Increase in commuters puts planners to work

By 2030, nearly 100,000 people are expected to commute into or out of Thurston County for their jobs every work day.

That’s about twice the number on the road today, according to the Thurston Regional Planning Council.

As a result, van pools, buses, commuter rail and possibly air travel are among the forms of transportation that are expected to grow to offset the increasing traffic on South Sound highways.

Some commuting solutions will come sooner than others, and state highway improvements will continue for years to come.

The state Department of Transportation is faced with a long list of highway construction projects the next several years.

According to DOT spokesman Lloyd Brown:

• A 5-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax approved in 2003 is expected to fund 158 projects statewide in the next 10 years at a cost of $3.9 billion.

• A 9.5-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax approved in 2005, combined with the 5-cent tax and some pre-existing funds, will fund 274 projects over the next 16 years at a cost of $16 billion.

The department also is planning ahead to 2030, looking at options for alleviating congestion.

The wish list locally includes rebuilding freeway interchanges in busy locations such as Martin Way and building a new interchange at Carpenter Road, said Forest Sutmiller, a systems analysis team leader for DOT Olympic Region Planning.

But those are the types of major projects that, while helping most to relieve congestion, are costliest.

“They are some of the last things that will be funded,” he said.

More likely, the department would implement low-cost measures first, such as signs alerting drivers to accidents and an online program that would allow drivers to see where accidents are and estimate commuting times. He said he “wouldn’t undersell” the effectiveness of those solutions.

“You could look on your screen before you leave work to see whether or not the commute’s going to take you 30 minutes or two hours,” he said.

Other short-term fixes include closed-circuit TV cameras and highway advisory radios to help people with their daily commute.

But as gridlock worsens, commuters will have to take a more serious look at other options, such as carpooling and public transportation, he said.

Van pools and buses

Intercity Transit, the county’s public transit provider, expects to increase its fleet of buses and vans to accommodate commuter growth, IT spokeswoman Meg Kester said.

Today, IT operates 140 vanpools and will add 20 by next year.

“We can barely keep up with demand,” Kester said.

By 2011, IT plans to add nine fixed-route buses, including buses on commuter routes, such as those traveling between Thurston and Pierce counties. Other future additions: four dial-a-lift vans and 96 more vanpools.

“I think the region is moving in the right direction, and there is a general awareness that we cannot build more roads and have that be a viable solution for this area,” Kester said.

Commuter rail

Sounder commuter rail could play a transportation role in the county’s future — someday.

Last week, Sound Transit got a little closer to the county, breaking ground on a new station in Lakewood for Sounder. Sounder is expected to transport commuters from Lakewood to Tacoma starting in 2010, Sound Transit spokesman Bruce Gray said.

A series of steps would have to occur for rail to come to Thurston County. Voters would have to approve making Thurston County part of Sound Transit’s taxing district, and the county and Sound Transit would have to come to terms on an agreement, Gray said.

Still, he noted that Sound Transit and the Thurston Regional Planning Council are in discussions about extending passenger rail to the county.

“It’s a long process, but we’re both well on our way to doing what it would take” to bring Sounder here, Gray said.

Sounder’s first route between Tacoma and Seattle started in 2000, Gray said. Since then:

• Average daily boardings have grown from 1,100 to 5,600.

• A second route between Everett and Seattle has been added.

Meanwhile, about 600 daily boardings are expected for the Lakewood to Tacoma route, Gray said.

Air travel

A commercial airline has not operated out of Olympia Regional Airport since 2004, but as a new generation of very light, six-seat jets gains acceptance, they could transport commuters to regional destinations, airport director Rudy Rudolph said.

Light jets are being used on the East Coast, but Rudolph doesn’t expect wider use of them on the West Coast for two more years.

Previously, Big Sky airlines flew a route between Olympia and Spokane. After two years here, the airline encountered difficulties with equipment, weather, scheduling and ridership, Rudolph said.

Reduction program

A longtime state program continues to reduce the number of cars on the road.

The Commuter Trip Reduction program was approved by the state Legislature in 1991. Its goal was to address traffic congestion, improve air quality and reduce the use of petroleum.

It was amended in 2006 to focus more on traffic congestion, said Ed Hillsman, senior scientist for demand management at the DOT.

CTR guidelines apply to the nine most-populous counties in the state, including Thurston. They require that any employer with more than 100 full-time workers arriving between 6 and 9 a.m. must encourage alternative transportation.

Fines can be imposed on employers who ignore the law, and private companies can receive tax credits for participating.

CTR data is collected every two years and has shown:

• In 1993, 921 work sites participated. In 2005, it had grown to 1,007 work sites.

• Commuters who drive alone dropped from 71 percent in 1993 to 66 percent in 2005 statewide.

• Thurston County commuters who drive alone dropped from 80 percent in 1993 to 75 percent in 2005.

• Of the Thurston County employees in the program as of 2005, the majority of participants were involved in carpooling, followed by working a compressed work week, taking public transit, walking, biking, vanpooling and telecommuting. A few people reported to work by rail.

Rollerblades count

Rick Judd of Lacey, a longtime DOT employee, commutes differently from most -- he glides on Rollerblades.

DOT participates in the CTR program, and though Judd was rolling to work before the law was enacted, his preferred mode of transportation counts as part of the program.

Every morning Judd packs a backpack with his clothes and lunch, puts on his Rollerblades and commutes six miles to DOT’s headquarters in Olympia.

Judd leaves his home about 6:45 a.m. and arrives 30 minutes later. He travels by way of the Chehalis Western Trail and a bike path that parallels Interstate 5.

Once at the office, he showers, changes clothes and is ready for work, said Judd, a program manager for DOT’s highway construction program.

“I hope to do this until I blow out the cartilage in my knees,” he said.

By traveling to work this way, Judd said he has saved money because his family needs one vehicle instead of two.

The CTR program also offers a financial incentive to employees such as Judd who participate. He receives $2.50 a day that is paid quarterly.

Remuneration varies by employer, Hillsman said. A common approach is to offer employees a transit pass.

In 2005, 92 work sites in Thurston County participated in the program, including DOT, The Evergreen State College and the Washington State Employees Credit Union.

WSECU has been involved with the program since 1997. Today, about one-third of the 300 employees in downtown Olympia carpool, vanpool, walk or ride bikes to work, spokesman Eric Jones said.

Employees are reimbursed up to $35 a month for taking public transit to work, a rate that will be bumped up to $50 in April, he said.

Another incentive is that employees can park for free at the main office if they choose an alternative mode of transportation at least three days a week that is something other than public transit, Jones added.

And yet while the CTR law has helped reduce the number of commuters who drive alone to work, it also has discovered that more people are traveling longer distances to get to their job.

What commuters say

How to improve or address the future of commuting to and from Thurston County is viewed differently by former and current long-distance commuters.

For three years, Melinda Spencer of Olympia commuted from Olympia to a job at Microsoft in Redmond.

After spending that much time in her car, Spencer would like to see more options for rail in South Sound and a dedicated route for trucks on Interstate 5.

James Morton of Tenino, who commutes to Everett, doesn’t think high occupancy vehicle lanes work.

“I see a lot of violators,” Morton said. “I see moms with the baby in the car seat when HOV lanes should be for two adults.”

Morton also thinks that more signal lights are needed to regulate the flow of oncoming freeway traffic.

Until then, the automobile will continue to play a large part in the lives of most commuters, Spencer admits.

“Public transportation has to be good, fast and cheap before we give up our cars,” she said.

Rolf Boone covers business for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5403 or by e-mail at rboone@theolympian.com. Lacey Today reporter Diane Huber contributed to this report.