|
By Brad Kellar/Herald-Banner Staff
Saturday, October 22, 2005 2:53 AM CDT
The City of Greenville is an entirely different city by night than by day.
According to figures released this week by the Census Bureau, about 7,000 more people work, shop and play in Greenville during the day than at night.
City Manager Karen Daly was not surprised at the agency’s estimates on daytime population changes, which she believes show how Greenville is a destination for the entire area.
"We’ve always described ourselves as a regional retail and employment center, and those numbers prove that out," Daly said.
The Census Bureau reported Greenville has a total residential population of 23,960 people. But once all of the working commuters, shoppers and visitors are added in, the city grows to an estimated daytime population of almost 31,000 people, a difference of 29.3 percent between day and night.
Daly said the jump in population during the day affects how the city provides services to its residents.
"The first thing it impacts is traffic," Daly said, noting how estimates by the Texas Department of Transportation reveal Wesley Street carries some 29,000 vehicles per day.
"We don’t even have that many people in Greenville," Daly said, attributing much of the daytime surge to employees working at L-3 Communications Integrated Systems and the city’s other major employers.
The Census Bureau report reveals other nearby cities experience far less pronounced swings in population.
Rockwall, for example, has a total residential population of 17,956 people, with an estimated daytime population of 18,136, a change of nine-tenths of one percent.
McKinney’s population of 54,369 actually shrinks by 199 people during the day.
Commerce, meanwhile, with a population of 7,669, and even with Texas A&M University-Commerce, only adds 561 people to its ranks during the daytime, a shift of 7.3 percent.
|
