By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitkans interested in avoiding traffic congestion this summer can earn gift cards from local coffee shops, restaurants, outdoors stores and more as part of a new initiative to encourage commuting by foot or by bike.
Developed in coordination between the city, Sitka Trail Works, SEARHC and other groups, the “Walk, Bike, Win” program will launch in early May, offering incentives for people to ditch their cars and walk or cycle for their downtown trips.
The program aims at alleviating traffic congestion by promoting non-mechanized transport during what is anticipated to be a summer of historically high tourist numbers, Sitka Trails Works executive director Ben Hughey said.
“A lot of people see the need for a way to reduce driving and parking downtown this summer, as we have dates where Lincoln Street will be closed,” Hughey said. “We’re going to need to take alternative methods and there are so many benefits to biking to work... The mental, physical, environmental benefits of not using a car are so tremendous. This aligns goals between a lot of different stakeholders.”
Starting May 7, Sitkans who sign up at https://sitkatrailworks.org/walk-bike-win/ can log their walk or bike trips to collect points that will earn gift cards. Trips, which must be logged within a week, count for rewards if the destination is within a designated area centered on Lincoln and Katlian streets. A detailed map is posted on the site.
Cyclists follow a path on the SJ Campus in March during a Sitka Cycling Club outing. As part of an effort to ease traffic congestion downtown, a program to encourage walking and riding bicycles will be launched in early May. Gift cards from local coffee shops, restaurants and stores are being offered as prizes in the program organized by the city, Sitka Trail Works, SEARHC and others. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
“Active travel modes include walking or cycling as an alternative to motorized transport for the purpose of making everyday journeys,” the website says. “The Walk, Bike, Win program is designed for active commuters who are traveling to downtown Sitka, on foot or on bike, for basic transportation. Examples included going to work downtown, shopping, going out to eat, attending an event. Active commuters simultaneously meet needs for transportation, physical activity and fun all in one.”
Any eligible trip automatically earns 1 point, though other factors can increase the value of the trip. An extra point is awarded if the trip is made on a cruise ship day when Lincoln Street is closed to cars and trucks.
In anticipation of record numbers of cruise ship passengers, the Assembly voted in February to “close” Lincoln Street between Katlian Street and Lake Street on days when more than 3,000 cruise passengers are in town, leaving the closed section of the street open to foot and bike traffic only. In February, Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal manager Chris McGraw estimated there could be up to 71 such days this summer.
People in the “Walk, Bike, Win” program can earn another point by making the trip between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., and a third extra point if the commuter is new to traveling by manual power. Walking, biking, e-biking and other forms of manual transport are permitted in the program. Transport by motorcycle or ATV isn’t included. A detailed map of the area is posted to the website.
“If you walk or bike on a day that Lincoln Street is closed, you automatically qualify for a free gift card. Or if you’re new to active commuting, you just have to walk or bike to work once and you get a free gift card to a coffee shop,” the Trail Works site states.
Participants automatically earn gift cards as they rack up points.
“We’re basically paying you to commute differently,” Hughey said. “This isn’t a drawing where you have a chance to win. When you you do the commute, you earn those points, and you earn a gift card.”
At the end of the summer, those who have earned over 70 points will be entered into a raffle with more significant prizes. But for day-to-day commuters, the weekly gift cards are earned, not won in a lottery.
Speaking for the city, Planning Director Amy Ainslie said the program dovetails into Sitka’s tourism plan.
“In terms of the city’s involvement in the program, that was really a result of the short-term tourism plan,” Ainslie said. “One of the recommendations in the transportation section speaks to the idea of encouraging walking or biking as a means of alleviating traffic congestion and parking strain.”
She hopes the incentives will encourage people to build new transportation habits. The city is the largest funder of the program and contributed $20,000 to finance gift card incentives and new bike racks around town, Ainslie noted.
She hopes the program feels approachable for Sitkans who typically drive a vehicle to and from town.
“A lot of this is about habit-building and how people build habits. Sometimes just that little nudge at the beginning of that external motivation stimulus can be enough to get someone’s interest going, enough that they can then sustain that once that external motivation is gone… It’s part of the reason why the on-ramp to that first reward feels approachable,” she said.
Doug Osborne said the program fits neatly within the goals of the Sitka Health Summit. He’s been involved with the summit for years and works in health promotion at SEARHC.
“This is not a raffle, you’re going to get a gift card,” Osborne said. “You get all the benefits of physical fitness and you’re helping the community with less traffic and parking congestion but you’re going to get nice rewards and we’re shopping local, of course – we want a vibrant downtown. That was one of the very first Health Summit goals: let’s be a more walkable, bikeable community.”
“We want to get 250 people to register by the end of the summer, but we’re hoping to get at least 15 or more of them being new to active commuting,” he said.
Like Osborne, Ainslie emphasized the importance of spending money locally.
“We really wanted to shop locally for those incentive programs,” she said. “That was something that was pretty important to us from the start and especially because this program is being funded in largest part by the city… I thought it was most responsible to use that funding locally as much as possible.”
All gift cards in the program are for shops in Sitka.
More information is posted to the Sitka Trails Works website. The program will run from May 7 to September 29 this year.
