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That's true, but assuming suburbanites who move to the city will gain a shorter commute is an overgeneralization.
That's for sure! It depends on where work is, etc.
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Originally Posted by Pinkmani
Not necessarily. If you live in the city, but work in the suburbs in most metro areas that's not a problem. In most big cities, rush hour traffic is caused by those who live in the suburbs but work in the city (morning rush hour is from suburbs to city and afternoon rush hour is city to suburbs). Therefore, the commute for a city-dweller to the suburbs would be rather short.
ETA: Without traffic, I live 20 min. above ATL and with traffic it's 45 min. to an hour.
In some cities, there's not much of a "reverse commute" any more. In Denver, yes, there's the commute to downtown, but there's also the commute to Boulder, Broomfield and the Tech Center as major employment hubs. Plus there's quite a bit of employment in Jefferson and Adams Counties as well.
That's true, but assuming suburbanites who move to the city will gain a shorter commute is an overgeneralization.
That depends on the suburbanite. If they work downtown, it makes sense for them to move closer to downtown, if they work in the suburb it makes sense for them to move closer to their job in the suburbs.
That's for sure! It depends on where work is, etc.
In some cities, there's not much of a "reverse commute" any more. In Denver, yes, there's the commute to downtown, but there's also the commute to Boulder, Broomfield and the Tech Center as major employment hubs. Plus there's quite a bit of employment in Jefferson and Adams Counties as well.
Yup. The big problem in the Bay Area is that there are multiple job centers..and no one is going the same way so traffic sucks for everyone going almost anywhere. And since things are decentralized, it is hard to make efficient transit. And of course Silicon Valley is sprawl like suburbia.
That depends on the suburbanite. If they work downtown, it makes sense for them to move closer to downtown, if they work in the suburb it makes sense for them to move closer to their job in the suburbs.
That's the first time I ever heard an urbanist say that! I've been saying it for years on this forum.
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Originally Posted by jade408
Yup. The big problem in the Bay Area is that there are multiple job centers..and no one is going the same way so traffic sucks for everyone going almost anywhere. And since things are decentralized, it is hard to make efficient transit. And of course Silicon Valley is sprawl like suburbia.
I don't see decentralization as a problem, and I don't see how that makes it hard to have "efficient" transit. What would the alternative be?
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I don't see decentralization as a problem, and I don't see how that makes it hard to have "efficient" transit. What would the alternative be?
Transit works best for routes that are in high demand. It's much easier to have a transit system to services everywhere to one place really well rather than everywhere to everywhere. Generally, high commute transit usage correlates with stronger downtowns, for both positive reasons (as I mentioned) and negative (driving is less convenient in a centralized city as roads are more congestion and parking may be expensive or difficult to find.
We could argue over whether centralization or decentralization is better though maybe that's another thread.
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Originally Posted by Katiana
In some cities, there's not much of a "reverse commute" any more. In Denver, yes, there's the commute to downtown, but there's also the commute to Boulder, Broomfield and the Tech Center as major employment hubs. Plus there's quite a bit of employment in Jefferson and Adams Counties as well.
But isn't the downtown commute more congested than the rest?
Transit works best for routes that are in high demand. It's much easier to have a transit system to services everywhere to one place really well rather than everywhere to everywhere. Generally, high commute transit usage correlates with stronger downtowns, for both positive reasons (as I mentioned) and negative (driving is less convenient in a centralized city as roads are more congestion and parking may be expensive or difficult to find.
We could argue over whether centralization or decentralization is better though maybe that's another thread.
But isn't the downtown commute more congested than the rest?
Maybe. I'm not sure, and I don't feel like looking up stats right now. The Denver Tech Center has a LOT of employees, as does the Lakewood Federal Center, the Interlocken Office Park in Broomfield, and the city of Boulder. Ditto the CU Health Sciences Center in Aurora.
Not to mention, people commute to downtown from all areas of the suburbs, whereas people who live and work in the burbs usually live fairly close to their work.
I do not think so. Cities are expensive. I think it costs more to get the same standard of living in a city that you would in a suburb. I do not think that most ppl with kids can afford a good school and safe and clean neighborhood in a city.
Maybe. I'm not sure, and I don't feel like looking up stats right now. The Denver Tech Center has a LOT of employees, as does the Lakewood Federal Center, the Interlocken Office Park in Broomfield, and the city of Boulder. Ditto the CU Health Sciences Center in Aurora.
One way to judge congestion would be to check google traffic at rush hour over a number of days.
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Not to mention, people commute to downtown from all areas of the suburbs, whereas people who live and work in the burbs usually live fairly close to their work.
Maybe, though if two spouses have jobs in different places, at least one might have a long commute. The first could be a plus, as a downtown is somewhat accessible for most of the region, while an office on one side of the metro may have difficulty getting workers from the other side.
One way to judge congestion would be to check google traffic at rush hour over a number of days.
Maybe, though if two spouses have jobs in different places, at least one might have a long commute. The first could be a plus, as a downtown is somewhat accessible for most of the region, while an office on one side of the metro may have difficulty getting workers from the other side.
Most people here like to live somewhat close to their jobs b/c of the snow. The long commutes you read about in Cali are rare here. I've been in the situation of commuting in the opposite direction of my spouse, but usually for about the same distance. Neither of us was going downtown. In 33 years here, and 3 jobs in 6-8 locations, DH has never worked downtown. I had a couple of visiting nurse jobs where the office was downtown, but my area of visiting was not. I'd go into the office once a month or so.
That's the first time I ever heard an urbanist say that! I've been saying it for years on this forum.
I don't see decentralization as a problem, and I don't see how that makes it hard to have "efficient" transit. What would the alternative be?
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Concentrated decentralization isn't a problem. You see that anywhere that transit is utilized, including the bay area. Lots of job centers are at BART stations in the East Bay, for example. Something like Los Angeles or Silicon Valley are difficult to handle for transportation. That's kind of changing, you're seeing some clustering around Caltrain. You might eventually see corridors around VTA light rail in San Jose.
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