kgw.com | News for Oregon and SW Washington

Lights, Camera, Prizes! Enter the Drive Less Video Challenge

Get into the director’s chair for the chance to have your creation air on the big screen and win prizes, including $3,000. Enter the Drive Less Video Challenge! The objective? Create a 25 second video that motivates people to drive less. Compete in either two categories: a General Category (ages 18 and up) or Youth Category (ages 17 and younger).

Both individuals and groups can enter. The grand prize winner will see their video air as a TV commercial, plus they’ll receive an Apple iMac and Final Cut Pro Studio 2, or $3,000. Prizes will also be awarded to the top three winners of the General and Youth Categories. Submission deadline is March 16, 2009.
Visit www.DriveLessSaveMore.com for details!

• Grand Prize: Apple iMac and Final Cut Pro Studio 2,
or $3,000, and video runs as TV ad
• First Place: MacBook and Final Cut Express, or $1,500
• Second Place: Apple iPod Touch and Apple gift card, or $750
• Third Place: Apple iPod Nano and Apple gift card, or $375

The Drive Less Video Challenge is sponsored by Funnelbox, Wells Fargo, Enterprise Rideshare, KGW News Channel 8, ODOT, Metro, City of Vancouver, Cherriots Salem-Keizer Transit, Commute Options of Central Oregon, Commuter Solutions, Rouge Valley Transit District and TriMet.

New Regional Walking Guide Unveiled

Explore nature trails, historical sites and commercial districts with the region’s new Walk There! guide. The 240-page guidebook offers 50 detailed routes organized by color-coded regional sections and type of walk, as well as indexed by city.

Walk There! is designed with every level of walker in mind. An informational bar on the first page of each route lists the difficulty rating, GPS coordinates for the start location and length. Detailed maps and descriptions are provided for each walk that detail the location's rich history and landscape

Individual routes are divided into five categories: Nature in Neighborhoods Walk, Power Walk, City Cruise, History Walk and Lunchtime Stroll.

You can download all the routes at www.oregonmetro.gov/walk. Pocket-sized copies can be picked up at Metro (600 NE Grand Portland, OR) or ordered for $5 by phone (503-797-1757).

Enter Low Car Diet Challenge

It that time of the year again for the Low Car Diet Challenge! It’s a fun way for people to test out getting around in the Portland area without a personal car. We are limiting enrollment to 30 participants this year.

Participants are asked to give up their keys for one month from July 21 to August 15, 2008. In turn, Low-Car Diet participants will receive incentives to help them along their way, including: a transit pass during the month; a gift certificate to the Bike Gallery; Zipcar membership with a $100 Zipcar driving credit; and free home grocery delivery from New.

E-mail Kaleb Miller at Kmiller@zipcar.com, if you are interested.

Are you like most Portland residents: always on the road, spending lots of time in traffic and money at the gas pump?
Do you want to use your car less to help the environment, but there just seems to be too much to do and too many places to go? Drive Less/Save More, launched by Metro, ODOT and its partners, is here to help you be more travel savvy whether in your car or taking advantage of the area’s many practical travel options. Reducing your car trips can save wear and tear on you, your wallet and the planet!

Visit www.DriveLessSaveMore.com to learn more.

What’s In A Car Trip?

Did you know the average Portland household drives an average of 39 miles each day? That costs about $5.32 or nearly $2,000 a year at $3 gas. And it’s not just our pocketbooks that get dinged by lots of driving. Transportation is one of Oregon's largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide (CO2), which contribute to global warming. An estimated 38 percent of C02 emissions are directly tied to transportation (mostly from cars and trucks). The average American car releases nearly a pound of C02 into the atmosphere for each mile driven.

Tips for Cutting Trips

Think about all those errands you do. The miles add up driving from place to place. Most of the trips we take, 67 percent, are non-work related. Here’s a reminder on how you can cut down on all those car trips.

Make a list. Put together a shopping list of everything you need to avoid last-minute, single purpose trips to the store.
Combine errands. Try combining all your errands and appointments into one trip.
Map out your route. Figure out the fastest way to get where you need to go. Online mapping tools can point you to nearby stores and show you the best way of getting from place to place.
Try making only right turns. UPS experts have found that left turns tend to take more time and waste more gas than right turns because drivers often have to wait for traffic or lights to change.
Take alternate routes. Know the ‘back way’ so you won’t always need to sit in traffic jams.
Avoid backtracking. Doubling back creates needless travel that can be avoided by following pre-planned routes.
Go local. Explore neighborhood shops and restaurants instead of going across town.
Avoid peak traffic hours. Try to do your errands during non-peak travel times rather than rush hour.
Shop online first. Check out what stores have to offer using the Internet before you get in your car. It might save you a trip.
Do you need to make the trip? Sometimes it’s best to not go somewhere until you’ve got another item to get or a nearby trip to make. Home delivery services might also enable you to avoid the trip altogether.