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Thurston County reviews updated Commute Trip Reduction plan; targets reset after survey baseline change
Summary
County planning staff and the Thurston Regional Planning Council briefed commissioners on an updated Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) local plan. Staff said the state’s new survey tool reset the plan baseline (2023) and that targets were adjusted to reflect higher telework and other mode shifts; staff will conduct surveys every two years.
County staff and the Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) briefed the Board on an updated local Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) plan that resets regional targets based on new survey methods and recent telework trends.
Rebecca Harvey, Climate Mitigation Senior Planning Manager, told commissioners the CTR law (adopted in 1991 as part of the Washington Clean Air Act) targets large employers and encourages alternative commute modes including transit, biking and telework. "The CTR law was passed in 1991 as part of the Washington Clean Air Act with the intent of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion by reducing the number of cars on the road," Harvey said.
Veronica Jarvis of TRPC said staff used a new state Department of Transportation survey tool that asks commute modes by day of the week; that approach produced a new baseline (2023) for local targets. Jarvis said the county’s high telework rate is influenced by large state employers in the area. She noted that affected worksites within the county include Evergreen State College’s Tilley Road site and several small WSDOT offices.
Commissioners asked what the new targets mean in practice and how metrics will be reported. Staff said TRPC and affected worksites will run surveys every two years (most recently 2023; next in fall 2025) and confirmed TRPC will support worksites wanting their own metrics and technical assistance. The county emphasized that the CTR plan links to county plans such as Thurston 2045 and the Transportation Improvement Program and supports multimodal projects like trail connectivity.
Staff described the updated target-setting process and encouraged worksites to participate voluntarily if they are not legally affected by the CTR program. Commissioners asked for clearer reporting language so the public can track progress against the new baseline.
