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Forbes: Salt Lake City is the best commute in the nation.
ksl.com
By Marc Giauque
SALT LAKE CITY -- Drivers may agree or disagree, but Forbes magazine thinks Salt Lake City has the best commute in the country.
Forbes.com gave Salt Lake City high marks when it came to traffic delays, travel time and road congestion. It also said 2 in 10 commuters share their ride, in one form or another, with at least one more person.
Other high-ranking cities include Buffalo, New York and Rochester.
Forbes says Tampa, Fla.; Detroit, Mich.; and Atlanta, Ga., have the worst commutes.
Utah Department of Transportation executive director John Njord says, in part, it's recognition of UDOT's efforts to stay ahead of the growth curve, to work quickly and efficiently and to stay out of people's hair.
"We've recognized, as a department, that our projects impact people's lives," Njord says.
He says some of the things UDOT is doing, that planners think is helping, is looking at ways to do work on the roadways so they're not part of the mathematics involved in traffic delays.
Daily Grind
Best And Worst Cities For Commuters
Francesca Levy, 02.16.10, 06:00 AM EST
In these areas, urban sprawl and solo drivers are the difference between a hassle-free and a harrowing trek to work.
Commuter Rank Metropolitan Statistical Area
Travel Delay Rank- Green Commuter Ranking- Travel Time Rank
1 Salt Lake City, UT 26- 13- 11
2 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 2 36 1
3 Rochester, NY 1 40 2
4 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 14 33 5
5 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 8 32 10
5 Fresno, CA 14 23 16
7 Tulsa, OK 8 48 4
8 Pittsburgh, PA 5 14 40
8 Tucson, AZ 31 18 23
10 Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH 4 41 14
11 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA 38 8 31
12 Oklahoma City, OK 11 52 3
13 Albuquerque 22 28 22
14 Dayton, OH 5 54 6
14 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 31 29 18
16 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV 42 22 20
17 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 11 46 12
18 Honolulu, HI 31 3 46
19 Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN 27 43 9
20 Kansas City, MO-KS 2 58 7
21 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 22 37 19
22 Richmond, VA 5 44 21
23 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 11 49 15
23 San Antonio, TX 29 27 28
25 New Haven-Milford, CT 10 34 32
25 Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN 22 47 13
27 Austin-Round Rock, TX 38 17 36
28 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 38 6 48
29 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH 36 5 51
30 Columbus, OH 22 57 8
30 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC 34 35 24
32 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA 19 24 43
32 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 37 9 49
32 Denver-Aurora, CO 45 21 33
35 Raleigh-Cary, NC 19 45 26
36 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 42 16 44
36 Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, CA 48 15 42
36 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 52 25 30
39 St. Louis, MO-IL 14 51 25
40 Jacksonville, FL 29 42 27
41 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 34 11 56
41 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 58 2 53
43 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 54 20 39
44 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA 19 39 38
44 Baltimore-Towson, MD 45 12 52
46 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA 54 1 60
47 Indianapolis-Carmel, IN 28 59 17
48 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 57 4 59
49 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 17 55 29
50 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI 59 7 57
51 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA 60 10 54
52 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 17 56 34
53 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 50 26 50
54 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 52 19 58
55 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL 54 31 47
56 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 48 38 45
57 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL 42 50 37
58 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 51 30 55
59 Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI 38 60 35
60 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 45 53 41
1 Source: Texas Transportation Institute.
2 Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Full Story: Best And Worst Cities For Commuters
To find the cities with the best commutes, we measured travel time, road congestion and travel delays for the 60 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the U.S. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, we calculated what percentage of commuters in each metro area took an hour or more to get to work in each of these cities in 2008, the most recent year for which these data are kept. To find the areas with the fewest cars on the road, we next factored in the percentage of commuters who carpooled or used alternatives to driving like walking, biking or taking public transportation in 2008. We referred to this as the "green commuter" ranking. Finally, we looked at the Travel Time Index, a measure that the Texas Transportation Institute, a transportation research organization, uses to measure delays. The TTI indicates how long a commute takes during rush hour compared to the same trip in ideal conditions. A short commute is good, but a dependably short commute is even better. The most recent TTI data is from 2007, and was released in July 2009. We ranked the metros on each of those measures, and then averaged the rankings for the final score. We gave heavier weight to travel time and congestion measures, since many of the cities have minimal differences in TTI numbers
Forbes Magazine names SLC No. 1 for commuters
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 02/19/2010 08:11:09 PM MST
Quit cursing that commute; it could be much worse.
Forbes magazine has named the Salt Lake City area the country's best for commuters, outpacing the 60 largest metro areas. The award was based on travel time, traffic delays and road congestion.
Of course, commuters stuck at rush hour on Interstate 15 or missing every traffic light on the way home on 400 South may differ.
The magazine credited Salt Lake City's commuting experience partly on the investment in transit. It also highlighted the 44 miles of car-pool lanes and the 20 percent of commuters who get to work by car-pooling, riding TRAX, walking, busing or biking.
"We are excited to be recognized nationally for our transportation vision," said Mayor Ralph Becker, "and continue to strive to improve options throughout the city."
The mayor's office notes the city now will tackle its non-synchronized traffic lights -- a source of frustration and running joke for residents. Through an energy efficiency and conservation block grant, the city will tap an independent consultant to review the city's traffic-signal timing and plot changes. Results of the report are expected in August.
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