Category Archives: Green Transportation

Climate Networks: Banding Together for Increased Resilience

The new bike share program in Las Vegas was a highlight at the Western Adaptation Alliance meeting this week. Bina Skordas, Sustainability Program Manager for Park City Municipal Corporation, takes one for a spin!

With huge changes in national-level politics lately, it’s worth remembering that cities continue to remain key players in policy development and implementation on many fronts. Climate change is no exception.

Cities have a critical responsibility to ensure our infrastructure is up-to-the task of dealing with new weather patterns, extreme events, and more; and that our neighborhoods and economic systems are ready for the changes coming their way because of climate change. We have residents to care for, roads and storm water systems to protect, and services to keep on-line.

Cities also have the ability to walk-our-talk– taking measures to reduce our emissions and overall impact on the environment.

All of these are reasons why cities are effective actors for dealing with some of society’s most difficult problems; and why networks–with cities at the heart– are some of the most effective ways to do so.

In that spirit, we’d like to share with you a few of the ways we’re engaging in several local and regional climate-related networks to create a more resilient future:

Climate Adaptation in Las Vegas

Earlier this week, our Program Manager Tyler Poulson and Communications Manager Sophia Nicholas traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada to meet with sustainability staff from nearby cities to discuss climate adaptation strategies for the Southwest and Intermountain west.

This “peer-exchange” was funded entirely by a grant and involved municipal staff from cities in Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

The purpose: When so much of the climate adaptation conversation revolves around sea-level rise (and justifiably so), this group, called the Western Adaptation Alliance (WAA), formed to discuss and learn from each other on preparing our communities for the unique climate threats facing the arid west.

This year’s annual WAA meeting saw a re-invigoration of our commitment to working at the city-level to prepare for these risks. Continue reading →

Ride with Hive Sees Record Ridership

The Hive Pass Program recently completed its first full year with some amazing results. Over 2,300 Salt Lake City residents have purchased a Hive Pass resulting in over 520,000 trips! We have been steadily adding new riders each month with continued growth in ridership and trips taken.

The month of April saw the highest average daily use of Hive passes, with 1,831 average daily trips taken. Thanks to the extra day in March, there were a total of 55,964 trips taken throughout the month. Both of these figures represent record use for the Hive Pass Program. Bus-based trips are the most popular mode of transit among Hive Pass holders with 55% of their trips being made on UTA buses.

Hive Pass holders have been doing their part to reduce congestion and improve air quality. With the average transit trip length being 3.28 miles, Hive Pass users have logged more than 1.7 million miles of travel. Hive Pass holders have prevented more than 803 tons of CO2 from being emitted into the air by taking trips on transit rather than a car. That’s the same as taking more than 130 cars off Salt Lake City roads.

Hive Passes are still available for Salt Lake City residents. For only $42 a month, Hive Pass holders can enjoy unlimited rides on all UTA bus, Trax, and streetcar services. There are 3 sales locations for you to get your Hive Pass. You’ll need to bring in one photo ID and two pieces of mail to prove you live in Salt Lake City (A lease agreement also works). Find out all the details on www.ridewithhive.com

City Invites Residents to Discuss Future Improvements to Foothill Drive

Photo Credit: Edgar Zuniga Jr. via Flickr

Salt Lake City’s Transportation Division, along with several partner organizations, invite residents and area stakeholders to meet and discuss the future of the Foothill Drive corridor at an open house to be held Thursday, March 31, at 5 pm located at Hillside Middle School, 1825 Nevada Street in Salt Lake City.

The open house marks the beginning of Foothill Drive Implementation Strategy, which will identify short term and long-term priorities to address traffic congestion, improve neighborhood connections, enhance safety, and provide transportation options.

Foothill Drive has long served as a vital urban thoroughfare linking I-80, I-215, and Parley’s Way at the City’s Southeastern border to the Foothill Cultural District and the University of Utah, and eventually Downtown via 500/400 South.

The street also serves as a neighbor commercial corridor and regular users have expressed interest in enhancing the safety, efficiency and aesthetics of the corridor for pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and transit riders.

To learn more about the project and to share your ideas, visit the project website at www.foothilldrive.org, email the project team at foothilldriveslc@gmail.com, join us at the upcoming open house or call the project hotline at 801-535-7130 to provide comment.

