Veterans Parkway and Route 51 help shorten north-south commute times. (Photo By Paul Morello/WJBC)

By Paul Morello

BLOOMINGTON - Getting to work in Bloomington should only take 12.7 minutes.

According to CNN Money, Bloomington ranks 20th in its category of shortest commute among cities on the "Best Places to Live" list. City manager David Hales said Monday the commute could still be shorter.

"I think most people would say, north to south, whether you're on Veterans Parkway or US-51, it is very efficient. However, we do have some challenges going from east to west," he said.

Hales said the Veterans Parkway or Main Street equivalent from east to west would be Route 9, but that still isn't quite the same.

"When you look at Route 9, once you get into the downtown area, and if you're continuing west, then you have to make a couple of ninety degree turns," he said.

Hales said an east-west thoroughfare would be a worthwhile point of discussion in the future, "as we look at continuing to have good, efficient local transportation."

The "Best Places to Live" rankings include cities with populations between 50,000 and 300,000. Ranking factors include the fiscal strength of the state and local governments, jobs, housing, health care and happiness of residents.

CNN also interviewed residents, assesed traffic, parks and other gathering places.

The shortest commute among the "Best Places to Live" cities was 11.2 minutes in Manhattan, Kansas.

Paul Morello can be reached at paul@wjbc.com.