News (Blog)

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2013 WSRO Fall Conference!  We had a great time and hope all of you did too.

For those who attended the “Talking Transportation” session on Monday morning, here is a list of recommended blogs to follow from our panelists:

Transportation & Regional Agencies

Community Transit: http://communitytransit.blogspot.com/

Intercity Transit: http://intercitytransit.wordpress.com/

King County Metro: http://metrofutureblog.wordpress.com/

Puget Sound Regional Council – Regional View: http://blog.psrc.org/

Sound Transit – Sound Waves: http://www.soundwavespanel.org/

Spokane Regional Transportation Council: http://srtctransportation.blogspot.com/

WSDOT: http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/

CTR Related

CTR Board: http://ctrboard.ning.com/

Smart Transportation (for RideshareOnline administrators):  http://smarttransportation.ning.com/

Mode-Specific

Seattle Transit Blog: http://seattletransitblog.com/

Seattle Bike Blog: http://www.seattlebikeblog.com/

Public Transportation Blog: http://blog.publictransportation.org/

Feet First: http://www.feetfirst.org/blog

Transportation Advocacy Groups

Cascade Bicycle Club: http://blog.cascade.org/

Transportation Choices – Choice Words: https://transportationchoices.org/blog

Transportation Issues Daily: http://www.transportationissuesdaily.com/

Other Blogs of Interest

Bus Chick: http://www.buschick.com/

Transit Zac: http://transitzac.wordpress.com/

Atlantic Cities-Commute:  http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/

Choose Your Way Bellevue: http://www.chooseyourwaybellevue.org/blog/

If you have suggestions of other blogs that might be of interest, please add it in the comments section.

Also, if you would like to contact any of the presenters with questions or follow up to their presentations, here is their contact information:

Jef Lucero, WSDOT, 360-705-7846, luceroj@wsdot.wa.gov

Caryn Walline, Community Transit, 425-438-6163, caryn.walline@commtrans.org

Kate Whiting, Transportation Choices Coalition, 206-329-2336, kate@transportationchoices.org

I recently had the honor of representing our WSRO members at the International ACT Conference held in late July in San Antonio, Texas. 

First, I want to say it was my first trip to Texas.  I was amazed at how green it was there (I thought it was a desert like Arizona) and how HOT it was.  Over 100 degrees and humid.  But, despite the heat, it was absolutely beautiful.  The River Walk was amazing and the Alamo incredible!

The conference theme was Deep in the Heart of TDM, and all the sessions I attended did get to the heart of what we all do everyday.  Here’s a brief description of a couple of my favorite sessions.

LEED and TDM: New Opportunities to Provide Value to Developers and Property Managers

This session explored how TDM professionals can help developers and property managers to achieve a significant number of LEED points just for implementing TDM.  This great workshop showed how to create new outlets to sell and market TDM services while helping property owners and developers obtain green certification. 

Making the Case for TDM

This session explored case studies for the successful implementation of TDM in Mexico City, Chicago and Embarq, Mexico.  Each had a very different experience, but they  all focused on developing partnerships and keeping their programs flexible to meet the needs of their communities.

Not All Things to All People – Social and Individualized Marketing

The speaker of this session was Aaron Gaul from UrbanTrans North America.  What a dynamic speaker.  He took us through strategies from implementing individualized marketing, selecting target areas and best practices.  We learned simple, cost-effective and targeted social marketing techniques that establish measurable and long-term sustainable travel behaviors. 

The entire conference was simply amazing!  The speakers were very knowledgeable and engaging.  It was great to see and hear all the great things being done around the world. 

If you would like more information on any of the sessions I attended I’m happy to share.  Or, you can go to the ACT Website for more information. Thank you for the great opportunity. 

Debbie Anderson
2013 Chair  

Thank you!

I am so pleased to be the recipient of  the 2012 Commute Smart Leadership- Washington State Ridesharing Organization Award for Excellence.  

I want to say to all my colleagues and friends in this world of TDM that you all deserve this award for all your own dedication, innovation and commitment to excellence.

I was very surprised to find myself on the receiving end at the annual Governor’s Commute Smart Awards at the majestic Rotunda in November. I am humbled , grateful and simply thrilled.

Congratulations to all the award winners.  Happy 2013.

