Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Board honors Toole Design Group and United Educators on June 27 for reducing traffic congestion
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is pleased to announce that the Toole Design Group of Silver Spring, MD and United Educators of Bethesda, MD have won 2016 Commuter Connections Employer Recognition Awards from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
The two Montgomery County organizations were honored on Monday, June 27, 2016 at an awards ceremony at the Marriott Washington at Metro Center hotel in downtown Washington, DC. Three other groups from the region were also honored at the event. Applicants were evaluated by a selection committee of transportation officials and winners were chosen for their ability to offer measurable commuter benefits and reduction of fuel consumption and emissions.
“These awards acknowledge businesses in our County who have voluntarily initiated alternative commuting programs to reduce traffic congestion in the region,” says Gwen Wright, Montgomery County Planning Director. “They provide great models for other employers to follow.”
The Toole Design Group, which specializes in transportation planning, is helping the Planning Department to develop a Countywide Bicycle Master Plan. The Silver Spring-based firm won the Incentives Award for its employee programs to use mass transit and alternative means of commuting. The firm offers a pre-tax transit benefit of up to $125 per month, $25 toward annual Capital Bikeshare memberships and cash incentives for biking and walking. The success of this program has equated to a reduction of 82,000 vehicle miles traveled per year and a savings of more than 4,100 gallons of gas annually.
United Educators was honored with the Telework Award for its offsite working practices, leading to a low turnover rate, increased productivity and improved work/life balance. Since the early 2000s, this liability insurance and risk retention group for educational institutions has allowed its staff to telework. Employees are supplied with a computer, printer and reimbursed for phone and internet charges. As a result of this program, United Educators has shown a reduction of more than a million vehicle miles traveled per year and savings of more than 55,000 gallons of gas annually.