Seattleites offered incentives to cut summer driving

Mayor Greg Nickels is urging Seattle residents to curb their car driving by 10 percent through his "Give your car the summer off" campaign.

Local businesses and museums are dangling incentives to try to get people to take the bus, ride a bike or car pool to cut down on the number of miles they travel.

Offers include summer discounts at Woodland Park Zoo, the Museum of Flight, the Burke Museum, the Seattle Art Museum and the Pacific Science Center for patrons promising to drive their cars less.

There also will be drawings for cash and gift certificates for residents pledging to reduce their car trips, stop commuting alone, sell or park their car for a month, and for those already biking, busing and walking.

Nickels launched the campaign Wednesday beneath one of the billboards on Rainier Avenue South promoting the effort as Metro buses rumbled past. If residents shaved 1,000 miles off their car driving annually, the city could meet its 2012 goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions 7 percent below 1990 levels, he said.

"Gas prices are about to hit $4 a gallon, and we have a planet in peril," Nickels said.

The mayor has been a leader in getting U.S. cities to work to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that lead to climate change. Locally, decreases in the amount of drinking water and sea-level rise are among the most near-term threats posed by a warmer world.

City officials also touted programs Wednesday to increase the number of bike lanes, plans to occasionally close certain streets to vehicle traffic to make them more attractive to walkers and bikers, and proposals to expand the routes of streetcars into Seattle neighborhoods.

Because of security concerns, Nickels said he was limited in what he could do to reduce the amount of miles he drives, though he did vow to walk to local stores in his West Seattle neighborhood, and he rides in a hybrid Toyota Highlander SUV for work purposes.

Get more information at seattlecan.org or seattle.gov/waytogo.