Commuting on the rise in Rock County
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Dan Karleski, Janesville, bought a motorcycle to save gas on his commute too and from Madison.
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Several Janesville residents board a Wisconsin Vanpool van to get to work in Madison. The program has become so popular with commuters they have long waiting lists.
JANESVILLE — Steve Engelbert didn’t consider moving to Madison when he got a job there nearly a decade ago.
His wife worked in Janesville and Beloit, and his children attended Janesville schools, he said.
“We just kind of made Janesville our home, and we wanted to stay there and raise our children there,” he said.
So Engelbert joins more than 13,000 people who wake up every weekday in Rock County and drive outside the county for work, often to Madison or Rockford, Ill.
As more and more jobs leave Rock County, residents are finding it tougher to get jobs close to where they live. Yet many still choose to live in Rock County after finding jobs elsewhere.
By 2000, twice as many people commuted out of Rock County as into it, according to the U.S. Census.
Which begs the question: Is Rock County becoming a bedroom community?
Dan Kruse, president of the Rock-Green Realtors Association, said he wouldn’t go that far.
“I don’t think we’re nearly to that level in Rock County,” he said. “I think there’s still a lot of good jobs and a lot of stable positions in Rock County.”
But he believes the county will see more people commuting in the future, he said.
In 1990, 20 percent of Rock County residents commuted outside the county for work, according to the South Central Wisconsin Commuter Transportation Study. By 2006, that number had risen to 26 percent. The number could go even higher after recent job losses at General Motors and other companies.
Commuters give various reasons for making long trips to work:
-- Housing prices are lower in Rock County.
-- They like their community.
-- One spouse works in Rock County and one works outside of it.
-- They don’t want to uproot their children.
Low housing prices are what drew Joe Clark back to his hometown of Janesville.
He started working in the Madison area after graduating from Blackhawk Technical College because he couldn’t find a job in Rock County, he said.
He and his wife, Alicia, lived in Madison for a while and then Edgerton. But when it came time to buy a house, the attractive prices sent them back to Janesville, he said.
“We were able to buy a house in Janesville for less than we were renting,” he said.
In its August issue, Money Magazine ranked Janesville 16th in the country for affordable homes, with a median home price of $124,700.
“If somebody can get a comparable house in Rock County, and it’s $100,000 less than moving up to, say, Madison … they very well may choose to stay in the Rock County area,” Kruse said.
Still, as gas prices continue to rise, commuting distance might start outweighing other factors, he said.
“Once you get into a couple more years, you might see a lot more people saying, ‘I’ve got to get closer to work,’” he said.
Tim Wellnitz took the opposite approach: He brought work closer to him.
He commuted about five years from Janesville to Madison to work in state government. In May, he took a job as assistant city attorney in Janesville, in part to escape the daily commute, he said.
“The benefits (of changing jobs) are wide-ranging, which includes obviously not having to pay all that extra gas,” he said. “You don’t have to waste that time in the car.”
ROCK COUNTY COMMUTERS
The South Central Wisconsin Commuter Transportation Study reports the below job locations of Rock County residents:
1990 2000 2006
Rock County 80% 78% 74%
Wisconsin, outside Rock County 10% 14% 20%
Outside Wisconsin 10% 9% 6%
Aug 11, 2008 at 11:37 a.m.
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GrandmaM, I don't know about Edgerton, but in Janesville most of the vans meet in the K-mart parking lot. K-mart agrees to it (its not like they get enough business to fill up the lot), but if interest grows and they add more vans, I wonder at what point K-mart will kick us out. Then Janesville will need an official park-n-ride, or each van will have to fend for itself.
Aug 11, 2008 at 7:47 a.m.
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With so many commuters in Rock County, you would think they would have a park-and-ride, especially near one of the Edgerton exits on I-90.
Aug 11, 2008 at 12:59 a.m.
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I've been wanting to take this Van Pool as well. I've worked in the Southwest area of Madison for 15+ years, and now in Sun Prairie for the last 3 years on 3rd shift. I've had no luck getting into such program as this.
Aug 10, 2008 at 10:41 p.m.
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Thanks for the info.
Aug 10, 2008 at 10:30 p.m.
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Just as an example, I used to ride a different van where I had about a 15 minute walk to/from work on campus (which since I had recently been a student, did not bother me any). However, I transferred to my current van because I could get dropped off closer (less than 5 minute walk) plus the schedule was better, although the cost was slightly higher, because each van has different number of riders and different miles/mileage so the price will vary.
Aug 10, 2008 at 10:27 p.m.
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JohnDoe, that all depends on the van; you'll have to check out the website and call the van coordinators. Each van plans its own route and dropoff/pickup times. Some vans only go downtown, some go only campus (my van), some do both. If your work is not near an existing dropoff point, the van may be willing to alter their route if it doesn't add too much delay to the other riders (the van will actually vote on changes like this, and majority rules). If all that failed, then yes you would be on your own for in-city transportation (like taking the metro).
Aug 10, 2008 at 7:26 p.m.
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Just wondering...once you get to Madison, how close to your destination do you get dropped off and picked up?
Are you on your own for the final leg to get where-ever?
Aug 10, 2008 at 2:10 p.m.
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I drove to Madison for school for about 4 plus years. I also got a job working in Madison almost 2 years ago and just started doing the State Van Pool recently and I have to say it is a lot less stressful not worrying about the commute. Wisconsin Winters are not fun to drive in. Had I started doing the Van Pool sooner, I would have saved so much money! I think anyone who commutes to the Madison area should highly consider looking into this, trust me, you won't be sorry!
Aug 10, 2008 at 9:18 a.m.
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janesvillean
How many businesses employing a substancial number of employees have closed here in Janesville since 2000? Are the jobs that have opened up since been comparable? Not only are wages not comparable but benefits such as health insurance are lacking as well. I've lived it.... I know.
Does everyone remember that we do live in Wisconsin and had record breaking snowfall amounts as well as historical flooding in this area this year. Not only the price of gas and the extra commute time are involved with commuting for work. Having to drive so far in bad weather conditions is also a huge factor. Remember all those people stranded up on I 90 for so long just a few months ago?
Aug 10, 2008 at 6:15 a.m.
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If I could afford to commute to Madison or Dane County in general I'd do it. Jobs pay much better there. So, until I learn to teleport, I'll be working here in Janesville.
Aug 10, 2008 at 2:40 a.m.
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First, it's a misnomer that jobs are "leaving" Rock County. Employment has increased in both the 1990s and 2000s, rising from around 70,000 people employed to around 80,000 employed.
http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/oea/county_prof...
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADP...
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Even with higher commuting rates there has still been a net increase of around 5000 local jobs. Since the population is increasing, this indicates at least as many people move here intending to work elsewhere.
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Granted, the 2008-2010 period may reflect different figures due to the GM closure. I am not saying the prior trend will continue. For one thing, the people choosing to commute, either living here already or moving here to do so, based that choice on a climate of much lower transportation costs.
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In any event, commuter options are ultimately only a stopgap measure for many people. A rail line would take up to twenty years to plan and implement even using existing trackage. The real solution is going to be locating jobs and workers closer together.
Aug 10, 2008 at 1:15 a.m.
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build a rail system between Madison and Janesville
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