Lacey reviews update to regional Commute Trip Reduction plan as remote work rises

Thurston Regional Planning Council staff on Tuesday presented an updated four‑year Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) plan to the Lacey City Council work session and asked the council to accept the plan and forward it to the Washington State Department of Transportation for compliance review.

Veronica Jarvis, Regional Commute Trip Reduction program manager for the Thurston Regional Planning Council, said the plan ties CTR goals into local transportation and land‑use planning and lists projects designed to give residents alternatives to single‑occupancy vehicle travel. “I run the commute trip production here for the region,” Jarvis said.

The nut graf: the plan updates the city—s CTR work after a decade without a full revision, documents outreach and local projects that support walking, biking and transit, and urges cities and major employers to appoint or support employee transportation coordinators (ETCs). Councilmembers pressed staff on whether the program duplicates existing local plans and on state funding stability.

Planners…