A new study shows people living in sprawling metro areas are payingmore for transportation than residents in other areas. The Great LakesRadio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:
Transcript
A new study shows people living in sprawling metro areas are paying more for transportation than residents in other areas. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports.
The report by the Surface Transportation Policy Project shows that the average
American spends more money on transportation than on health care, education, or food. The study also shows urban sprawl is increasing those costs. Kelly Thayer is with the Michigan Land Use Institute. He says he hopes the report will help people realize how sprawl affects them.
“Sprawl is costing people a lot of money on an individual basis. Right in your own home, you are seeing money lifted from your budget by poor planning in your community.”
Thayer says transportation costs are getting high enough that they should play an increasing role in decisions people make on where to live and how to get to work. He also says the cost of getting around can be reduced when communities make investments in public transit systems and in safe and convenient routes for walking and biking. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Jonathan Ahl.