Program to get Seattleites out of second cars successful


<h5>by Seattle Times staff

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They rode bicycles or car-pooled or took the bus. They saved up errands and
ran them in one trip. They walked to the grocery store or to the kids' soccer
match. And, ultimately, they saved themselves hundreds of dollars and avoided
dumping 3 tons of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.


What those 22 Seattle families did not do was use their second cars.


"I didn't think I could do it," says Sharon Griggins-Davis, a Queen Anne
resident. "We'd got into some very bad habits of relying on that car."


Hers was one of the families that volunteered to give up their second cars
for six weeks as part of a city-sponsored experiment.


As volunteers for "Way to Go, Seattle," the families agreed to take $85 a
week from City Hall in exchange for promising to get by with one automobile.
Just to be sure, the city recorded their odometer readings.


Participants also agreed to keep journals of how they got around.


Based on city calculations, taking 22 cars off the roads for six weeks saved
each family an average of more than $70 per week - even allowing for bus and
taxi fares - officials said. It also led to 1,700 fewer car trips through
local neighborhoods, 8,100 fewer car-miles and prevented 6,500 pounds of
carbon-dioxide emissions - the gas that causes global warming.


"This was not a scientific survey," said Mayor Paul Schell. "It was an
educational experiment into how we can do better with what we have."


Some of the families found the task too difficult and reverted to their
second cars when the program ended, city officials said. But most said they
learned how easy it is to get along with one car. One family has sold its
second car and others plan to.


"With two cars, there is always the temptation to use a car when you really
don't need it," said Malva Slachowitz, a Ballard participant. "But we learned
some things. When we made a shopping list, it was a serious list. When we
went on a family outing, we would stop and do an errand."


The experiment appears to have been successful enough to justify another one,
Schell said.


Prospective volunteers can contact program manager Jemae Pope at
206-615-1550, or online at www.cityofseattle.net/waytogo.

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