State Urging Gwinnett Commuters To Carpool More

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA -- The state Department of Transportation is teaming up with high-schoolers in hopes of getting a message to Gwinnett County's commuters -- you should be carpooling more.

Georgia Commute Options, a state DOT program, is working with students at Lanier High School to encourage more carpooling.

Seven "carpool only" spaces have been designated in the school's parking lot to both address traffic concerns and promote good environmental practices.

Fewer cars at school makes students safer and reduces emissions Georgia Commute spokeswoman Lesley Carter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"It’s a lot of kids, a lot of cars," Carter said.

Georgia Commute Options says they have similar programs in 35 schools in eight Georgia districts.

The AJC reports that Gwinnett County has one of the highest rates of carpooling in the metro Atlanta area. Nearly 12 percent of Gwinnett residents carpooled to work in 2014, while the metro Atlanta average rate was less than 7 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey.

Commuters should also consider the cost savings associated with carpooling, Carter said. And there's the less stress when you carpool than when you're driving all the time somewhere like Gwinnett County, where the average commute is 32 minutes.

To read the original report in the AJC, click here.