Who: Salt Lake City Transportation Division, University of Utah, Utah Department of Transportation, Wasatch Front Regional Council, Salt Lake County, Utah Transit Authority

Where:
Hillside Middle School
1825 Nevada Street
Salt Lake City, Utah

When: Thursday, March 31^st from 5 p.m. -7 p.m.

People with disabilities who would like to request reasonable accommodation to attend this event should provide 48 hours advance notice. Accommodations may include alternate formats, interpreters, and other auxiliary aids. For questions or additional information, please contact Christine Passey, Coordinator for Disability Rights/Special Projects, at christine.passey@slcgov.com, 801-535-7110, or TDD 801-535-6021.

2016 Utah Bike Summit: Shifting Into High Gear

The 2016 Utah Bike Summit: Shifting Into High Gear will take place April 5th at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. The Utah Bike Summit is the statewide bicycle conference. The summit brings together everyday riders, bicycle and trail advocates, representatives from Utah’s bicycle industry, planners, engineers, representatives from Utah’s tourism industry and health fields, and local and state government officials in order to make Utah more bicycle friendly. Regardless of your interest in bicycling (transportation, recreation, road, mountain, commuter), the Utah Bike Summit is for you and all are encouraged to attend.

This year’s keynote speaker is Danish bicycle transportation expert Mikael Colville-Andersen. Here is a link to one of Mikael’s TED Talks. There will also be a closing address from Andy Clarke who served as the president of the League of American Bicyclists for 12 years before stepping down last year. In addition, there will be an update from UDOT Deputy Director Shane Marshall. The remainder of the day will be filled with breakout sessions that cover a wide variety of subjects related to increasing and improving bicycling across Utah.

Registration includes:

All educational/breakout sessions and keynote address
Networking opportunities
Catered lunch

Regular registration rates are available through March 18th.

For more information and to register, visit : http://bikeutah.org/utah-bike-summit/utah-bike-summit-2/

Intermountain Sustainability Summit March 24 &25

The Intermountain Sustainability Summit returns to Weber State University March 24th and 25th, 2016. The summit offers over a dozen sessions and in depth workshops addressing climate, water, recycling, clean energy and more. Join sustainability professionals, civic leaders, businesses, nonprofits, educators, students and community members to learn, network, and develop strategies for implementing sustainability across Utah and the Intermountain West.

The summit kicks off with a conference day, Thursday, March 24th. The keynote speaker will be Joel Makower, Chairman and Executive Editor of GreenBiz Group Inc. Makower has been a leading voice on business, the environment and the bottom line for the past 25 years. In 2014 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Institute of Sustainability Professionals. He will be joined by over 40 speakers throughout the conference to inspire, inform, and show how businesses, policy makers, nonprofits, and community members are making a difference. SLCgreen’s Tyler Poulson will be presenting on strategies for engaging employees on climate change to encourage grassroots, participatory leadership within an organization. For additional speaker information, visit the webpage.

Workshops will be held on Friday, March 25th. Workshops include:

Community Zero Waste Road Map
LEED Green Associate Workshop
Smart Cycling

Looking to be involved and grow your business, nonprofit or idea? See the Sponsor, Exhibitor, or Poster page to be a part of the Summit. Register by March 15th for early bird pricing. Visit the Intermountain Sustainability Summit webpage for more information! We hope to see you there!

Community electric cars come to University of Utah

Exciting news from our friends at the University of Utah today! They have announced a new bulk purchase program that offers steep discounts on an array of electric vehicles. Read on for details – SLCgreen

The University of Utah is the first university in the country to sponsor a community-level electric vehicle purchase program that includes discounts on multiple makes and models.

U Community Drive Electric offers members of the U community, including faculty, staff, students, alumni and campus guests in Salt Lake, Summit, Weber, Tooele, Utah and Davis counties, the opportunity to purchase or lease electric vehicles at a discount of 5 percent to 20 percent off of MSRP. The limited-time program launches today, Dec. 14, and runs through Dec. 31, 2015.

Car dealers are able to offer a discount because these types of community programs tend to generate more customers in close proximity during a specific timeframe. There are three participating car dealers: BMW of Murray, Larry H. Miller Ford Lincoln – Sandy and Tim Dahle Nissan of Murray.

There will be a community workshop with questions and answers, Thursday, Dec. 17, 6-7:30 p.m. at the University of Utah Spencer Fox Eccles Business Building on the 7th floor, 7170.

