Sprawl costs Denver metro commuters hundreds of dollars a year

staff photo
Megan Arellano
Globeville's Saint Joseph Polish Catholic Church seen across I-70. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite) 1-70; highway; infrastructure; development; kevinjbeaty; denver; colorado; globeville; denverite;

Globeville's Saint Joseph Polish Catholic Church seen across I-70. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Research says sprawl costs Denver metro commuters $716 each year. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that, for this study, that’s not so bad. The average U.S. worker pays $1,400.

Researcher Daniel Hertz of City Observatory looked at sprawl in the top 50 metropolitan areas of the United States and calculated how much shorter commutes would be if the city didn’t take up so much space. To find the cost, he used AAA’s cost per mile for an mid-range sedan, then multiplied that by the “excess commuting distance,” which is the difference between the actual commute distance and the shorter distance in a compacted metro.

The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro was 41st, when it comes how much commuting costs you. That puts us in the company of the Tampa and San Diego metros.

Update: The caption has been changed to correct the name of the church.

Hi! You’re like us!

Looks like you’re the type of person who reads to the ends of articles! Well, true believer, you might really like our morning newsletter. It’s quick, free and gets you up to speed on the important and delightful things happening right here in Denver.

Thanks for reading another Denverite story

Does Denverite help you feel more connected to what’s up in your area? Do you want to be a part of it?

Member donations are critical to our continued existence and growth.

Support our work

Thanks for reading another Denverite story

Does Denverite help you feel more connected to what’s up in your area? Do you want to be a part of it?

Member donations are critical to our continued existence and growth.

Support our work

You’re our superpower

Denverite supporters have made the decision to financially support local journalism that matters to you. Ready to tell your networks why? Sharing our “About” page with your own personal comments could really help us out.

Here’s that page

You’re our superpower

Denverite members have made the decision to financially support local journalism that matters to you. Ready to tell your networks why? Sharing our “About” page with your own personal comments could really help us out.

Here’s that page

Tagged

sprawl, Short-term rentals, commuting, volunteer