High traffic counts bode well for business, Aurora growth

Commuting patterns and the number of vehicles passing by or through a community each day can be a major factor in the world of economic development and the numbers show that Aurora’s traffic counts add up to opportunity. 
A story in this week’s edition offers some interesting insight as to how traffic data is being tracked and used these days. The Nebraska Department of Transportation, as well as the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, both monitor the numbers closely, sharing as needed with business and industry recruiting prospects.
Here in and around Aurora, the numbers are impressive. Out at the 332 Interstate 80 intersection, for example, just under 24,000 vehicles per day passed by Aurora in 2019, though that number understandably dipped some last year due to the pandemic. 
A number of businesses that have located at the I-80 junction or along the Highway 14 corridor confirm that quick and easy access to I-80 is in fact a draw. There is therefore confidence, and reason to believe, that Aurora could see additional business growth in the years ahead, especially in the transportation logistics sector. Those are good-paying jobs, by the way, involving companies that typically don’t require huge numbers of employees that would be difficult to find in today’s workforce.
On Highway 34, the daily average gets as high as 8,145 vehicles rolling by Memorial Hospital, dipping from 6,100 to 4,015 going west or east. Again, those are impressive numbers.
A local Scooter’s franchisee reports that traffic near the 5th Street intersection on 34 is comparable to that of a busy college drive in Fort Collins, Colo., home of a Division I university. Scooter’s is just the latest example of businesses ready and willing to invest in Highway 34 property. According to building permit records at City Hall, that will  add to a list of projects worth nearly $5 million combined dating back to the Casey’s building in 2014. 
Traffic counts are apparently becoming more and more of a factor in the age-old real estate axiom — location, location, location. No matter how you add up the numbers, Aurora is in a good location to attract businesses, customers and future growth.
Kurt Johnson