This program is part of the university’s goal to implement creative solutions to lessen its environmental impact and to improve conditions for the community and future generations. With almost 50 percent of Utah’s urban air pollution coming from tailpipe emissions, electric vehicles represent an important tool for improving air quality along the Wasatch Front.

“We are excited to support U community members’ access to emissions-reducing cars that will improve air quality,” said University of Utah Chief Sustainability Officer Amy Wildermuth.

To offer this incentive, the Sustainability Office is partnering with Utah Clean Energy, a nonprofit, public interest organization that works to drive the transition to a clean energy future. The program is enabled by a generous grant from Utah Clean Air Partnership, or UCAIR, which encourages businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations to invest in emissions-reducing and energy-efficient technologies.

“This is a terrific program recognizing the positive impact electric cars can have on air quality,” said UCAIR Director Ted Wilson. “I congratulate the University of Utah and Utah Clean Energy for forming a strong program making electric cars more economical to buy. Once owned, they are clean and simple with almost no maintenance. In other words, both economically smart and a fine contribution to better air.”

“The support of UCAIR is key to U Community Drive Electric,” said Wildermuth. “This unique opportunity will allow individuals to make a meaningful difference for our local community and will serve as a model to others for what is possible. Reducing tailpipe emissions is just one of the many ways we are working to improve local air quality. With UCAIR support and partnership with Utah Clean Energy, we hope to help make a significant contribution.”

In addition to increasing awareness about electric vehicles’ impact on Utah’s air quality, the organizers of U Drive Electric hope to connect the benefits of combining solar power with electric vehicles.

“Fully electric vehicles have no tailpipe,” said Utah Clean Energy Executive Director Sarah Wright. “They eliminate 99 percent of the smog-producing volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide emitted by gas-fueled cars in our airshed. And when powered by solar energy, they are truly pollution free.”

U Drive Electric will also include plug-in hybrids to provide an opportunity for people who require a longer-range option to participate in the program. Including these vehicles maximizes the choices for consumers, which will ultimately help even more community members reduce their pollution.

Participating community members will sign up for the program with Utah Clean Energy at www.udriveelectric.org. Once registered, participants work directly with any of the selected dealers to purchase the electric car of their choice. Participants must sign a contract before Dec. 31, 2015, to guarantee the discount.

For more information about the U Community Drive Electric program, visit www.udriveelectric.org.

About Sustainability at the University of Utah
The University of Utah is committed to integrating sustainability across all areas of the institution, including academics, operations and administration. Additionally, the university is supporting sustainability efforts and research under the Sustainability Office to better streamline initiatives and collaboration across campus.

About UCAIR
UCAIR is a statewide clean air partnership created to make it easier for individuals, businesses and communities to make small changes to improve Utah’s air quality. Every small change adds to a collective bigger step toward better health, a better economy and better overall quality of life for all of us.

About Utah Clean Energy
Utah Clean Energy is Utah’s leading expert public interest organization working to expand renewable energy and energy efficiency in a way that is beneficial not only for Utah’s environment and health, but also our economy and long-term energy security. Utah Clean Energy is committed to creating a future that ensures healthy, thriving communities for all, empowered and sustained by clean energies such as solar, wind and energy efficiency.

Ride with Hive

By Blake Perez, Transportation

You may start to see fellow Hive Pass holders on various buses and Trax around town. The “I Ride with Hive” campaign has kicked off to promote and raise awareness about the Hive Pass. Current Hive Pass holders volunteered their time to be Hive Brand Ambassadors and are the focal point of the “I Ride with Hive” campaign. Six Hive Brand Ambassadors, from all walks of life, are being featured on various print ads. The idea behind the ambassador concept is to show the deeply discounted transit pass is for everyone. One of the Hive Brand Ambassadors, Liz, said “I am a full time rider for over a year now and I am loving it!”. Gary, who is one of the biggest Hive Pass enthusiasts and users, says he only has to fill up his car every two or three months because he uses the Hive Pass so much. Lastly, Karen bought a Hive Pass for her son to “teach him about being responsible to the environment by taking public transportation”. Hive Pass holders are using their discounted transit pass to meet their varying transportation needs. Whether you use it 2-3 times a week or exclusively use it as your main mode of transportation, the Hive Pass can help you meet your transportation needs. So why not Ride with Hive?

