The Seattle Downtown Transportation Alliance, of which SDOT is part of, received the Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) Board Legacy Award which honors exemplary local partnerships that go above and beyond the CTR law to transform transportation in their communities and region. The winners of this award demonstrate the effectiveness of a lasting and committed partnership and the power of aligning employer and government goals for growth and transportation.
Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond and the Governor's Chief of Staff Marty Loesch with Kate Joncas, Ann Sutphin and Jamie Cheney, representatives of Seattle's Downtown Transportation Alliance. (Courtesy of WSDOT)
The Commute Smart Awards were presented at the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia on Tuesday, October 11. Chief of Staff, Marty Loesch, and state Transportation Secretary, Paula Hammond, joined award winners to celebrate 20 years of smart commuting through workplace programs. Loesch told award recipients: “You have shown dedication and delivered real results that support our economy, communities and the environment by reducing drive-alone commutes on our busiest roadways.”
The Downtown Transportation Alliance, established in 2004, is a private-public partnership of the executive leaders from the Downtown Seattle Association, King County Metro, and the Seattle Departments of Transportation as well as Planning and Development. The partnership was established to keep downtown economically competitive by improving access to and within downtown Seattle with an ambitious strategic goal of shifting the portion of drive alone commute trips from 50% to 44%, resulting in a 6-percentage point reduction and 35,000 fewer drive-alone commute trips each day. Kate Joncas, Downtown Seattle Association President; Jamie Cheney, Commute Seattle Director; and Ann Sutphin, SDOT, attended the ceremony to receive the award on behalf of the Downtown Transportation Alliance. This is the second notable award this partnership has received this year. Earlier in the year, Commute Seattle, a part of DTA, was recognized at as one of three finalists for “Outstanding Transportation Management Association (TMA)” by the International Association for Commuter Transportation.
Congratulations to all the Commute Smart Award Recipients!