Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
McCleary residents Michelle Pierce (left) and her mother, Marie Marlow, carpool from their nursing assistant jobs at Providence St. Peter Hospital, where they are allowed a closer parking spot because they ride to work together.

Cut in commuter program draws fire

JOHN DODGE, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- A state program that helped remove nearly 20,000 cars from congested highways each work day last year faces a sharp cut in funding under Gov. Gary Locke's budget proposal.

Annual state spending on the Department of Transportation's Commute Trip Reduction program would drop from $2.8 million to $1.8 million as part of $180 million in transportation budget cuts.

A coalition of public interest groups questions the move, calling the program one of the few cost-effective measures to help solve transportation gridlock in the state's most populated counties.

State lawmakers passed the Commute Trip Reduction Act in 1991, calling on large public and private employers in counties with more than 150,000 population to offer programs to encourage carpools, use of public transit, telecommuting and other alternatives.

The goal was to reduce traffic snarls, curb air pollution and cut consumption of gas and oil.

Reduced travel time

The $1 million slated for the budget axe is money that currently goes to the counties for technical assistance, education and training, said Karen Parkhurst, transportation planner with the Thurston Regional Planning Council.

"It could have a pretty grave effect on local programs," she said.

Last year, the public and private investment in commute trip reduction shaved about 6 percent from morning commute times in Puget Sound, according to the Commute Trip Reduction Task Force report to the state Legislature.

The same amount of congestion relief would be seen by expanding Interstate 405, but it would cost about $7 billion, said Aaron Ostrom, executive director of 1000 Friends of Washington, a statewide group that promotes anti-sprawl measures.

"This is a transportation efficiency that we cannot ignore," Ostrom said of efforts to reduce the number of single-occupancy vehicles on the road.

Balancing the budget

The money slated for cuts helps local governments and businesses educate their employees about alternative ways to get to and from work, said Bob Gillespie, director of environmental services at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia.

The program has helped the hospital persuade about 25 percent of its 1,200 employees who commute at rush hour to share rides with co-workers, work flexible hours, ride the bus or telecommute, said hospital commute trip reduction coordinator Sandra Brennan.

The Commute Trip Reduction program is one of many worthwhile programs hurt by the deep state budget cuts required to balance the budget, said Ed Penhale, spokesman for the governor's Office of Financial Management.

"We're dealing with a huge budget crisis," he said. "We're cutting things we support."

John Dodge covers the environment and energy for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5444.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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