How does your city get to work?
Good morning Spokane. Before you head out the door, ponder these figures.
Sightline has collected a study on how residents in the Northwest get to work and some of the numbers are slightly encouraging. When compared to other cities in the region, Spokane got number nine for cycling - just behind Bend, Oregon and way better than Tacoma!- and seven for carpooling. Not too shabby. 
Bike To Work 1992. Photo by Eileen Hyatt, courtesy of Cycling Spokane.
However, we only ranked nineteen for walking and sixteen for public transit. Added up, 8.5 percent of Spokane residents get to work by walking, biking or riding the
bus during the
week. We can definitely do better and I think we are in 2010 as bike/ped facilities slowly increase however bus will be the most challenging, considering the proposed service reductions for Spokane Transit Authority and budgeting woes.
Seattle beats all cities in the region. They win the day on public transit—19.5 residents
commute by bus. Also, 7.7 percent of Seattle
residents walk and three percent ride bikes, which means that 30.2
percent of Seattle residents usually get to work by walking, biking or riding the bus during the
week. Props.
The Sightline numbers are compiled from 2009 census "residence-based" data and they reflect where commuting residents live, no matter where they work of
where they work. So a Spokanite commuting is what Spokane Valley counts. For more information, please visit Sightline.org and check the full lists by commuter category.
