Idahoans staying home more, road reports show
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Idahoans are staying home more, according to data released by the Idaho Transportation Department.
ITD released a traffic-tracker tool on Thursday that shows a significant decline in travel across the state.
Since March 1, traffic volume dropped from 25,000 trips per day to 15,000.
The drops in traffic correlate with significant news events. The week after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed on March 13, there was an estimated 30 percent drop in trips on the I-84 connector.
After Governor Brad Little issued a stay-at-home order (March 26), traffic on the connector dropped an additional 25 percent.
Eastern Idaho had a spike in travel on I-15 while most of the state saw the opposite.
“Personnel in those districts observed a lot of Canadians heading home in fear that the US-Canada border could be closed in the near future," said Jake Melder with ITD communications.
ITD recognizes this data is not as "thoroughly vetted for quality as normal," so there may be irregularities. The ITD team is working to provide accurate information under short deadlines. The traffic tool is updated within 72 hours after the data is received.
But another set of data tells a different story. Unacast created a Social Distancing Scoreboard for each state by taking cell phone location data.
As of April 2, Idaho scored a C-, right on par with the overall score for the country.
The grade is given based on how much residents in the area reduced their average movement. It's also broken down by counties.
Blaine and Latah counties are leading Idaho in the stay-at-home game; both received A grades.
Eastern Idahoans aren't limiting their movement much, according to the scorecard. The highest score in the region is a C, in Bear Lake, Teton and Madison counties.
Bingham and Bonneville counties both received a D for only reducing their movement by 25 to 40 percent.
The data reflects movement from four days ago, to ensure Unacast collects enough data to provide an accurate picture, according to the website. It is updated daily.
