Downtown: On the Go! Wins the Governor's Commute Smart Community Champion Award

Photo (L to R): Paula Hammond, Secretary of Transportation; Julia Petersen, Downtown: On the Go! Coordinator; Diane Wiatr, City of Tacoma Mobility Coordinator; & Governor Gregoire

On Tuesday, April 13th, Downtown: On the Go! proudly accepted the Governor’s Commute Smart Community Champion Award at the Governor's Mansion in Olympia.

The award highlights the significant contributions of local governments and their partners to the improvement of livability in their communities through efforts around multimodal transportation.

Through the building of partnerships between the City of Tacoma, Pierce Transit, the Chamber of Commerce, and 23 downtown businesses, Downtown: On the Go! has provided a mechanism for targeted transportation outreach and advocacy, as well as expanded communication and visioning around downtown transportation and land use issues.

It should also be noted that Patti Sutton, HR Director and Employee Transportation Coordinator of Propel Insurance, a prominent downtown employer, received the Governor's Employee Transportation Coordinator Leadership Award for her outstanding work getting employees out of their cars and onto transit. Due to Patti's efforts and Propel's decision to discontinue employee parking subsidies, Propel's drive alone rate fell from 85% to 49% in just two years! Congratulations Patti!