Research Triangle Park (Nov. 9, 2017) - By helping Triangle commuters find ways to stop driving alone to work, GoTriangle’s Transportation Demand Management programs and partners saved 2.4 million gallons of gasoline and prevented 47 million pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere during fiscal year 2017.
And that’s not even counting the stress and the money that the bicycling, walking, carpooling, vanpooling, telecommuting and transit programs saved the commuters themselves as 5 million vehicle trips and 58 million commuter miles were avoided.
“The programs and assistance that GoTriangle provided our community last year led to the equivalent of 3,360 people not driving a car for the entire year,” said Michelle Parker, manager of Sustainable Travel Services at GoTriangle. “The amount of gasoline saved would take over 17 million water bottles to hold, and the number of miles avoided would be roughly 2,145 trips around the earth.”
Recognizing the importance of enticing more people to try smart commuting options, Gov. Roy Cooper has proclaimed Nov. 6-10 Commuter Awareness and Recognition Week.
“We’re pleased the governor is helping residents realize there might be better ways to get to work than alone in a car,” Parker said. “We hope people will spend some time this week exploring all of the other options available.”
At GoTriangle, the goal isn’t simply to fill bus seats. The agency’s Sustainable Travel Services team administers the Transportation Demand Management programs to support smart-commuting options for everyone. The goal is to improve sustainable economic growth and our quality of life by reducing congestion, expanding mobility options and improving air quality.
Working with GoTriangle are local service providers that offer direct commuting support to companies and universities across the region. Representatives from Central Durham, Downtown Raleigh, Orange County-Hillsborough, Research Triangle Park, Town of Chapel Hill, Wake County, Duke University, NC State University, UNC-Chapel Hill and Wake Technical Community College implement what GoTriangle produces and also provide their own programming and campaigns.
Through its Share the Ride NC program, GoTriangle helps employers develop smart-commute plans and rewards commuters who sign up and track their trips at STRNC.org with GoPerks prizes that include gift cards to many Triangle businesses and restaurants.
Every year GoTriangle recognizes the people and programs that have been most successful in promoting smart commuting with the Golden Modes awards.
“This annual awards ceremony honors extraordinary commuters, employers and organizations that not only love sustainable commuting but also promote sustainable transportation options to their family, friends, colleagues and neighbors,” said Parker, who also represents nine Southeast states and Puerto Rico on the board of the national Association for Commuting Transportation. “We’re excited to have our second year of presenting the Placemaker Award, which is focused on recognizing developers who integrate live-work-play in one location to reduce the need for riding alone in a car.”
The 2017 winners, being recognized at a breakfast event in Raleigh on Nov. 9, are:
- Community Impact: The Alliance of Disability Advocates - T3 Program. The agency helps people living with disabilities more fully participate in their communities without boundaries by teaching them how to use public transportation. Honorable mention: Frances Bisby of Raleigh. Since 2015, Bisby has worked tirelessly through the Capital Area Reentry Council to help formerly incarcerated people more successfully return to the community by teaching them to use transit.
- Employer Commute Champion: NC Department of Public Instruction. To promote employee wellness, Susanne Schmal of the Healthy Schools Section worked with DPI staff to start NC state government’s first bike-share program in Downtown Raleigh.
- Employer Commute Honors: NC Department of Administration – State Parking Division. The agency offers and promotes many sustainable commute options for all state employees who work in Downtown Raleigh.
- Employer Transportation Coordinator Champion: Christi Turner of Red Hat. Among other initiatives, Turner developed a commuter options program called Connected Commuter that provides a community of alternative-transportation users who support one another and help new smart commuters get started. Honorable mention: Jenn Evans and Claire Long of NIEHS. Through the women’s efforts, NIEHS has instituted teleworking and carpooling policies and developed an internal trip-tracking program to serve more than 700 employees.
- Golden Placemaker: Kane Realty for North Hills. With six city blocks of pedestrian-friendly streetscapes and almost 2,000 residential units in the heart of Midtown Raleigh, North Hills is a model of sustainable environments, being transit- and greenway-accessible with plenty of bike parking.
- Golden Sneaker: Katy Lang of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Lang lives car-free in Carrboro, walking 2.7 miles roundtrip to school and then walking or riding the bus 3.6 miles roundtrip to work. Honorable mention: Donald Kerns of the NC Department of Transportation. Kerns walks about 3 miles from his home to the nearest Knigthdale Raleigh Express (KRX) bus stop and then walks to his Downtown Raleigh office once he arrives at GoRaleigh Station.
- Golden Spoke: Steve Cohn of Duke Press. In addition to his 5-mile daily commute to work, Cohn uses a bike for most of his personal errands and other trips. Honorable mention: Peter Leousis of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For 15 years, Leousis has been bicycle-commuting year-round to his job, first from Chatham County and now from Hillsborough, currently riding 35 to 40 miles roundtrip a day.
- Golden Ticket: James Demby of Red Hat. Demby has been committed to taking transit to work for nearly as long as he has lived in Raleigh, seamlessly integrating his bus riding days as a student into his work life. Honorable mention: Evan Barnette of Red Hat. When Barnette found out the Johnston County Extpress route was ending, she led her bus friends in an effort to save the route by speaking with Johnston County and Wake County officials and GoTriangle board members.
- The Multi-Mode Innovator: Damon Seils of Duke University. Seils’ 32-mile commute each day consists of a bike ride to the bus stop in Carrboro then a ride on GoTriangle Route 405 to Duke University. Honorable mention: Jim Scarborough of Red Hat. Scarborough was an avid bike commuter until August 2013 when he started carpooling four days a week and telecommuting one.
- Pool Party Champion: Sarah Smith of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For 24 of the 29 years that Smith has worked with the USDA Cotton and Tobacco in Raleigh, she has participated in GoTriangle’s vanpool program, leaving Fayetteville at 5:30 a.m. to travel to Raleigh. Honorable mention: Debra Smith of Duke Employee Occupational Health and Wellness. Smith has been commuting by van between Oxford and Durham since 2009 and currently serves as a part-time driver for her GoTriangle vanpool, recruiting a number of others to join her.
For videos highlighting the winners, please see bit.ly.com/goldenmodes17.