(adapted from "The Role of Transit in Creating Livable Metropolitan Communities")

Much of transit's impact comes from its drawing pedestrians to an area, which helps enliven adjacent uses and support business. By alleviating traffic pressure on streets, transit can help make an area more attractive and pedestrian friendly - a major goal in most downtown revitalization programs. In many cases, transit has acted as the primary catalyst for community participation in downtown and neighborhood renewal programs and for the coordination and cooperation among public and private sectors, city agencies, transit authorities, and the community.

Davis Square, in Somerville, Massachusetts, and the Green Line in Chicago illustrate the impact that new and renovated subway stations can have on the development of entire downtown revitalization programs. In addition to transit stations, some cities have experimented with transit malls, that is, streets transformed to give priority access to buses and enhanced waiting areas for bus patrons. Unfortunately, while some transit malls have been successful (Portland, Oregon and Denver's Sixteenth Street Mall), others have not, and are being removed (Chicago).

Downtown circulators and shuttles are another strategy used to enable shoppers, visitors, and office workers to move more freely about the central business district, thereby contributing to downtown economic vitality and reducing traffic congestion. These circulators and shuttles are often sponsored by local chambers of commerce, downtown business organizations, and merchants associations as a promotional program. In a number of cities, trolley service link redeveloping urban areas with tourist attractions such as sports stadiums, convention halls, restaurant districts, shopping centers and bus terminals (Tucson's Old Pueblo Trolley, Corpus Christi's trolleys).