Quick trip to work? Tough to beat Richfield

For a relatively quick trip to work, look no further than Richfield: The city's brag that it is conveniently located at the heart of the Twin Cities' transit and highway systems is borne out by U.S. census data that was released last week.

Richfield residents get to work an average of two minutes faster than average state residents.

The data come from 2005 to 2009 estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS), which measures population characteristics in detail. Some of the questions focus on how people get to work and how long it takes them to get there.

While Richfield had an average commute of 20.2 minutes, Bloomington, St. Paul and Minneapolis were clumped right behind at 21 to 22 minutes.

Commutes were much longer in outer-ring suburbs and bedroom communities such as Marine on St. Croix at 34.6 minutes, Chisago City at 35.1 minutes, Bethel at 37.7 minutes and Waverly at 39 minutes. The state's average commute to work takes 22.2 minutes.

Waverly's time -- practically a round-trip for the average Richfield commuter -- didn't surprise Gary Olson, who has served on the City Council for 18 years. About 870 people live in Waverly, which is about 35 miles west of Minneapolis. The survey shows that nearly 70 percent of people who work leave Wright County to get to their jobs.

"We really don't have any industry in the city," Olson said. "Most people are commuters to the metro area. There's people who commute even farther from Willmar and Litchfield. There just isn't any work out there for folks."

Cities with the longest commutes had no public transit. In Waverly's case, 84 percent of drivers drove to work alone. Fewer than 8 percent of drivers there said they carpooled to work. Statewide, 9.4 percent of people got to work by carpooling.

"I don't think there's enough people here to justify [adding mass transit]," Olson said. "It's a beautiful area, but it's a bedroom community."

Chisago City Administrator John Pechman said an estimated 75 percent of residents work in the Twin Cities. Recently, he said, some who commute to Minneapolis have begun driving 10 miles to Forest Lake to catch a bus that links to Northstar commuter rail. Others drive to a big new park-and-ride lot in Blaine to catch a bus.

"But a commuter bus that drops you downtown, we don't have," Pechman said. "That's been our frustration."

Lee Munnich, a transportation expert with the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, said long commutes from the fringe of the metro area reflect people's search for affordable housing in the last 20 years. The farther people went, the cheaper houses got. But industry and employment didn't necessarily follow.

In Chisago City, the long commutes take a toll on the community, Pechman said. He said by the time parents get home, make dinner and help the kids with their homework, they often don't have time to be involved in activities like coaching or doing community service.

"Where is the volunteering time?" he said. "In general, it's the [people] that are working in our area who are able to volunteer."

Commuting complications are not much of an issue in outstate cities such as Duluth (16.4 minutes), Ely (13.5 minutes), Willmar (12.9 minutes) or Crookston (10.7 minutes). While those figures may be skewed by the small samples taken by the ACS, Crookston Mayor Dave Genereux said commuting statistics for his city in the state's northwest corner sound right to him.

With about 7,800 people, Crookston is the Pope County seat and home to employers such as American Crystal Sugar, a hospital and the U of M's Crookston campus. Fewer than 9 percent of Crookston residents work outside their home county.

Commuters have good roads, and they have another advantage, the mayor said.