Census: Metro Atlanta third longest commute in U.S.

ATLANTA - Atlanta had the largest 10-year increase among major American cities in the average time commuters spend in traffic, according to U.S. Census figures. <br> <br> The figures released Wednesday show that the average metro Atlanta commute grew five minutes in the 1990s, making the one-way trip more than 31 minutes. <br> <br> That&#39;s more than in larger cities such as Houston, Philadelphia and even Los Angeles, where the average commute was longer than Atlanta&#39;s in 1990. <br> <br> The Census figures indicate that 10 years later, only New York and the Washington-Baltimore area had a greater time than Atlanta&#39;s. <br> <br> According to the Census, fast growing metro Atlanta&#39;s average commute increased almost 20 percent during the last decade. That compares to increases ranging from 10 to 15 percent in most of the other cities in the top 10. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale&#39;s went up 19 percent. <br> <br> Not only did the population increase by more than 1 million to 4 million in a 22-county area but the suburbs spread for miles around the city core. <br> <br> ``We have had an unprecedented outward growth,&#39;&#39; said Larry Frank, a professor of city planning at Georgia Tech. <br> <br> Chuck Krautler, director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, said new express buses, rail lines, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, road improvements and better planning of development in the next decade would alleviate the time spent in cars. <br> <br> ``A lot of things the region has planned to alleviate congestion and offer alternatives is just beginning to move from planning to implementation,&#39;&#39; Krautler said. ``Hopefully, we will begin to see the impact of that in the next census.&#39;&#39;