The population clusters with the most jobs in the region tend to have the smallest households, meaning workers in larger households end up driving long distances to get to work, according to a new survey.
The latest results of a household travel survey, which were presented Wednesday to the National Capital Region Transportation Board, analyzed “regional activity clusters,” which are mixed-use areas with higher density housing, and compared them to the more suburban or even semi-rural parts of the region. Think Bailey’s Crossroads area, downtown D.C. and Bethesda compared with the outskirts of Frederickburg.
The survey found that more than half of the households in a nine-square mile area of downtown D.C. contained just one person, for example, while nearly half of the households outside the clusters had three or more people.
Officials have been trying to find ways to reduce the traffic that ties up local roads while wasting drivers’ time and fuel. But the survey shows that many workers don’t live near their jobs, so they must drive.
“Families with kids aren’t living in the ‘regional activity centers,’” noted Loudoun County Supervisor Lori Waters. “We better start looking at housing types that are more attractive to families. That is going beyond one- to two-bedroom apartments in high-rises.”
The people who do live in higher density hubs, such as Ballston, Bethesda and Silver Spring, tend to drive fewer miles than those who live in more suburban areas, even though they took about the same number of daily trips. Instead of driving, those in the hubs were more likely to walk or take transit.
The trends did vary within the buzzing “activity” areas, though. Nearly a third of residents in downtown D.C. did not own any vehicles. About one-third reported walking daily, and one-fifth used transit to get around instead.
But in hubs such as Woodbridge and Potomac Mills, all but 1 percent of households had at least one vehicle. They took transit or walked for just 6 percent of their daily trips.
