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Auburn updates Commute Trip Reduction plan and code, sets a 67% drive-alone target
Summary
The city presented an updated Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) plan approved by WSDOT and proposed code edits. Auburn selected a jurisdictional performance target of 67% drive-alone rate and will bring a resolution and ordinance to council on June 2 for adoption and code changes.
Auburn staff presented an updated Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) plan and proposed code updates on May 27, saying the state-required program has been refreshed and conforms with Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) guidance.
Transportation Planner Veronica Bean, who led the update, explained CTR is a state law requiring employers to reduce single-occupant vehicle commute trips and that jurisdictions must adopt local CTR plans that set targets for affected worksites. “It is a state law that was originally passed in 1991 and updated in 2006,” Bean said.
Nut graf: Auburn chose WSDOT’s option that sets a jurisdictional target of 67% drive-alone rate, based on a 15.5% reduction from 2019 census-based performance; staff will set individual worksite targets based on employer surveys and worksite characteristics.
Bean said Auburn has 15 CTR-affected worksites (employers with 100 or more employees at a single site performing work during peak commute hours). The city recently surveyed employers and will use survey response data, worksite location and shift patterns to set worksite-specific targets. WSDOT and the Puget Sound Regional Council reviewed and approved Auburn’s plan, Bean said.
Code updates proposed: the city will modernize Auburn City Code 10.02 to reflect revised state definitions (including how teleworking employees are counted), update survey response-rate guidance to match WSDOT, remove vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as a performance metric (the state now requires drive-alone rates), modernize communications language (removing references to fax), simplify appeals (routing appeals to the public works director rather than the hearing examiner) and remove a 12-month watch period for employers whose affected status changes.
Next steps: staff will bring a resolution to adopt the plan and an ordinance for the code update to the June 2 council meeting.
Ending: Bean said staff will continue outreach to affected employers and will provide materials to help employers explore options (carpools, vanpools, ORCA business programs and other commute options). No formal council action occurred at the study session; staff requested council adoption at the June 2 meeting.
