'Extreme Commuters' On The Rise In Atlanta
An analysis of Census figures shows that the number of long-distance commuters -- those who spend more than 90 minutes on their average commute -- has increased.
"New census estimates released Wednesday tell the sorry transportation tale. The year 2006 added 6,864 metro Atlantans who spend 90 minutes or more on their average commute, one way. That's a total of 88,023 'extreme commuters.'"
"The number of those who spend between an hour and an hour-and-a-half one-way rose to 225,964."
"Metro Atlanta's overall average commute time stayed stable, at about a half-hour. But according to an AJC analysis of the census estimates, one of the clearer trends over the years from 2004 to 2006 is increasing numbers of people who seem bound and determined to maintain that long-distance relationship with work."
"True, metro Atlanta's population grew, too. But in each of the past two years, the two groups of long commuters grew both in sheer numbers and in their portion of the overall commuter pie."
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The "Nut" City
This city is absolutely nuts, and I can say that because I used to live there. I have little doubt that someday that metro area will become nothing more than a relic of history and a shell of its former self, where future generations will gaze upon it and wonder "what the heck were they thinking?". It's sad to see, because minus the traffic, the air pollution and the increasingly pretentious attitude of the citizenry, it's actually a desirable area to live.
While I know they are trying to reverse some trends by building vertical and attempting TODs, the majority of the market still prefers the McMansion on a quarter-acre lot 30 miles away from the CBD. Let's also not forget a county councilman 20 years ago, who famously proclaimed that MARTA (the metro system) stood for "Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta", and therefore blocked the transit system from expanding into his county, for fear that it would lead to higher crime and lower land values. Truly sad that all this has happened.
Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Greenville, Greensboro, Birmingham, Nashville, and any other up-and-comers in the sun belt: you have been forewarned. Atlanta is a living laboratory. Continue your efforts to learn from her mistakes before you too get more than you can handle.