Advocate Cathy Cole worked to reduce commuting

Thursday, January 16, 2003

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF

A memorial service was held last weekend for Cathy Cole, the tenacious director of the King County commuter-trip reduction program Commuter Challenge who died early this month at age 60. The organization's annual achievement award will be given in her memory, and another group has named an award for her, recognizing her work to reduce traffic congestion.

"Cathy is irreplaceable, but her dedication and vision were inspirational," said Art Schuenemann, chairman of the board of Commuter Challenge.

Born Oct. 1, 1942, in Glendale, Calif., Mrs. Cole received her early education in California. In 1963, she received a journalism degree from the University of Oregon, where she met her future husband, Fred Cole.

The couple lived in New Hampshire and South Dakota before moving to the Puget Sound area in the mid-1970s. She held reporting, editing and marketing jobs before joining King County Metro in 1985.

Starting in 1990, Mrs. Cole was lent to the Commuter Challenge program to help implement the state's trip-reduction law, which required large employers to reduce employee commuting.

Mrs. Cole advocated flextime, compressed workweeks and telecommuting. She developed a library of case studies and dispensed information to employers trying to find alternatives to rush-hour commuting trips.

And she practiced what she preached, usually taking a bus to work on days she could go without a car.

"She walked the talk," program coordinator Heather Engelbrecht said.

Mrs. Cole died Jan. 2 en route to work after suffering a heart attack in the lobby of her downtown Seattle office building. A memorial service was held Saturday at Bothell First Lutheran Church.

Commuter Challenge will present its annual Diamond Awards for trip-reduction efforts in Mrs. Cole's memory at a ceremony Jan. 22. Also, the Association for Commuter Transportation has approved the creation of a National Award for Teleworking, to be named the Cathy Cole Award, to recognize programs for working at home.

Survivors include her husband, Fred Cole of Kirkland; son David Cole of San Diego; and daughter Janet Cole of Seattle.

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