Drive time is one of those quiet variables at work in the heads of our audiences, when considering a night out, a spontaneous group activity, or a season subscription. Who among us hasn’t thought about catching a show, only to consider the hassle of it and visit Blockbuster, instead? Who hasn’t come home after a bad traffic day and succumbed to the urge to cocoon?
Audience studies by AMS Planning & Research and others have shown that the large bulk of an arts organization’s audience comes from within a 20 – 30 mile radius of its facility, one key indicator that drive time is an essential part of the decision-making puzzle.
The bad news is, of course, that drive time is growing across the nation, as new housing developments sprout, as cities work to rebuild their downtowns, and as little is done to expand the roads. The new 2004 Urban Mobility Study breaks down the problem in glorious detail. Among the findings: The annual delay experienced by the average rush hour traveler has risen from 16 hours in 1982 to 46 hours today…striking 30 hours from his or her available, non-work life.
For arts organizations, one clear response is to encourage residential development nearby, to grow an audience that doesn’t have to drive. Another response is to engage actively in local and regional transportation policy conversations, since roads are the arteries that bring you life. A third response is to build facilities where people live, or where they already drive (suburbia, malls, and such), which creates a wonderful tension with efforts to make arts the anchor of downtown vitality.
NPR did a quick audio news item on the traffic study, if you don’t want to read the report. If you’re interested in traffic congestion statistics for your area, take a look at the handy map that offers access to local data.
