SENATE BILL REPORT

SB 5142

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Background: Commute Trip Reduction (CTR). CTR programs aim to reduce air pollution, traffic congestion, and consumption of transportation fuels through employer-based programs that reduce the number of commute trips made in single-occupant vehicles. The state's first CTR laws were passed in 1991 and incorporated into the Washington Clean Air Act. Employers develop and manage their own programs based on locally-adopted goals for reducing vehicle trips and miles traveled. More than 1000 worksites and 530,000 commuters statewide participate in the CTR program. A major employer's CTR program must contain certain elements, including specific measures designed to achieve the local jurisdiction's CTR goals. Current law specifies 15 measures that a major employer may choose to include in their CTR program, such as providing vanpools, permitting flexible work hours, and providing reduced parking charges and preferential parking for high occupancy vehicles. A major employer is defined as a private or public employer with 100 or more employees at a single worksite who begin work between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.

Reserved or Preferential Highway Lanes. Current law provides the Department of Transportation (WSDOT) with general authority to restrict classes of vehicles from using the highways and to reserve certain lanes on the highway system for certain classes of vehicles.

Specific authority is provided to restrict lanes or ramps for exclusive or preferential use by public buses, high-occupancy vehicles (HOV), and certain other private buses and vehicles with specific occupancy capacities. Motorcycles are not specifically addressed in current statutes, but are included in WAC 468.510.010 as vehicles authorized to use HOV lanes. Federal law requires states to allow motorcycles free access to HOV lanes unless doing so would create a safety hazard.

Summary of Bill: Providing reduced parking charges and preferential parking for motorcycles is added to the list of measures a major employer may choose to include in their CTR program.

Motorcycles are added to the list of vehicles WSDOT is authorized to reserve certain highway lanes or ramps for.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: This bill keeps motorcycling on the radar of the CTR planning community. This bill has been up several times before. Motorcycles are a unique form of transportation and should be part of transportation planning, they add to the multimodal model, they have good mileage, save wear on the highway system, and save energy. CTR is an urban and suburban tool for congestion reduction and motorcycles should be part of it.