Clean Commute Profile: Sonoma County employees are leaving their cars at home!
Ever wonder how others get to work without adding to the solo occupancy vehicles on the road (SOV)?
For several years Christine (County Administrator’s Office) has been clean commuting to work at least one day a week, and more often during summer months when she doesn’t have to factor in the “kid drop off” at school. Christine takes a city bus or sometimes walks home from work during good weather, commuting about 3 miles each way. Christine started biking on “Bike to Work Day” because she wanted to get over her fear of riding on Santa Rosa streets, which she considered challenging for cyclists.
Terri (also of the County Administrator’s Office) is an avid bicyclist as well, teaming up with Christine since they live close to each other. Riding with Terri helped Christine feel safer on the roads. As a next step, Terri and Christine created “Bike to Work Thursday”, riding together every Thursday and additional days whenever possible. Both Christine and Terri believe that having a ‘bike buddy’ really helps with sticking to a weekly commitment.
Outside of work, Christine and her 20 yr. old daughter bicycle for fun on weekends, mostly on Santa Rosa Creek and the Joe Rodota trail. Terri enjoys riding with her grandson who is still using training wheels but keeps Terri on-the-go nonetheless.
Rich (another County employee) uses alternative transportation daily to commute to work by either public transportation or by bicycling. Rich has a quick 24-minute bus ride from home to County Center and takes advantage of this free time to read. Riding the bus means no rush and Rich gets to work relaxed and ready to go! When Rich bicycles to work, it takes about an hour as he travels along Redwood Highway. Rich enjoys “arriving at home relaxed after the work day, while getting in an easy workout, too!”
Join the Clean Commute movement today by commuting to work by biking, walking, using transit, ridesharing, or teleworking. Enjoy the benefits of better health, less stress and knowing that you are contributing to our community’s environmental health.