Drivers stuck in the slow lane
Chicago's commute among worst in U.S.

By John McCormick
Tribune staff reporter
Published March 31, 2005


Chicago remains the Second City when it comes to commute times, a gas-guzzling and time-wasting distinction that city officials recently vowed to try to change.

But for now, city residents face the second-slowest commute among the nation's largest cities, behind only New York, according to new rankings released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The average one-way commute for Chicago residents is 33.2 minutes, essentially unchanged from the 33.1 minutes recorded in a 2000 census survey. Several area counties also reported average commutes of more than 30 minutes.

The latest figures come from the American Community Survey, a relatively new census program that is expected to provide more frequent updates for certain questions that had traditionally been asked only once a decade.

Friday marks the exact midpoint between the 2000 census and the 2010 census, a nationwide effort held every 10 years on April 1. The ACS data and an abundance of special censuses in Illinois help ease some of the data withdrawal experienced by hard-core census geeks, but not entirely.

"The 10-year number is going to continue to be the gold standard," said Kenneth Johnson, a demographer at Loyola University Chicago. "We will have a lot of data, but there is still nothing like the census itself."

The newly released data show the average American spends more than 100 hours a year getting to work, with the typical one-way trip taking 24.3 minutes in 2003.

Illinois ranks fourth nationally, with frequent gridlock in the Chicago area driving up the statewide average to 27 minutes. New York (30.4 minutes), Maryland (30.2 minutes) and New Jersey (28.5 minutes) lead the nation.

The American Community Survey will offer demographic snapshots of communities, starting with cities and counties with populations of 250,000 or more and gradually expanding to smaller geographic units.

The survey is expected to eventually replace the census long form, which is randomly distributed to one in six households and asks about everything from commute times to a home's toilet facilities. The tally of residents used for population figures, political districts and the allocation of U.S. representatives will continue every 10 years through the traditional short form.

Although the survey has yet to provide data for smaller cities and counties, the counting has never really stopped in many Illinois communities since the last official tabulation on April 1, 2000.

Illinois easily ranks first in the nation for the number of special censuses since 2000. Growing municipalities that want to prove they have more residents and deserve more state or federal funds pay for the recounts.

At least 74 have been done in the state since 2000--nearly 80 percent of the nationwide total. The state's top ranking is partly attributed to rapidly growing suburban communities around Chicago.

Census officials said the state also has done a good job of informing municipalities of the benefits of special censuses, as well as the option of doing a special count of specific neighborhoods, rather than a more costly recount of an entire town.

Joliet, for example, has already completed one special census since 2000 and plans another this summer at an estimated cost of about $200,000. The first supplemental count took the city's official population from 106,221 to nearly 127,000.

"The special censuses usually pay for themselves within a year in terms of the additional revenue that you will realize," said Kendall Jackson, city planner for Joliet. "You are giving up additional revenues if you don't do it."

Mark Thomas, the information services manager for the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, said demographers will probably be cautious about giving too much weight to the survey's data until it has a longer track record.

The totals, for example, do not include "group quarters" populations, such as those in prisons, nursing homes and other institutions.

"It's not totally reflective of the population," he said. "It's hard to compare it to the 2000 census because of the different methodology."

Still, Thomas said the survey offers a way to look for societal trends in such categories as poverty, educational attainment and commuting times.

So far, the American Community Survey is only able to provide estimated commuting times for nine large Illinois counties, where enough interviews have been done to provide a statistically valid sample. For some lesser-populated areas, it will take three to five years to accumulate a sufficient sample. And as with any poll, the numbers reported have a margin of error.

Among the Illinois counties in the 2003 survey, McHenry County ranked first for longest average commute, at 35.1 minutes. It was followed by Will County (32.1 minutes), Cook County including Chicago (30.8 minutes), Lake County (30.1 minutes), Kane County (27.6 minutes), DuPage County (27.0 minutes), Madison County (23.4 minutes), St. Clair County (21.7 minutes) and Winnebago County (20.3 minutes).

This month, Chicago officials announced plans for a multiyear traffic reduction effort, including a new quick-towing policy at accident scenes starting next month.

A national study last year said the average Chicago area driver wastes about 61 hours a year stuck in rush-hour delays, part of a nationwide problem that costs nearly $70 billion annually in time and gasoline.

Travel times

Chicago has one of the longest average commute times among large cities. The national average is 24.3 minutes for a one-way trip.


CITIES WITH WORST COMMUTE
Average one-way travel times for cities of 250,000 or more
New York City 38.3 min.
Chicago 33.2
Newark, N.J. 31.5
Riverside, Calif. 31.2
Philadelphia 29.4
Baltimore 29.0
Los Angeles 29.0
Miami 29.0
San Francisco 28.5
Washington, D.C. 28.4
Note: Based on survey responses from sample households.
Source: American Community Survey (2003)
Chicago Tribune

me: 7 minutes

aye, it's good to live in a smaller city.

