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CEDAR FALLS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN COMMUTING PATTERNS


Commuting patterns often have a complex relationship with a community’s retail trade performance. If a city such as Cedar Falls experiences a high outflow of work- ers, it may also see “leakage” in retail sales as employees shop near where they work. Yet at the same time, commuting residents that earn their incomes in a nearby area will bring at least part of that income back to spend in their home city, thereby im- porting wealth into Cedar Falls.


Table 1.17 compares the percentage of workers working in and outside Cedar Falls and other comparison communities. About 58% of the residents in Cedar Falls work inside Cedar Falls. This number is comparable to Black Hawk County and the State of Iowa, but is lower than comparison cities of Waterloo, Ames, Dubuque, and Iowa City. This is likely due to the fact that a number of Cedar Falls residents work in neighboring Waterloo.


Table 1.18 shows the average travel time to work and percent of residents who walk to work for Cedar Falls and other comparable metro suburban communities. In 2009, the estimated average commute for a Cedar Falls Resident was 15.1 minutes, lower than average travel time in all comparison communities, the county, and the state.


Development patterns and pedestrian facilities influence the opportunity for resi- dents to walk to work. Cedar Falls’ high walking rate (10.7%) is likely due to a com- bination of the UNI student presence, tighter development patterns and accessible pedestrian amenities such as continuous, safe sidewalks and an attractive walking en- vironment. Ames and Iowa City, who share Cedar Falls characteristics of high student population and pedestrian amenities, also have high walking rates for commuters.


RETAIL SALES


Table 1.19 compares the expenditures of Cedar Falls residents (consumer demand) with Cedar Falls’ retail sales (retail supply) for various good/service categories. When consumer demand exceeds retail supply there is a retail “gap,” indicating that Cedar Falls is losing (exporting) resident consumer spending. When retail supply exceeds consumer demand there is a retail “surplus”, indicating that Cedar Falls is attracting (importing) spending from outside of the community. Gaps reveal opportunities for retail growth, while surpluses indicate areas in which Cedar Falls may have a com- petitive advantage.


Cedar Falls attracts retail spending in areas such as:


• Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers • Building Materials, Garden Equipment Stores • Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, Music Stores • Foodservice and Drinking Places • General merchandise, Apparel, Furniture and Other


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