As traffic gets nastier, many of us are shifting gears
After years of commuting from his Greenwood-area home to his downtown job, Steve Kaiser decided last year to move closer to his office near Pike Place Market.
He now walks the few blocks to his job. His Volkswagen Jetta sits in its garage five days a week, and his driving has plummeted to about 4,000 miles a year — about 80 percent less than before.
"It just seemed excessive to be driving every day," he said.
A growing number of fellow King County residents apparently feel the same way.
Data from several key traffic measures indicate that as traffic congestion worsens, many drivers may be starting to make significant changes in how they get around — including driving less and owning fewer vehicles.
- The average number of miles driven per person in the Puget Sound area has leveled off, growing just 0.8 percent a year for the five-year period between 2001 and 2006 after rising as much as 6 percent a year for decades, according to a Puget Sound Regional Council report in August.
- The number of new vehicles added each year to King County roads fell dramatically during that same period, from an average of 33,000 per year between 1980 and 1990 to just 11,000 per year between 2000 and 2006, according to calculations based on figures provided by the state Department of Licensing (DOL) in February.
- The ratio of registered cars to drivers — which reached 1.5 vehicles for every driver in 1990 — also dropped significantly to 1.21 vehicles per driver in 2007, according to calculations based on figures provided by DOL in September.
Trends and theories
While theories differ over what's behind the slowing, transportation officials and researchers say frustration over growing road congestion is an obvious factor. Instead of sitting in traffic and paying high gas prices, more people appear to be choosing to use public transit, move closer to their jobs, telecommute or make other lifestyle changes.
The fact that most of the population growth in King County has come in urban areas, partly as a result of the 1990 Growth Management Act, also helps explain the trends, said Mark Hallenbeck, director of the state Transportation Research Center at the University of Washington. It's urban areas where congestion is worst and parking is the biggest hassle.
People are making rational decisions about what's best for them, and two-hour commutes aren't among the answers, said King Cushman, former regional-strategy adviser for the Puget Sound Regional Council, which tracks traffic patterns.
"I kind of have to think things are going to change — not because government is smart, but because of market forces," he said.
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As traffic gets nastier, many of us are shifting gears
