North Texas could soon see a reduction in rush-hour traffic, air emissions - The Dallas Morning News

sekirta.blogspot.com

Last year, North Texas led the state in population growth, adding thousands of new residents and subsequently, increasing the number of vehicles on roadways.

That’s why earlier this month, The Regional Transportation Council adopted a resolution to lessen the number of vehicles on the road during rush hours by 20% annually.

The transportation council is part of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, which is made up of 16 counties across the region. Representatives from cities and school districts also serve on the council.

NCTCOG’s transportation department has a plan to work with public employers such as cities and counties, to decrease the number of drive-alone trips on roadways. The resolution, which went into effect on June 10, will act as a guideline for employers to reach the trip reduction goal.

The plan includes providing public transit passes to employees and utilizing Try Parking It, a program that matches users with similar routes to increase carpooling.

Try Parking It is a public mobile app and was launched by NCTCOG’s transportation department in 2019. Users can record carpools, bike rides or other travel alternatives and receive estimates on miles and air emissions they saved.

Sonya Landrum, program manager for NCTCOG’s transportation department, said the council will also work with the private sector on increasing already-existing carpooling and public-transit programs.

Landrum said some private companies that have relocated to the region are already promoting carpooling and other travel alternatives.

“A positive from the information that we have, a lot of the companies that are moving here are moving here from places that had mandatory trip reduction requirements in place. Those companies are used to implementing programs that promote not driving by yourself,” she said.

States, including California and Washington, are practicing similar programs to reduce congestion.

Although the council of governments can allocate funding to public entities for single-occupancy trip reductions, the organization can only encourage the private sector to follow suit.

“We want to make it easier for them to continue with the practice of doing something other than driving by themselves,” Landrum said. “We know that habits are hard to break, so once you actually get into the habit of driving by yourself, it’s harder to convince somebody to go back.”

The resolution cited congestion levels during tight COVID-19 restrictions such as shelter-in-place orders in North Texas. “As a result of changes in traffic and commute patterns experienced during COVID-19 restrictions, our region recorded a decrease in traffic congestion and improvement in our region’s air quality,” the resolution reads.

During peak times in March and April of 2020, traffic congestion in Dallas-Fort Worth decreased by as much as 42% compared with 2019 averages, according to the traffic index on TomTom, a location technology company.

The transportation department plans to present its progress of reducing congestion and emissions to the RTC annually.

“We’re not asking people not to travel period. We’re not saying ‘don’t go places,’ just change the way that you go to those places,” Landrum said.

Adblock test (Why?)

"Hour" - Google News
June 30, 2021 at 10:49PM
https://ift.tt/3w8zlny

North Texas could soon see a reduction in rush-hour traffic, air emissions - The Dallas Morning News
"Hour" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2WcHWWo
https://ift.tt/2Stbv5k

Bagikan Berita Ini