Brookings is a university town on the I-29 corridor, close enough to Sioux Falls for an easy commute and far enough to feel like its own place. I-29 runs north and south along the west edge of the city, and US 14 crosses it on the way east toward Minnesota and west toward Huron. Sixth Street serves as the main east-west street through town and connects to the interstate, Main Avenue runs through the historic downtown, and Medary Avenue carries traffic along the South Dakota State University campus.
In practical terms, nearly every address in Brookings is a short drive for a mobile mechanic. Downtown blocks, campus apartments, the industrial areas on the edges of town and subdivisions on the north and south sides are all quickly reached on a street grid that rarely backs up, except around football weekends and class changes near campus. Interstate breakdowns are the bigger worry: the open stretch of I-29 toward Sioux Falls is windy and exposed, and a car that quits there in a winter storm needs help fast.
A small regional airport serves Brookings, but most travelers fly out of Sioux Falls and leave their cars there. The Big Sioux River runs west of the city, and the county roads out to Volga, Aurora and the lakes are paved but rural. Nearly everyone in town depends on a car to get to class, work or the farm, which is why getting a repair done in the driveway or parking lot is so useful here.