Climate Column: How to beat parking, cut pollution and ease congestion

NATASHA JULIANA
ARGUS-COURIER COLUMNIST
September 9, 2025

Did you know that transportation accounts for about 67% of our local greenhouse gas emissions? But by expanding our options, we can make moving around fun and safe while reducing pollution. Plus, we can alleviate traffic congestion and parking demands for everyone else.

Fortunately, our city and county have been working hard to provide us with alternative modes of mobility.

In August, our Cool Business Collective’s monthly gathering of local business leaders discussed opportunities to reduce our transportation emissions. From supplies and products to customers and employees, we all need to move around.

Far too often, our conversations around transportation veer straight to concerns about where to put the cars. Steering the discussion away from parking gave us more time to discuss alternatives to the single occupancy vehicle. To get customers and employees to opt for alternative transportation options, sometimes we just need to make it explicit.

For Cool Petaluma events, we often ask, “How will you get there?” and provide checkboxes to prompt people to consider other options and to give them credit for making that choice. At last May’s Future Fest community event at Lucchesi, 69 percent of people reported traveling to the event by something other than a single-occupancy, gas-powered car.

For local businesses, Cool Petaluma has created a simple postcard for the counter and a convenient webpage that highlights multiple options for getting around town, making it easier to get the message out (find it at coolpetaluma.org/business-transportation).

Did you know that our city bus system is now completely free to all riders? Just hop on and hop off. No money, no apps. As of July 2025, Route 2 down McDowell Ave and Route 11 down East Washington St run every 15 minutes during peak weekday travel times, from to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. This means shorter waits, better connections and smoother rides to work, school and beyond.

Imagine you live near McDowell Elementary School and you want to go downtown to Copperfield’s Bookstore. You would probably jump in your car and drive down East Washington Street and then search for a parking space on Kentucky Street. In this case, you may or may not complain that traffic was too heavy and parking was too hard to find.

Alternatively, you could hop on a free-to-all Petaluma City Transit bus, letting someone else do the driving and avoiding the hassle of parking altogether. According to Google Maps, it will take you 15 minutes door-to-door. (Pro tip: Google Maps will tell you exactly how to use public transportation, including walking times.) Bring your friends or family, and suddenly it’s a fun adventure.

LumaGo has also been an extremely popular option since it began last September. This on-demand, micro-bus service covers a limited area but has an app similar to rideshares, like Uber and Lyft, that allows you to call for a ride when and where you need it. This city service is free to all as well.

Cycling is another great alternative. New bike lanes and bike racks are being installed all over town, making it safer and more convenient. Focusing on school zones is allowing more students to bike, taking their parents’ cars off the road during those peak traffic times.

For those just visiting or without their own e-bike, there is Redwood Bikeshare, which stretches from Santa Rosa to Larkspur. Our city has the second-highest distance ridden using Redwood Bikeshare, just behind San Rafael. Our most popular pickup and drop-off location is at the downtown SMART station. Redwood Bikeshare also has a steeply discounted equity pass for anyone currently enrolled in Calfresh or Medicaid.

Downtown businesses are very interested in ways to get people from the SMART train station to their front door. The train’s ridership has almost doubled since it began service in 2018 and counted over 1.1 million rides in the last fiscal year. With its expanded service from Windsor to Larkspur, it is becoming a popular way for people to visit Petaluma. But the walk or bike ride to our historic district is not very inviting or clear. Many are interested in finding ways to make that short distance a beautiful experience that encourages more people to explore without a car.

One great idea from our Cool Business Collective was to make a SMART train pass or Redwood Bikeshare membership part of employee benefits packages. For relatively little cost, employers can show they support transportation options that reduce traffic and emissions.

Go Sonoma’s Commuter Rewards program allows Sonoma County commuters to earn points for choosing sustainable alternative travel options for their trips to work or school. They also have an Emergency Ride Home (ERH) program that will reimburse rides home in cases of a qualifying emergency for anyone who works or goes to college in Sonoma County and uses an active or shared transportation option. If your kid gets sick or your bike gets stolen or your boss makes you work late unexpectedly, they’ve got you covered. These programs, and more, can be found at gosonoma.org.

When we choose a bus, train, walk or bike, we’ve kept one more car off the road and out of the parking space. This is how we actively help reduce our local pollution every day, while easing congestion all across town. If you can’t make this switch yourself, at least help make it easier for others by supporting the expansion of safer and cleaner modes of mobility, from bike lanes to SMART trains and beyond.

Natasha Juliana is campaign director for Cool Petaluma. She can be reached at natashaj@coolpetaluma.org. For information on how to get involved, visit coolpetaluma.org.