With nearly 80% of Lake County commuters being the only person in their cars, the county’s Division of Transportation is looking for strategies to reduce single-occupancy vehicle trips.
“This is our first foray into this type of study, looking at ways to sort of change travel behavior,” Lake County Division of Transportation (LCDOT) manager of transportation planning Michael Klemens said.
Single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs) are those where someone drives alone in their car, truck or van on their commute to and from work, according to the transportation department.
Since 1990, SOV travel has grown into the dominant transportation mode for the county, and has increased over time as the local economy and population have grown.
Between 1990 and 2016, Lake County residents, regardless of work location, who drove alone grew from 201,000 to 270,000, or 34%, according to the U.S. Census. Over the same period, SOV travel grew 59% for Lake County workers, regardless of home location, and the SOV share of all transportation increased by 5.2% to reach 80.2%.
Trip times, air pollution and carbon emissions are all proven to be reduced as SOV trips are diminished, according to the LCDOT single-vehicle occupancy survey.
After public engagement and research, LCDOT compiled a draft report of strategies and recommendations for reducing SOV trips and is seeking public comment on the report. The public comment period is open through April 8.
Klemens said the department is looking for overall feedback on the report, but also wants to hear if there are parts of the report that are strongly supported or disliked by the county residents.
The study is aimed to address SOV trips at a countywide level, addressing actions governments, employers and individuals can take to reduce their reliance on single occupancy vehicle trips.
While Klemens said the survey and plan are in their early stages, he hopes community feedback can help shape the final version of the study and future implementation.
“We understand that Lake County is a suburban county, and we’re not going to get everyone out of a vehicle by themselves,” he said. “We’re looking at this as an incremental-change approach. One of the ways we looked at it was, ‘What are the barriers for people who are driving by themselves now to make another choice?’”
One option that Klemens and LCDOT learned from their research was a guaranteed ride home program, which provides an employee who took public transit to work in the morning a ride home in an unplanned situation, for example, if their child is sick and needs to be picked up from school.
Klemens said that type of program, “helped move the needle” in how communities considered changing their work commutes method.
Other commute program strategies include shuttles from public transit stations to places of employment to help bridge the first or last mile of travel.
More recommendations for commute programming include a potential SOV reduction program at the county level, creating a dedicated webpage with information about transportation alternatives, holding countywide marketing campaigns to promote SOV reduction and sharing a newsletter highlighting commute options.
Public transit and Rideshare programs are another options to reduce single-occupancy vehicle use. The county survey provides strategies for maximizing those shared-ride options.
The study recommends leveraging Pace’s RideShare and VanGo programs to develop shared-ride commute programs. The study also suggests adding a rideshare matching tool on transit apps for coordinated carpooling.
Strategies for the county to support service and infrastructure improvements to Metra and Pace to expand routes, station shelters and sidewalks to improve accessibility, is also recommended by the SOV study.
Recently, Metra restructured fare prices so trips within Lake County, that don’t start or end in downtown Chicago, are a flat fee of $3.75, as the transit company looks to attract more non-traditional commuting riders.
To make walking and biking a more attractive transit method, the survey first suggests making repairs to the county sidewalk network, and connecting more bike trails. Additionally, the survey recommends adding designated safe and secure bike parking at places of employment and near public transit options, along with gauging interest in a robust bike share network.
Bike do-it-yourself repair shops along popular bike routes is another recommendation in the survey to make biking a more reliable transit option. Bike and pedestrian education in schools and places of employment is also included as a recommendation.
Finally, the survey addresses county land-use policies, and recommends encouraging communities to develop transit-oriented developments on land near public transit. The survey also recommends lowering minimum parking requirements for new construction as a strategy to reduce SOV trips.
The next steps for the SOV reduction plan still need to be flushed out after the public comment period, according to Klemens. The final plan will be shared with the county’s government and transit partners.
When LCDOT updates its long-range strategy plan later this year, Klemens said the department plans to roll some of the SOV reduction strategies and recommendations into its long-range planning.