Business Impact Mitigations for Transit Projects

This report outlines successful strategies that have been used to help businesses survive and thrive in two cities—Seattle, Washington, and St. Paul, Minnesota—that have recently built extensive new light rail lines through neighborhoods rich with small, local, minority- and immigrant-owned businesses. Research for these two case studies included a review of business impact reports, research papers, environmental assessments, and news articles, as well as interviews with staff and business owners directly involved in creating and implementing the programs described. A brief case study on the business impacts of a bus rapid transit project in a manufacturing and light industrial neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio, is also included, based on a review of available reports and materials.