I can't believe that people will go through such commutes to go to work, it speaks highly of the jobs they have! Like Tim, I work from home. I have worked at least one day a week from home since 2000. I am a big advocate of telecommuting and have to wonder by other workers and businesses haven't jumped on the bandwagon.
There are plenty of studies that have shown that telecommuters are just as - if not more productive - than their on-site counterparts. (Here is one such article: http://www.mite.org/FAQ/faqgenl/faqgenl.html) For this discussion I think the impact on traffic is most interesting. Here is a snippet from a 2001 report ITCA Telework America: "For those interested in the impact that telework can have on issues such as traffic congestion and urban sprawl, teleworkers, on average, drive 5.7 to 18.6 miles per work day to run errands. Not surprisingly, those who are working on the road drive the most miles running errands. About thirty percent of teleworkers move their residence. Of those who relocated, 52% moved closer to their place of employment, 29% moved farther away, and 19% moved to a new residence that was the same distance from their employer." http://www.workingfromanywhere.org/telework/twa2001.htm It seems as if telecommuting might help ease some of the traffic woes and it lets people choose their homes for reasons other than work - so long as they have access to the technology they need - which might be another issue entirely. Ann -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tim Erickson Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2003 10:32 AM To: TC Metro Subject: [TCMetro] Jobs & Homes Grow Further Apart An interesting article in today's StarTribune (see below for quote) about how the distances that people are having to drive is increasing. This is very important in our discussion about Transportation. Metro area's big mismatch: home, job now farther apart http://www.startribune.com/stories/1507/3736624.html The article suggests that the population center of our region might now be downtown Mpls - but in 20 years it is likely to be Edina. The center is shifting to the Southwest. This is interesting, and hit's home for me. Because my wife and I specifically chose to live in the city, partially to avoid suburban life and also to avoid long commutes to work. We chose to live in St. Paul. While I have worked (or at least faked it) from my basement, most of that time - my wife has held jobs in Eagen (the close one), Bloomington (the far end), and two jobs in Chaska. She now commutes from the MIDWAY area of St. Paul, over 45 minutes each way to her job. Now clearly, there were personal choices involved in this. But I can also say, that of the other 5-10 companies that she has interviewed with over time - almost all of them have been in the southwest suburbs. None in St. Paul (that I can recall). Is this drift to the southwest inevitable? It makes sense, that the more people that live here, the further apart we will get from our jobs. But, is that distance growing faster than it needs to? This is a very interesting question to me, one that impacts many of our metropolitan issues and policies. Any comments? Tim Erickson St. Paul, Minnesota [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------- Metro area's big mismatch: home, job now farther apart David Peterson and Laurie Blake, Star Tribune http://www.startribune.com/stories/1507/3736624.html Published March 6, 2003 "A density map of jobs in the Twin Cities area would probably today be centered on downtown Minneapolis," said Gary Barnes, a transportation expert with the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. "But 20 years from now it will be more like Edina. It's all shifting to the southwest. "So living in Woodbury not only puts you on the edge, but an edge whose center is going away from you. We're leaving half the metro area totally hung out." -- ================================================= Tim Erickson http://www.politalk.com St. Paul, MN - USA 651-643-0722 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 105978430 ================================================= _______________________________________________ Twin Cities Metropolitan Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/tcmetro Rules: Sign posts with real name. You may not post more than twice a day. _______________________________________________ Twin Cities Metropolitan Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/tcmetro Rules: Sign posts with real name. You may not post more than twice a day.
