Drive Times and Traffic in Calgary
Calgary has one of the lowest commute times in Canada, I know it may not seem like it when you are stuck in traffic but I assure you it could be worse. Calgary is also very lucky to have several main roadways with minimal to no traffic lights. Between Stoney Trail, Crowchild Trail, Deerfoot Trail and Glenmore Trail we have some very efficient roads.
According to statistics Canada the average commute time to work for Canadians last year was 26 minutes (one way). About a quarter of those took their own vehicle, while another 44% rode public transit and about 14% walked or used a bike. On average Calgarians too take about 26 minutes to commute to work, not to bad when comparing to Toronto (33 minutes).
There are also a few other factors to consider in how good our drive time is:
- We have the highest percentage of the working population in North America that works downtown
- We have a geographically small downtown core ( roughly 125 square blocks)
- We have the highest amount of head offices in Canada per capita
- We have one of the largest municipal land masses in North America (about 848 km2)