Mountlake Terrace staff seeks council adoption of updated Commute Trip Reduction plan and renewal of Community Transit agreement

City traffic engineer John Merrick presented an update to Mountlake Terrace’s Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) plan and recommended council adopt the updated plan by ordinance on June 26 and renew the interlocal agreement with Community Transit, which helps administer the program.

Merrick said the CTR plan aligns with state law that requires jurisdiction plans to reduce drive‑alone commuting and that the city’s prior plan dated from 2017 had not been updated because commuting patterns changed following the COVID-19 pandemic. The state’s approach sets targets for drive‑alone commute rates; Merrick said Mountlake Terrace’s baseline (from the 2017 survey) yields a target drive‑alone rate of about 63 percent and that the new plan uses a 15 percent reduction target from the prior baseline while awaiting results of the 2023–25 survey to establish a new baseline.

The plan applies to “affected employers” — employers with 100 or more employees who commute to a single site between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. — though employers smaller than that can opt in voluntarily. Merrick and staff described three measure categories that affected employers must implement: (1) commuting support and incentives (transit pass subsidies, pre‑tax payroll deductions, telework/flexible schedules), (2) information and education (new‑hire commute info, annual outreach campaigns), and (3) amenities and infrastructure (secure bicycle parking, showers, preferred carpool parking, EV charging).

Major changes from the old plan include an expanded list of 24 possible measures (up from 15) and a new requirement that affected employers implement at least five measures, with at least one measure drawn from each category. Merrick said Community Transit led regional coordination, hosted informational meetings and employer workshops, and performed outreach; staff said they had targeted outreach to Premera Blue Cross (the city’s only employer that clearly met the 100‑employee threshold) and that Premera has a robust internal program and was supportive of the update.

Merrick said the city receives about $15,000 annually from the state to support CTR administration and that Mountlake Terrace’s interlocal agreement with Community Transit (joining seven other Snohomish County cities) funds Community Transit to deliver program coordination. Staff recommended renewing that interlocal agreement.

Council members asked about the city’s own employer obligations (the city itself is required to make a good‑faith effort as an employer), baseline numbers and the timing of new survey results, coordination with neighboring jurisdictions and transit providers, and outreach to the Chamber of Commerce and other potential smaller employers (staff said targeted outreach to employers with 20+ employees is planned for a future update).

Ending: Staff recommended council adopt the updated CTR plan by ordinance and approve renewal of the Community Transit interlocal agreement at the June 26 meeting; staff will continue outreach to employers, including potential small‑employer requirements considered for a later update.