Workers in Alberta's largest cities are spending more time on the road.

The average round-trip driving time for an Edmonton resident commuting to work by car last year was 62 minutes. That's up from 50 minutes in 1992, according to a new study by Statistics Canada.

The average Canadian spends close to 12 full days a year travelling between work and home, according to Statistics Canada.
(CP PHOTO/Kevin Frayer)

Calgarians spend even longer on the road: 66 minutes in 2005, compared with 52 minutes in 1992.

Martin Turcotte, the author of the study, said that when a city such as Calgary booms, it means longer commuting times.

"You have more people living there than it used to be in 1992," he said. "Plus you have more people working. Unemployment rate has come down to its lowest level in thirty years in Canada, so more people are commuting to work."

Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier said his council is aware of the growing frustrations of commuters.

"I don’t know too many Calgarians that want to spend their life sitting in traffic," he said.

Bronconnier said $1.5 billion will be spent on roads, transit and other transportation projects over the next five years, which should help alleviate the problem.

The two Alberta cities are still better off than Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver or Ottawa-Gatineau when it comes to commuting times. Toronto has the longest commute at 79 minutes.

The average Canadian spends nearly 12 full days a year travelling between work and home, according to the study.

Across Canada, Canadians spent an average of 63 minutes a day commuting, compared with 54 minutes in 2004.