Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Washington State
provides $3.9 million in grants to local governments every
2 years to support employers programs. Washington State DOT administers the
funding, guides the program with policies and procedures, measures perfor-
mance, and evaluates the program.
The
CTR Board
is made up of representative of the various partners, sets policy
direction, allocates the funding appropriated by the legislature, and reports to the
legislature on the effectiveness of the program every 2 years. This innovative
government structure is one of the program
'
s strengths.
The CTR partnership begins with the state investment
—
a total of $5.7
-
million every 2 years.
70 % of the state CTR funds are distributed to local governments, which also
invest their own resources to assist employers in the development and
implementation of CTR programs.
-
Washington State DOT applies the balance of state funds for technical
support and program tools and for measuring, evaluating and reporting the
program
-
'
s performance.
-
Employers contribute far more to the program than they receive from the
state and local investment: in 2006, employers invested $45 million in their
CTR programs- more than $16 for every $1 invested by the state.
21.4.1 Program Performance
The program
s goals were to reduce the drive-alone rate by 10 % and the vehicle
miles of travel (VMT) per employee by 13 % at CTR worksites between 2007 and
2012. These targets were set to mitigate the congestion impacts from additional
commuter trips on the transportation system generated by the expected job growth.
The 2009 CTR survey data indicated that if CTR Program participants in the
Central Puget Sound region returned to driving alone to work at the same rate as
they did before the program started, the freeway and arterial system would need to
accommodate an additional 22,500 additional drive-alone vehicle trips during the
morning peak commute period. These additional trips would increase freeway and
arterial system delays in the morning peak by approximately 12,900 h, an increase
of almost 10 % in freeway delays and an increase of almost 6 % in arterial delays
'
—
or 7.6 % increase in combined freeway and arterial delays.
In 2009, the Puget Sound Regional Council estimated that the choices made by
commuters in the CTR program since its start in 1993 avoided an increase of
nearly 8 % in congestion for the central Puget Sound region. CTR worksites did
better at reducing vehicle trips than the rest of the state and the nation (Fig.
21.2
).
During the economic recession, while Washington State lost approximately
140,500 workers, CTR employers added 14,393 workers. Because of the CTR
program, daily vehicle trips to CTR sites increased by only 1,225, placing far
