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As Bend grows, more people turning to bikes and other alternative ways to commute
Published August 21, 2005 by Associated Press
In a steadily growing city with a shortage of downtown parking and an ever-increasing number of cars, alternative forms of transportation may seem like a good idea. At least Jeff Monson seems to think so.
The executive director of the Bend agency Commute Options works with area businesses to encourage workers to forgo their cars for the sake of their health, their community and their parking spots.
Bend residents are turning to bikes, car pools and the more traditional use of their two feet to get around town more and more, Monson said.
The number of businesses partnering with Commute Options increased from 39 to 54 over the past year, and Monson said the agency visits new businesses every month to pitch the program. And demand is increasing.
"Businesses have been calling us to come and talk to their employees," Monson said.
It's difficult to pinpoint the exact number of Central Oregon workers who use alternative forms of transportation, Monson said, but Commute Options receives quarterly reports from participating businesses that track the total number of vehicle trips reduced.
More than 23,000 trips were saved in the second quarter of this year, which includes April, May and June.
But Monson says that the number of car poolers and bike riders is not as high as it could be. Some Bend residents say the city needs to step up and create more bike-friendly roads and taxpayers need to agree to fund a public bus system if Bend ever wants to see a serious increase in the number of commuters who don't rely on their cars.
" This town's going to have to wake up," said Bend resident and avid bike rider Pete Balestrieri.
A public bus system would be a huge benefit to the city, Monson said, but until one is approved by voters, citizens should remember that a Dial-a-Ride program exists and remember that the city has been recognized for being bike-friendly.
Bend was recently named a bicycle-friendly community by the League of American Bicyclists, but Balestrieri's girlfriend, Sonja Newton, said the lack of connected bike paths throughout the city can make it difficult for people who live far from their places of employment to get there by bicycle.
"I think the bike paths now are kind of a hit and miss," said Newton, who owns Salon En Vogue in downtown Bend. "You'll be riding along and there'll be a beautiful bike path and then all of a sudden there's not even a shoulder to ride on."
Balestrieri works the night shift at St. Charles Medical Center-Bend and said despite the difficulties he sometimes encounters, which range from debris in the road to Slurpees thrown from passing cars, he still rides his bike to work every day.
The medical center partners with Commute Options in an incentive program that gives workers a $30 gift certificate to participating businesses like the Pine Tavern and FootZone for every 45 trips saved.
Some Bend businesses like FootZone and Nancy P's Bakery have their own incentive programs, offering employees 25 more cents an hour if they walk, bike or car pool to work.
Dave Thomason of FootZone said the majority of the store's nine employees bike or walk to work on a regular basis, which helps keep their limited parking spaces open to customers.
Nancy P's Bakery doesn't have the parking problems that many downtown businesses do because of its location, but the improvement in the health and mood of employees who don't drive to work is a huge benefit, owner Nancy Pfeiffer said.
"When you get in a car, things can make you agitated that really don't need to or aren't reality," Pfeiffer said.
Edge Wireless recently began a partnership with Commute Options and participated in the agency's annual Commute Options Week contest in June. The contest pits businesses of similar size against each other and awards gift certificates to the ones that report the largest number of vehicle trips saved. The company placed first for businesses between 101 and 999 employees.
Mike Ficher, financial analyst for Edge Wireless, said the contest energized the company's approximately 200 employees. Edge Wireless is looking to permanently implement a similar incentive program inside the company.
" I find that people, when they take advantage of it and they come in either via bike or walking, they're ready to go — they don't necessarily carry the baggage of driving a car," Ficher said.
Monson said Commute Options is looking to improve its program by offering a 50 percent cost subsidy to businesses that start their own van pools, and an emergency ride program will be started soon to provide workers in participating businesses with a free taxi ride if needed.
The van pool subsidy is made possible by a federal grant the city and Commute Options received from the Federal Transit Administration's Job Access Reverse Commute program.
One of the biggest changes Monson said he's seen in his 10 years with Commute Options is the increasing support the agency and similar programs across the country are beginning to receive from the government.
The Bend Chamber of Commerce is a big Commute Options supporter, Monson said.
Portland and the state of Washington mandate vehicle trip reduction programs similar to Commute Options for companies with more than 50 employees.
With Bend growing the way it is, Monson said if more businesses start promoting alternative transportation now it could save the city from having to make it mandatory.
"It benefits everyone, even if you never bike, walk, car pool or any of these other things," Monson said.
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