Maggi

Margaret Lubov

CTR Coordinator | Department of Community Development

City of Tukwila I 6300 Southcenter Blvd #100 | Tukwila, WA 98188

ph: (206) 433-7142 | fx: (206) 431-3665

maggie.lubov@TukwilaWA.gov | www.TukwilaWA.gov

The WSRO Board is excited to announce three new members elected to the Board of Directors, effective December 31, 2012. 

·         Kim Stoltz, CTR Coordinator, Spokane County CTR Office.

·         Lee Peterson, Vanpool Coordinator, Intercity Transit.

·         Caryn Walline, Program Manager, TransManage.

Congratulations!

The Fall WSRO Conference at Lake Chelan was a wonderful experience for me and I greatly appreciate being selected to receive a scholarship to attend from the WSRO Board. Thank you! A highlight for me was the emphasis put on planning and promoting sustainable transportation options in a smaller community. I loved the personal touch offered by Ben Higgins about Lake Chelan’s “Get Fit Chelan” program as well as a historical and political context for how the City has grown and developed; and what makes it Shine! Along the same lines, Patrick Walker offered some great advice on bicycle planning in a small town. I benefited from the emphasis on working with what you have, identifying projects that are the low hanging fruit, and using existing ‘dead’ spaces to make the community more livable. On another note, I enjoyed some of the process oriented sessions. The takeaways I gained about successful partnerships will be helpful in growing our local TO programs. Successful partnerships do not require money, you just need to know what each party’s goal is, how each party could benefit, and that each party is willing to track progress. I have also began to brainstorm ways to bring disruptive change to this area the way Josh Kavanaugh is doing at UW. Lake Chelan is absolutely beautiful and I feel lucky to have attended this conference. Hope to see everyone in Vancouver in April!

Claire Karner 

SmartTrips Program Coordinator

point2point Solutions

Lane Transit District 

Not only did I receive a scholarship to ensure that I could attend the WSRO Fall conference, but I also received a great many ideas to keep my job in the transportation options industry interesting. Like what you may ask?  How about “Never underestimate your value!” or Make sure you do a recap binder for your project.  Or…Use terms like Carbon Neutral or Reduced Impact Modes or Find out who the Community Relations Person is at the business you want to do an “ask” of.  And what about creating that Target Partner List starting at the bottom to practice your spiel so when you get to the heavy hitters, you are more articulate and have a better chance of getting to YES!  And hey…did you ever check your “dead” spaces around town that might hold a bicycle parking space? Bet you didn’t even think of that……  Yes…I heard all of this along with many other TO professional folks who make their living by promoting sustainable transportation.  It was a great conference in a very beautiful place and I am looking forward to the Spring WSRO/TOGO Conference in April in Vancouver, Washington.  See you then!

The Washington State Ridesharing Organization is seeking nominations for Board of Directors (due October 26, 2012 at 5:00 pm) and the WSRO Award of Excellence (due October 12, 2012 at 12:00 pm). 

The WSRO Award of Excellence will be presented to one individual or group by WSRO for demonstrating the values of the organization.  They are an active WSRO member and promote activities that contribute to sustainable transportation across the state.  Nominations for the WSRO Award of Excellence are due by Friday, October 12, at noon.  Winner will be announced at the Governor's Commute Smart Awards on November 5. Award of Excellence Nomination Form 

We are also seeking nominations for three open positions for the WSRO Board of Directors.  Nominees must be a member in good standing.  The positions are for a two year term.  See attached WSRO Board Member Responsibility document for more details on what the Board does.  WSRO Board of Directors Nomination Form  

Please complete the attached nomination forms for each and return to Anne Ward-Ryan by the due dates above.  Please contact Debbie Anderson at debbie.anderson@commtrans.org or anne.ward-ryan@kingcounty.gov for more information.  

The Washington State Ridesharing Organization ( WSRO) is seeking your
input on annual conferences. 

WSRO currently holds two conferences each year.  One is held in Western
Washington, the other in Central/Eastern Washington.  The WSRO Board of
Directors is seeking input from our members and potential attendees to
see if maintaining the two conferences is feasible or if a modification
of how conferences are currently scheduled should be discussed. 

Please take a moment to complete the survey by clicking on the link.   https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WSRO2012

Thank you.

The WSRO Board