2002
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Category: Parking Management Northwest Hospital
& Medical Center,
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Listen to one of the radio spots featuring this winner! |
Focus on accountability is key to
results
More
than half of Northwest Hospital’s 1,750 employees opt for an alternative
commute mode on a regular basis, resulting in an 11.4% drop in the hospital’s
SOV rate. In an area of Seattle where parking is typically free and in
an industry centered on multiple shifts and rotating schedules, this is
particularly commendable and has earned Northwest Hospital a Commuter
Challenge Diamond Award for parking management.
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Jan. 22, 2003 Awards Ceremony
Accepting Northwest Hospital's Diamond Award for Parking Management are Director of Facilities Rose Damnrose, Employee Transportation Coordinator Sue Hunt and Program Manager Shawn Rositer. |
To address a severe parking shortage, the hospital initiated a comprehensive parking management program, including a parking charge, in the fall of 2000. Day shift employees commuting during peak hours are charged $30 a month for parking. For those choosing to vanpool or carpool, reserved parking spaces are provided, and the parking fee is waived. “We have worked hard to educate employees that carpooling is a necessity and is a good thing, worthy of the reward of free parking,” said Employee Transportation Coordinator Sue Hunt. “When we began offering free parking for carpools and vanpools, we saw a dramatic increase in the number of employees ridesharing.”
To ensure the parking system is not abused, the hospital staffs parking booths where attendants are required to input the carpool number assigned to each group as well as the number of riders in the carpool for that day. Anyone abusing the system is then held accountable not only by the ETC, but also their own supervisor.
Every two weeks, Northwest Hospital holds employee orientations at which a PowerPoint presentation is given explaining the CTR Law and how it affects employees that commute during the peak times of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Employees are provided with brochures explaining the parking fees and information on registering with King County Metro’s Rideshare Online. “We have begun opening our office to employees – during a specific time of the day Monday through Friday – to drop in and ask commuter questions, to sign up as a carpooler or request a FlexPass,” said Hunt. “The response has been enormous!”
In an effort to continually increase the number of vanpools, Northwest Hospital has begun cleaning the interior and exterior of the vans for the vanpool riders every other month. In the grand scheme of things, this may seem like a small gesture, but it is just one more perk the hospital provides to those employees who have committed to ridesharing.
The hospital is also joining forces with other area employers to create shared vanpools. “My goal is to build bridges with the surrounding businesses in this effort,” said Hunt. “They need us and we need them.”
Commute Program
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*Some definitions: An “ETC” is the staff-level employee transportation coordinator responsible for the daily administration of the transportation program; “PM” is the transportation program manager; and “CEO” refers to the top management-level person at the worksite. “SOV” stands for single-occupant vehicle, and “CTR” for commute trip reduction.