EVALUATION OF THE RELOCATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR BUSINESSES AND INSTITUTIONS DISPLACED BY HIGHWAYS

The provisions of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 were implemented by the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation effective January 8, 1971. Since then, many of those displaced by highways have received relocation assistance provided by the act. The Texas Transportation Institute evaluated the effectiveness of this relocation program, and this paper presents the findings from data collected by personal interviews with those associated with businesses and institutions displaced by highway projects in several urban and rural areas in Texas. The sample is composed of 101 business relocatees and 7 institutional relocatees. The characteristics of a typical business are sole proprietorship, retail operation, fewer than 10 employees, single outlet, at least 50 year existence, renting facilities, and $100,000 or less annual gross sales. The results of the survey indicate that over 75 percent of the respondents relocated their businesses and continued in operation for a while; 60 percent of those that ceased operations could not find suitable replacement facilities; and a majority of those that relocated thought the overall quality of facilities and neighborhood conditions were better or remained the same, even though almost half of them had to increase monthly payments for facilities. Most of the relocatees thought that relocation payments adequately covered relocation expenses, but over half of the owners thought that property payments were not enough. About 30 percent mentioned unsolved problems (mainly financial). Most of the relocatees expressed no need for additional relocation services, gave the program a substantially high rating, had a satisfactory relation with the relocation personnel, and felt pleased with the relocation experience. /Author/

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: References; Tables;
  • Pagination: pp 26-30
  • Monograph Title: Social and economic factors in transportation planning
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00163017
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0309025966
  • Files: TRIS, TRB
  • Created Date: Oct 13 1981 12:00AM