FINAL BILL REPORT

SB 5142

C 26 L 13

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Incorporating motorcycles into certain transportation planning.

Sponsors: Senators Rolfes, Benton, Hargrove, Sheldon, Hatfield, Delvin, Ericksen, Keiser, Conway, Schlicher and Roach.

Senate Committee on Transportation

House Committee on Transportation

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 WSDOT rules 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: 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 statutory list of vehicles for which WSDOT is authorized to reserve certain highway lanes or ramps.

Votes on Final Passage: