Countywide : Board Receives Plan to Cut Traffic

A consultant’s report recommending ways in which Ventura County can cut down on the commuter traffic of 6,000 county employees was accepted by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

But the board stopped short of implementing any of the 18 suggestions in the car-pooling plan.

Instead, it ordered the heads of county agencies to report back next week on how the plan could be implemented at work sites countywide.

The Applied Management and Planning Group of Los Angeles provided the supervisors with a list of suggestions.

They include:

* Guaranteeing a ride home for car-poolers who work late and for personal emergencies;

* Providing lockers and shower facilities to those who jog or bicycle to work;

* Allowing employees to work at home;

* Allocating preferential car-pool parking spaces.

County supervisors have until July 1 to prepare a report for the Air Pollution Control District in which they outline a specific plan to reduce pollution by lessening traffic.

According to the planning group, implementing all of the strategies would reduce solo commuting by 24%, and the county estimates it would cost up to $1 million.

Dr. Peter Stopher, who headed the team that prepared the report, said shifting to a workweek of four 10-hour days or condensing 80 hours of work into nine days has met with very favorable reviews from county employees in a pilot program.

“The employees like it because they only work a couple more hours per day and then get a full-day vacation,” he said. “It’s good for the public because the government offices would be open two extra hours per day and are therefore more accessible. And just think, if everyone did this, traffic would be reduced by 20%.”