2005 State of Mobility Report - City of Bellevue

CHAPTER 12: Travel Options
and expand program offerings to increase HOV
mode share in downtown Bellevue.
Elementary school students wait to be “picked up” by a
Walking School Bus
Trips to School (July
2005 – June 2007):
The Transportation
Department initiated
a school-based TDM
program to reduce
the number of solo
drop-off trips at elementary schools. To encourage
students and parents to choose alternatives to
driving alone to school, staff developed a “tool kit”
of elements including an information campaign,
walking school buses, carpool coordination, a
PedBee Passport Program to track HOV trips,
special assemblies, and grant opportunities. Five
elementary schools participated in the 2005-2006
school year.
Measuring Success
The Comprehensive Plan established non-SOV
commute mode share targets as the primary
performance benchmark for the City’s TDM
programs. Mode share is the proportion of people
using various travel options for their commute
choice. Map 12-A shows the results of the morning
commute mode share as measured by the 2005
Mode Share Survey and compares these results
to the previous 2000 and 2002 Surveys and the
adopted mode share targets for 2005. The 2005
Survey results show the Bel-Red/Northup and
Factoria areas at 26 percent and 21 percent non-
SOV commutes respectively, each at 1 percent over
their target levels. The other three areas, Downtown
at 29 percent, Crossroads at 17 percent and Eastgate
at 23 percent, fell significantly short of their target
levels, with shortfalls of 11, 8 and 12 percent
respectively. The 2005 Survey also shows that in the
Downtown area, the rate of transit use is up slightly
and the rate of ridesharing (carpool/vanpool) is
down compared to the previous, 2002 Survey. The
2005 survey is the first to show the proportion of
commuters in the Downtown area using transit,
14 percent, exceeding the proportion using other
rideshare modes, 11 percent.
Expectations For The Future
During the next few years, the City’s TDM program
will continue to gather information on how people
commute to work and what would motivate those
who drive alone to consider trying a different travel
option. Two efforts, in particular, will advance this
work:
• Beginning in 2006, the City will undertake,
in partnership with the Bellevue Downtown
Association and King County Metro, a series
of TDM efforts to increase non-drive-alone
commute trips in downtown Bellevue. Activities
will include a Downtown Bellevue TDM Market
Analysis, a series of trip reduction programs in
office buildings downtown, and a downtown In
Motion residential TDM effort.
• In 2006, the City will update the City’s CTR
plan and ordinance as appropriate following
legislative action concerning the future form of
CTR in the state.
2005 State of Mobility Report Chapter 12 89