If I drive in LA it's 29 minutes, but if I hammer on my road bike it's about 24 minutes.
Though it takes me another 20 minutes to stop sweating. I just will never get why more people don't commute by bike in LA. It's flat, sunny, and the side streets are usually empty because people still think the freeways are faster.

What's funny is that the almost exact same story was in the Washington Post, except that it used the same statistics to show that Washington has the second worst traffic. I guess everyone wants to be second.

I read this and I say, 1. a half hour is not too bad, it's about what most people think is optimal; 2. the statistics presented show it's not getting worse, despite the public perception. The most interesting story I've read recently said that public opinion polls showed that most people actually enjoy their commutes, having a little time to themselves, despite all the *****ing and moaning.

My car commute used to take about 30 minutes into Charlotte using the interstate. I biked to work occasionally, but it took over an hour and the roads were scary.

We moved.

One criteria for our relocation was to be close to where we worked so biking to work was a viable (for us) option.

I don't understand why more people don't move closer to where they work or move to a smaller town where they can have both a good standard of living and be close to where they work. "Bedroom communities" seem to be just that these days. The rest of the work week is either spent in the car or at work.

Personally, I'm not sure why anyone would want to drive in Chicago. The public transportation system there is phenomonal. And even if you live in the burbs, Metra can get you to where you want to go. You could commute all the way in from the southern part of Wisconsin using it.

Yeah big whoop. How long it takes is the real deal-breaker.

A lot shorter time than driving.

Mine is 5-15 minutes one way to school by car, depending on which way I go. Mine used ot be 30 minutes- 1++hours depending on traffic, thankfully I didn't have to drive that.

My commute would be about 15-20 minutes by bike, less if I didn't have to carry a bunch of crap, but I really don't do that often. Over the summer I'll try to commute by bike to wherever I work just to save gas money.

During rush hour, to drive to work would take about 45 minutes to 1 hr. To take the subway takes 1.25-1.5 hours. To bike takes 35-45 minutes. This is each way in NYC.

My 9mi commute takes 25-28min by bike depending on which lights I hit.

By car it takes 18-20min. Don't think I'll ever be able to average the 30mph (including the time waiting at the many intersections) needed to go faster than by car.

Al

Drivers being stuck in the slow lane would only happened in the peak hours so I guess building new tunnels and/or bridges people money is going to be wasted on a number of white elephants especially in Brisbane.

White elephant:
noun

1. A possession or piece of property that is useless or unwanted, especially one that is inconvenient or expensive to keep.

It is getting worse, but not necessarily in average commuting time. My observation is that the rush hour is getting much longer. When I came to work in DC in 1976, the roads were relatively clear at 7:30 am. Now the roads are jammed by 6:30 am. I refer to the roads in PG, especially the BW Parkway, US 50, and the Beltway. I catch a 5:30 am bus from Annapolis, and it has gotten progressively more crowded since 2000, so that now they are using a much larger bus, and are now rejecting riders who are not at least 5 minutes early. My understanding of the commutes in NoVa is that they are much worse, and that 66 out by Manassas Jams by 5:30, as does 95 coming in from Stafford County. The Evening Rush hour, in all directions, which used to start around 4:30 and to clear by 6 pm, now starts around 3:30 and goes to about 7:30. Even more daunting is the reality of weekend traffic overwhelimgn the system. I listen to WTOP for traffic every ten minutes, and often hear about serious traffic jams on weekends, and not just for special events. There are clear problems with keeping the road lane miles constant while traffic increases. The latest thing the morons at DC DOT have come up with is a plan to tear down the Whitehurst Freeway. When asked what they intended to do with the traffic, they responded that they had not gotten to that part of the plan yet.

Yes, I saw that. I bet every major city claims to be on the top 10 worst commute list.

I wonder if commute time is defined as door-to-door, or is it automatically assumed to be time-in-car? That is a serious difference because if the commute is by rail, that time is not as wasted as it would be if the person was driving. Rail commutes are an excellent opportunity to read and get ready for work.

Sadly, some people will use stats like this as the justification for building MORE roads.

Rail commutes are a dumb idea in the DC area becasue the rail lines are at capacity, and in use carrying freight, which would otherwise move by truck adding more highway congestion. Right now we need more miles of rail, more miles of highway, more parking at rail, rail transit and park and ride lots, including those which serve commuter buses, more commuter buses, and priority lanes for those commuter buses. Bicycle trails might help, but are not the best use of the next dollar. Bicycling is quaint, but at present serves very few commuters. The best use of the next dollar would be to buy more commuter buses and lots, and to stripe lanes for them and other HOV's.

I'm looking forward to the Jetson's commute scenario. Get all those cagers up in the sky, me on my bike on the street.

LOOKOUT! Another wreck! Take cover!



Like Treespeed says, most drivers don't know the side streets. They just hop on the freeway and go...and stop...and go...