sustainy.com

Did you know that transportation and construction and operation of buildings account for two-thirds of our country’s climate pollution?

Since the early 90s, we’ve had LEED (the U.S. Green Building Council’s “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design”) to set best practices to tackle the buildings side of this problem. LEED certification has transformed regular construction projects into the new energy-efficient standard for a sustainable future.

What about transportation? We impact our environment not only in the buildings where we live, work and play, but in the choices we make when we travel to those buildings. A recent study, “Driving to Green Buildings,” showed that driving to and from a typical office building consumes far more energy than heating, cooling and lighting that building. How do we cut back on all that wasted energy and climate pollution? And how do we make sure people have better access to safe, convenient and affordable travel choices?

Introducing STARS, a voluntary points-based rating system inspired by LEED, which will allow transportation professionals to plan and compare their projects using a national sustainability standard. The framework is being developed by experienced public and private sector transportation professionals from Oregon and Washington.

What do the masterminds behind STARS hope to achieve? It’s simple, really. They hope to change the way we think about transportation by emphasizing access, climate, energy and cost, to ensure higher performance in areas where transportation has the greatest impacts.

And those aren’t the only benefits. This approach encourages transportation planners to work together with local residents and businesses to determine which travel options are most appropriate for an area and to combine all methods of transit to provide users a multitude of choices.

Transportation projects will see savings as well. STARS will reward planners who develop smarter projects that incorporate more efficient ways of moving people and goods. “We’ll be able to serve more people for less money,” says Peter Hurley of the Portland Bureau of Transportation, one of the developers.

STARS could follow in LEED’s footsteps, becoming an economic driving force and generating jobs. “Developing STARS could create green jobs for local STARS-certified professionals, just as the region’s ‘early adopters’ of LEED still frequently win green building design and construction jobs, both locally and nationally,” Peter says.

Already, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission is working with the STARS team to apply STARS to their Highway 1 HOV and Auxiliary Lanes project. That work is currently supporting eight part-time local jobs.

STARS encourages planners to ask a number of questions: How long should a standard trip take? What is the best mode of transit for a trip? What are the options of transit? When transportation professionals tackle these questions, riders get more options.

STARS Project Scoreboard

Click here for an overview of STARS and for more information on STARS, please contact Peter Hurley at the Portland Bureau of Transportation: Peter.T.Hurley@portlandoregon.gov.

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