, and w have been inserted
into the original zone equations so that the most influential and significant unknown could be solved for.
31
The values
that were inserted were allowed to vary so that a range of
numbers could be obtained for each of the sought unknowns.
e.
Steps b, c, and d were repeated until a range covering
apparent minimum and maximum values of each unknown had been
established.
Presumably, therefore, within each range is
the average generating power of all accommodations in the
business district as well as the average generating power
of most all the accommodation types within each zone.
Table IX
-
Showing each of the equations used in the cal-
culations with selected values substituted for the unknowns,
This demonstrates that reasonable values for the unknowns
(selected from within the ranges presented on page 20) can
The first group of numbers in each
solve each equation.
equation refers to retail, consumer services facilities; the
second group, office facilities; the third, manufacturing
and utilities facilities; the fourth, wholesale and storage
facilities; and the single number representing the sum of the
four groups is the number of person-trips.
The numlerator
of each fraction is the number of square feet of accommodations; the denominator is the generating power value expressed
here as the number of square feet per person-trip (the inverse
of x, y, z, and w).
Zone 3.
Zone 4
$
1100
-10
/
2300
230
27,000
/ 8700
/
2240
/
2880
87,000
6360
2810
1230
~~0
~175
/
475
1180
~8
Zone 5
(Accommodations are in 000's of square feet.)
/
200
7 0
~
32
~117
TO
/
~36
540
~75
122,000
Zone 6.
4500
/
3000
/
2000
/
2400
97,000
350~
Zone 12.
Zone 16.
Table X
-
2340
660
W6~
/
3770
/
2250
19~5~
/'
180
IU
3
/320
/
230
~
42,000
20
=
21,000
73U
/
To
Showing an equation representing the entire
business district with selected average values substituted
for the generating power unknowns.
The components of the
equation are the same as the equations in TableIX.
Business
District
16580
85
7
20820
~I85~
33
/
8790
~1728
/
10030
412,000