SC cities and traffic congestion

[krazeeboi]

Three miles from downtown is a long way out compared to the CBD.

[CorgiMatt]

I understood that. How about within one mile? What's the square footage of occupied office space in the two CBDs. That's where the difference is. Maybe when SCANA leaves downtown all its employees will move to Cayce and the problem will be solved for a while.

[GvilleSC]

Actually, according to a Brookings Institute report from earlier this year, Greenville had 35.2% of its jobs located within 3 miles of downtown, while Columbia had 32%. Charleston's share of jobs within 3 miles of the CBD was 21.6%. This is using data from 2006. All three metro areas experienced moderate job decentralization from 1998-2006.

[krazeeboi]

I did figure that BMW being just across the county line in Spartanburg County may contribute a bit to Greenville's reduced congestion figures. As far as spatial job location, I'd like to see something with figures a little more recent even though I don't think any of the state's metros experienced any major shifts in employment since 2006.

[gman430]

Very interesting numbers, Krazee... I'd say that Greenville probably is at an advantage due to its weird configuration (not having BMW in the "metropolitan area"), however there's NOT that many employers just across county lines like that. I guess that's what you get though when your entire population is just a bunch of factory workers...

[CorgiMatt]

In Columbia you've also got a lot of USC students driving in, and in Lexington they still haven't solved their issues with a lack of a bypass. Some of the difference also probably is the difference in the number of people in the two MSAs and the difference in the number of people in the two MSAs' labor forces. I wonder if there are more engineers in number or per capita in Greenville working downtown than there are attorneys in Columbia.

[gman430]

In Columbia you've also got a lot of USC students driving in, and in Lexington they still haven't solved their issues with a lack of a bypass. Some of the difference also probably is the difference in the number of people in the two MSAs and the difference in the number of people in the two MSAs' labor forces. I wonder if there are more engineers in number or per capita in Greenville working downtown than there are attorneys in Columbia.

[Spartan]

First of all, I can say that having experienced rush hour in all three cities, those rankings seems relatively accurate. The delay caused by traffic in Greenville is arguably more annoying, but it's probably relatively minimal in terms of real time lost.

I think, however, that the data we have here is insufficient when trying to compare employment location and density versus the road (sometimes called street) network in the various metros... at least in a quantitative perspective.

So, look at it this way:

• Columbia's CBD is the largest in the state by far, and traffic is constrained in part because of the rivers restricting access from Lexington County, and because it is a more centralized employment hub. More people trying to get in to less space causes congestion. You have the same problem here in Charlotte.

  Charleston is a weird place. They are even more constrained by rivers than Columbia to the point that it almost functions like three or four separate cities. Enough said.

  So, since Greenville has less congestion and a generally less centralized employment population, does that mean our cities should keep expanding in the way the Upstate is?

In my opinion, the answer is no. Congestion comes with economic activity, its just a fact. The major concern that I have is not which city has a better road network. It's which city will be able to provide a viable alternative to driving a car to get around. Right now Columbia and Charleston are leading in that regard because they have more centralized employment nodes, and a street network that allows that kind of functionality.

Here is an example of why more streets are better: Hilton Head Island gets some 1.5 million tourists a year. Lets be generous and say 2 million. Heck, why not 3million? Regardless of that number, if you've ever been there you know that the main highway is ALWAYS congested, and it's difficult to get around to basic services and on/off the island since driving is the only option. It's nice once you get where you're going though

Now, compare that to Downtown Charleston, which gets some 12 million tourists a year. Because of their street grid, traffic in downtown is rarely an issue because once you get there you tend to walk everywhere. The exception is on, and connecting to, the Crosstown because... you guessed it... it's the primary way to drive between Mount Pleasant and West Ashley/James Island in addition to access to I-26.