Hive Passes are available now to all Salt Lake City residents. For only $42 a month, your Hive Pass includes unlimited rides on all buses, Trax, and Sugarhouse streetcar. There are discounts for Frontrunner fares as well. To obtain a Hive Pass you must bring an ID and two pieces of mail, to prove SLC residency, to one of the 3 sales locations. At that time you may purchase as many consecutive months as you would like. If you pre-purchase an entire year, an additional $29 discount is applied. After the initial in-person visit you can pay for your monthly pass over the phone, web, or still make payment in person. You may even set up automatic payments.

To learn more about the Hive Pass, determine your eligibility and learn how to get your pass, visit www.ridewithhive.com, e-mail ridewithhive@slcgov.com or call (801) 596-RIDE (7433).

City Continues Efforts to Reduce Emissions with New Electric Vehicles

With ongoing air quality problems, the City continues efforts to reduce its overall emissions. Seven new, all-electric vehicles are being added to the City’s fleet this year, replacing older, fossil fuel-burning vehicles and helping to achieve aggressive emission reduction goals set by Mayor Becker. Salt Lake City has a total of 224 clean vehicles as part of its fleet, including clean diesel, CNG, all-electric and hybrid-electric options. Since 2009, the percentage of clean fleet vehicles operated by the City has grown from just over 2% to more than 15% of the total fleet. The City has historically focused on integrating hybrid-electric vehicles, with 120 of these in the current fleet, but new all-electric sedans represent an even greater air quality benefit due to zero tailpipe emissions.

“Our program to carefully assess emissions and local air pollutant impacts, as part of the cost-to-own analysis for fleet purchases, is paying dividends,” said Mayor Becker. “We weigh these factors to produce outcomes that mitigate climate and air quality impacts and save taxpayer resources.”

Salt Lake City currently operates public EV charging stations at six separate locations. The City recently received a $200,000 grant from the Utah Division of Air Quality to expand public charging options and will use these funds to install 25 new charging ports throughout the City.

Residents can review, and weigh-in on, the City’s work to reduce its overall carbon footprint via the Sustainable City Dashboard tool, here.

Idle Free Signs

New #IdleFree signs are going up around the city. Do you know of a location that could use a sign? To suggest sign locations or to learn more, click here.

Help to make your workplace or child’s after school/summer program idle free! Contact Olivia Juarez at 801-535-7761 or Olivia.Juarez@slcgov.com for more information or to request a FREE sign.

Check out these great photos from businesses around town that have put up new signs:

Thanks to UCAIR for your generous support of an Idle Free City.

Salt Lake City’s Popular ‘Hive Pass’ Again Available to Residents

Following a highly successful pilot program last year, deeply discounted transit passes are again available exclusively to Salt Lake City residents.

Dubbed Hive Pass 2.0, this Salt Lake City program, in partnership with the Utah Transit Authority (UTA), continues to offer residents easier access to mass transit by reducing the cost of a UTA monthly adult pass by 50 percent.

“Our Hive Pass program has created a great new, and very affordable, way for residents to make public transit a regular part of getting around,” said Mayor Ralph Becker. “Not only does it create new mobility options, but using the Hive Pass makes a great contribution to addressing our air quality challenges, reduces traffic and helps make our community an even better place to live, work and play.”

Residents can purchase the Hive Pass for only $42 a month. Pass holders have access to unlimited rides on UTA buses, TRAX light rail, and the S-Line streetcar. The program also provides a $2.50 discount on one-way FrontRunner and Express bus trips. Hive Passes can be purchased for any amount of consecutive months up to a full year and will be activated on the first day of the month for which it is purchased. A 12-month purchase comes with an additional 10 percent discount.

Passes are sold Monday through Friday at the following locations and times. Customers must live inside Salt Lake City boundaries and bring a photo ID and two additional forms of eligibility documentation (proof of residence) to purchase a Hive Pass.

Salt Lake City & County Building
451 S. State Street
Treasurer’s Office, Second Floor
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Salt Lake Public Utilities Office
1530 S. West Temple St.
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Sorenson Unity Center
1383 S. 900 West
4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

To learn more about the Hive Pass, determine your eligibility and learn how to get your pass, visit www.ridewithhive.com, e-mail ridewithhive@slcgov.com or call 801-596-RIDE (7433).