Chopp Meeting Tuesday

The future of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and State Route 99 are the subjects of a special meeting next Tuesday between Frank Chopp, Speaker of the House in the Washington State Legislature, and the Duwamish business community.

The meeting will be held next Tuesday, October 28, starting at 4:30 p.m., at the Manufacturing Industrial Council office in Georgetown at 5509 1st Avenue South. The meeting is open to the public, but space is limited, so please RSVP to 207-762-2470, if you plan to attend.

Chopp will present his ideas about the viaduct and time will be set aside for questions and community concerns. The meeting is scheduled to last one hour.

Carpool Program Saved Millions
Congratulations to the 1,200-plus people who participated in the recently concluded "Easy Rewards" Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) program sponsored by the Duwamish Transportation Management Association.

The program concluded at the end of September. September was also the most successful month in the history of the program, with 534 people participating at 235 work sites.

The program was funded by the Washington State Department of Transportation, Metro and Duwamish area employers. Easy Rewards provided small financial incentives to encourage people to try carpools, vanpools, public transit, bicycling and other alternatives to drive-alone commuting.


In addition to saving themselves more than $1 million in car operating expenses, Easy Rewards participants helped the environment while easing growth in Duwamish area traffic congestion. From June 2006 through last month, Easy Rewards participants:

• eliminated 1.7 million miles of drive-alone commuting destined for the Duwamish;
  
• used carpools, vanpools or other CTR alternatives on 100,200 work days, and
  
• prevented the release of 97,394 pounds of carbon emissions.

Sound Transit + Parking Community Forum
First, the good news - Sound Transit's Link Light Rail service will come to SODO in 2009. But what will that mean for local business owners and employees in SODO who will find themselves competing with Sound Transit customers for scarce SODO parking spots?

Local impacts involving parking and related Metro transit service issues will be the subjects of a Forum, Thursday, November 13, from 2-3:30 p.m. at the Mezza Café at the Starbucks Center at 1st and Lander. Representatives from the City of Seattle Department of Transportation, Sound Transit and Metro will be on hand to present information and answer questions.

The advent of Link Light Rail will activate the two Sound Transit stations that presently stand vacant in SODO located on the 5th Ave Busway with a stop at Lander near the US Post Office facility and Royal Brougham near the sports stadiums. The stations will provide great service into downtown Seattle and may prove especially attractive to "hide-and-ride" transit users who will hope to park for free in SODO to avoid the high costs of parking downtown.

Sound Transit is working with Metro and local governments throughout the region and with Metro to help deal with station-related issues. SODO poses challenges that are unique along the Link Light Rail routes. These include SODO's close proximity to downtown Seattle, the community's reliance on street parking, the shortage of off-street parking facilities and the limitations on bus transit service that help to perpetuate drive-alone commuting.

The forum will be structured to provide a collaborative environment for exchanging information and answering questions. The event is sponsored by the Duwamish Transportation Management Association and is open to the public. Admission is free. For more information call 206-762-2470

Join the Party
We are planning the Manufacturing Industrial Council 10th Anniversary celebration. The date is December 3rd, 2008 from 5:15-9:00 at Rock Salt at 1232 Westlake Ave N on Lake Union. We are hoping you put the date on your calendar and plan to come.

We are looking for table sponsors and or table captains and we are also going to have a wine raffle and are looking for fine wine contributions.

Call for more information 206-762-2470.

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Questions, Comments, or suggestions about the Seattle Industry eBulletin are always welcome. Your input will make the bulletin a more successful product. Contact us at (206)762-2470 or fax (206)762-2492.