State to taper back rules meant to reduce vehicle travel

DENVER — Colorado has tapered back its plans to force large employers to help their employees move away from traveling to work in single-occupancy vehicles.

Instead, the state will rely more heavily on volunteer efforts to reduce vehicle trips by people going to and coming from work.

The change of focus by the state Department of Public Health and Environment is in response to push back from industry groups, including the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance, that submitted statements in advance of an Aug. 18 hearing on the proposed travel rules.

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The state still wants to reduce vehicle miles traveled in order to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases. Reducing the number of people driving to work alone is one strategy.

“The department will revise its ETRP [Employee Traffic Reduction Program] proposal to first focus on data gathering components to establish a strong baseline for future policy paired with setting a strong foundation through a voluntary trip reduction approach,” the health department said.

The revised proposal, which has not yet been written, will include elements such as encouraging voluntary ETRP plans with incentives for early adopters of travel reduction policies, the state said in a news release. The new rules will likely include requirements in the Denver metro and north Front Range area for large employers to conduct annual single occupancy vehicle surveys. The state would like to see single occupancy vehicle use by employees fall to about 60% of employees instead of the current number.

The NCLA, which represents the chambers of commerce in Greeley, Fort Collins and Loveland, said in its filing with the state that the proposed rules were too aggressive and not based on accurate baselines. It encouraged voluntary compliance with the goals for travel reductions.

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