[CPVLIVE]

Originally Posted by TonyAnderson

But another point is that Salt Lake's roads are actually feeding off of another million people above its MSA. I mean obviously not everyone commutes from the other metros but a large amount do as they're within close range.

Your argument seems to be SLC is part of a greater CSA with a larger population and that is somehow relevant to the study. Apples to oranges. Nearly all of the cities on the list are part of a greater CSA with a larger population. In fact the difference in population between New Yorks CSA and MSA is much larger than the entire population of the state of Utah. In fact to compare commutes in an area with a CSA of 1.7 million (SLC) to one with 22 million (NYC) is suspect IMO. I would prefer comparing similar sized MSAs.

Originally Posted by delts145

To compare Salt Lake City's greater metro commute to Buffalo/Niagra Falls, or Birminham/Hoover, etc. is hilarious and plain N/A.

I might agree with you however, that is exactly what this study portends to do. It compares the MSAs of SLC, Buffalo, Birmingham, NY, and 56 others.

Originally Posted by delts145

While I may officially reside in the Provo/Orem MSA of approx 600,000, I, along with tens of thousands of my fellow commuters, are much closer to downtown SLC than a large number of residents who are a part of the 1.1 million, who officially reside in the Salt Lake MSA. The same is applicable for the northern Ogden/Clearfield MSA. I, like many forumers am used to commutes throughout diverse MSA/CSA's.

See explanation above. The study must use a baseline of some sort and therefore the comparison involving MSAs. They don't compare MSAs and CSAs for obvious reasons - apples to oranges. The bottom line is anyone commuting in the MSA is included in the study regardless of where they reside. The MSA merely defines a physical boundary - i.e. the study area.

Originally Posted by delts145

The Wasatch Front's greater CSA is comparitively a breeze commute to almost all Metros I've experienced regularly , including Denver's MSA/CSA or much smaller metros, such as Boise, and especially large sections of Portland's CSA. Perhaps, in some ways that's not a good thing, because it has a tendancy to encourage sprawl. Though, it would seem that the hurried buildup of TRAX and FrontRunner is adding to the desired density of Downtown SLC.

Agreed - cities that are much less centralized (with less centralized employment in particular) such as Salt Lake tend to have better commutes. Nothing we've discussed refutes the observation that the top 25 cities in the study are smaller on average and therefore have better commutes. The MSA rankings show that clearly.