Why drive-time access matters more than distance
Why being close to something is not the same as being able to get there without losing your mind.
Hero image
A Place Signals score card with confidence, source freshness, and proxy geography labels.
A conceptual Place Signals score card showing why every location score needs source context.
In commercial real estate and site selection, people love to say, "This site is just one mile from the Interstate."
That sounds useful until you actually have to drive there.
Proximity is not accessibility
Proximity is the physical distance between two points.
Accessibility is how painful it is to actually get there.
That difference sounds small on paper and very large when you are sitting in traffic or trying to move freight through a bad intersection.
Why the gap matters
The most common pitfall in location intelligence is the Euclidean fallacy: measuring distance as the crow flies.
That is fine for birds and drones. It is less useful for people dealing with roads, rivers, ramps, detours, and one cursed left turn.
If your model relies on straight-line distance, you will overestimate how easy a place is to reach.
Why drive-time works better
Drive-time captures the thing that actually matters:
- how long it takes to get there
- how congestion changes the trip
- whether the route is simple or annoying
- whether the site is truly convenient or just geographically close
That is why it is better for logistics, retail, and everyday relocation decisions.
Bottom line
Ignore the miles.
Measure the minutes. That is usually where the truth is hiding.
Related reading
Get the Place Signals Journal
Source-backed notes on places, markets, and relocation. No spam, just data.