Columbus residents traveled great distances last year
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The average Columbus metro area household traveled 28,775 miles last year, per a new study, nearly the equivalent of taking a one-way trip to Kings Island every single day.
Why it matters: Closer proximity to entertainment, jobs and other essentials "could lower environmental emissions, create safer streets, and unlock financial savings," analysts with the Brookings Institution wrote.
What they did: The study tracked household auto, biking, mass transit and walking data for the 110 largest U.S. metro areas to measure how close people are to where they work, eat, play and shop.
Zoom in: Households in each of Ohio's major cities averaged fewer miles in 2022 than the national average of 30,500.
- The Cincinnati area was highest with an average of 28,872 miles, while while Toledo had the lowest with 25,210 miles.
State of play: Columbus' urban planning decisions have historically favored car travel, though the tides are changing somewhat.
- A zoning code rewrite is underway that could help develop more "walkable" neighborhoods.
- The city is incentivizing e-bike purchases and building new bicycle infrastructure, and has an $8 billion COTA expansion potentially on the horizon.
- Public transit advocates also await news on a proposal to bring Amtrak passenger rail service back to town.