Personal Trips: Where Are People Going?
Vehicle trips that just pass through a county without stopping are among the least desirable trip types for places. These trips create traffic jams, wear-and-tear on our roadways, exacerbate air pollution, and, critically, they don’t contribute to the local economy or local road maintenance. The chart above shows the percentage of personal trips that either stay in the county (the blue bars), pass-through a county (the orange bars) or enters/leaves a county (gray bars). A few key takeaways:
- The effect of major interstate highways (such as I-75, I-85, I-20 and I-285) going through most metro Atlanta counties, except Paulding and Fayette, is noticeable.
- The personal trips that are leaving or entering a county are an indicator of interaction among neighboring counties.
- Generally speaking, the bigger and more populous the county, the fewer pass-through trips and the fewer trips that leave or enter the county.
Commercial trips (see below), which are mostly trucks, but would also include delivery trucks, plumbers, electricians,and the like, follow the same basic pattern.
Commercial Trips: Where Are Commercial Vehicles Going?
