Transportation Ideas

A number of ways to improve commuting
1. Petition RTD to increase the number of buses to and from Boulder. A number of NREL employees already take this bus and I believe that even more people would take it if there were more buses available. I believe the ridership on this bus warrants more buses. Schedule-wise, there are two critical problems: First, the last bus in the morning leaves Boulder before 8am. This does not fit many people's schedules. Second, there is no bus in the middle of the day. If you take the bus in to work in the morning, you are stuck at NREL until the 4pm bus, that does not get you home until after 4:30 pm. This is particularly hard on parents. I will also try to petition RTD on my own, perhaps with the help of some of my co-commuters. However, I think that a strong statement from NREL to RTD would make a big difference.

2. Improve the bus stop on South Golden Road. This stop is the easiest to walk to and from when taking the bus. However, the North side of South Golden Road has a section with no sidewalk. This includes a particularly dangerous section where you are forced to walk on the road with traffic. It would help dramatically if a sidewalk was added, or there could be a pedestrian pass from the bus stop on S. Golden Rd, just west of the I-70 overpass, direct to NREL. Also, it would be great if you could work with RTD to improve the bus shelter on the North side of the road. This can be a very unpleasant place to wait for the bus on cold/wet days.

3. Make pedestrians and bicycle routes a priority on days with inclement weather. I believe that the sidewalks should be plowed ASAP — they often are only plowed at the very end, if at all. Also, make sure that all of the pedestrian gates function. Recently, a colleague of mine had to go through the car entrance of the main gate by the Visitor's Center because the pedestrian gate was frozen shut. He was hit in the head by the falling vehicle gate. Luckily, he was not hurt — but this was very dangerous (and a source for a potential lawsuit).

4. Improved bike parking. The best bike parking structure would provide both a place to lock your bike and shelter and would be easy to access. Most of the existing parking is either exposed or difficult to access (the case with the fiberglass shelters installed a couple of years ago). A nice bike shelter in front of the SERF would also be very visible statement for NREL (and a nice reminder to people to get out of their cars).

5. Easy bike access to the back gate. This seems easy to implement to me: have a "bike option" for the back gate where your badge causes the gate to only open five feet or so — enough for a bike, but not a car. This would allow cyclists to quickly get through the back gate without having to dismount, walk their bike on the gravel (often muddy), and badge out. It would also ensure that there was not increased traffic through the residential neighborhood.

6. Improved lockers for showering. I know this is a pipe dream, but it would be nice if there was enough space in the locker rooms to leave simple showering items and a change of clothes.

• Response: All of your suggestions are excellent ones, which we hope, in time will be implemented. There are some things that are under our purview, such as covered back racks, and some things that are under the purview of Jefferson County, such as road plowing, and some things are under the purview of RTD, such as improved bus stops and increased buses from Boulder.
  
  The S&TF does not include money for bike shelters. However, recent announcements about a new campus building indicate that there is increasing interest in investing in and improving the facilities on our campus. The bike shelters, which cost $10-13,000 each, and improved lockers for showering, would be an excellent addition to many parts of our campus, and this is something that we will keep bringing up so that it stays on the radar when it comes to making campus improvements in the future. We continually negotiate with RTD on the topic of improving bus stops and increasing the number of buses to and from Boulder. Perhaps we can devise a survey to measure the size of our potential ridership to show RTD some more persuasive evidence of the need for increased service. We have contacted Barb Ferris, who liaisons with RTD on our Ecopasses, to see if there is a better way we can communicate with RTD about NREL's needs.
  
  We will make an effort to keep NREL staff informed when Jefferson County and regional RTD meetings take place so that NREL can be strongly represented. We have passed along your suggestions that Jefferson County invest in new pedestrian walkways, and we will request that they plow sidewalks as early in the day as possible.
  
  Finally, with regard to the safety of pedestrian gates, we contacted Karri Bottom in Site Operations to respond to your description of the incident. While she verified with NREL's security maintenance staff that NREL has never had a report of a gate being frozen shut before, she is still concerned about your report. Please contact her if you would like her to investigate further. Anyone who experiences an incident with our equipment or our facilities that possibly affects the safety of staff should contact work control at x7344 or contact the maintenance group manager, Randy Cash, at x7332 as soon as the incident occurs.

Information on alternative-fuel vehicles would be useful
I know we recently got notification that rental-car reimbursement includes alternative fuel vehicles like the HEV Toyota Prius. It might be helpful for staff to know where they can rent these types of vehicles, whether for NREL travel or one's own personal use. Is there a list of local rental agencies/dealers that supply these?

• Response: We are familiar with one—EV Rental, which is partnered with Budget. Their Web site has more information. (June 2003)

Laboratory needs a "work-off-site" policy
NREL needs to establish a telecommuting (flexiplace) policy. From what I understand, DOE has requested information about our implementation of this type of policy, yet I have heard nothing about it here.

• Updated response: In response to input received in the FY02 Staff Survey, Human Resources worked with executive management in the development of a trial telecommuting program that will be piloted for the next six months, through the end of September 2003. During the implementation of the pilot program, telecommuting will be offered as an optional work arrangement, giving staff members the flexibility to work from home on a temporary basis to complete short-term assignments and/or short-term projects, or if the staff member has a serious documented medical condition or disability. (April 2003)
  
  
• Response: Yes, telecommuting has obvious advantages for saving energy and adding flexibility into people's work lives. NREL has one key element related to telecommuting already, the alternative work schedule. And telecommuting can already be arranged for medical reasons. Establishing a telecommuting policy is not quite as straightforward as it may seem, however. There are issues with workers compensation, deciding which staff positions would be amenable to telecommuting and which would not, training managers in how to work with telecommuting employees, and so on. You can be assured it is on our list to address. The reason we haven't thus far is the priority of some other important issues that have come up, like sabbatical leave and combined leave policies. We'll be taking a serious look at telecommuting in the future. Also, we are not aware of a request from DOE, so please let us know if you have this documentation—we'd be happy to reply. (January 2001)

Commuter mileage reduction good criteria for alternative work schedule
One of my primary considerations when deciding if staff in my area can work an alternative work schedule (AWS) is whether it will significantly reduce commuter mileage. We need to establish criteria that will help us determine whether an employee can work an AWS.

• Response: Great! Energy savings should always be important considerations in all managers' decisions. Saving energy by driving to work one fewer day a week is one of the benefits of having our AWS program. Currently, the AWS procedure says, "Alternative work schedules may be initiated with management approval (group managers and above) in those situations in which they support the requirements of the work environment." We will work with Human Resources to see if we can change the procedure to say, "Alternative work schedules may be initiated with management approval (group managers and above) in those situations in which they support the requirements of the work environment and will allow a lower overall use of energy for getting to and from work." (January 2001)

How to submit your ideas
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