Eye on the hybrid; Low gas prices don't lessen need for efficiency.

Byline: George Barnes 

As gasoline costs plummet, it's tough to see the need for fuel efficiency when you're paying less

than $1.70 per gallon. But owning a hybrid car can have perks that drivers of gas guzzlers only dream of.

In an effort to get greener, some businesses are offering special parking spaces and other benefits to hybrid owners.

The Barre Community Health Center in Barre, a UMass Memorial Health Care facility, achieved the distinction this year of being the first health care project in the state to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. One feature that helped the property gain LEED certification was the effort to reduce pollution from vehicle use. Patients and visitors with hybrid vehicles have six priority parking spaces waiting for them.

The center also has two bicycle racks

and staff showers for employees who burn calories biking to work.

Clyde Logan of the Barre Health Center said hybrid parking is in regular use. Several staff members also have hybrid vehicles, but they are not allowed to use the spaces.

The concept of a green building has received wide support in the community and among patients, said Mr. Logan. As plans for building the center moved along, he said, people in the community were keenly interested in the details, including how the project would affect trees and nearby wetlands.

The hybrid parking was a little controversial. People supported the concept of designating spaces for alternative fuel vehicles, but did not like where they were placed.

But to meet LEED requirements for the $6.6 million health center, Mr. Logan said, the hybrid parking had to be placed next to the building, alongside handicapped parking. Some patients who did not have a handicapped plate or plaque were unhappy that they had to park farther away than those with hybrid vehicles.

But the spaces are finding use. Although hybrid transportation is still in its infancy, those who are already into green motoring are reaping the benefits.

"There are a lot of hybrid vehicles out there and a lot of the time, the spaces are filled," Mr. Logan said.

Alison Duffy, a spokesman for UMass Memorial Health Care, said UMass Memorial Medical Center - University Campus does not have specific hybrid parking yet, but has 12 employee parking spaces reserved for car pools. In offering the spaces, she said, it was hoped employees would form car pools.

Hybrid parking is still something of a novelty in the area, but there may be a major push by American automotive manufacturers to make more and better hybrids as part of any bailout package they receive from Congress.

Many of the properties with hybrid parking are a result of efforts to receive green certification on new buildings. Worcester Polytechnic Institute's new East Hall dormitory in Worcester is also LEED certified. As part of its certification, it offers spaces for hybrids and other green vehicles. The hall was opened to students in August.

Michael W. Dorsey, director of research communications for WPI, said there are 14 hybrid and alternative fuel vehicle spaces in several locations around campus. Faculty, staff and students may request decals for their cars entitling them to use the spaces. So far, 16 faculty and staff have obtained decals, but no students.

The Massachusetts Port Authority also has been making an effort to go green with its facilities. In 2007 Massport dedicated 100 spaces at Logan International Airport in Boston to hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles. It also offers head-of-line privileges at the airport's taxi pool for Boston cabs that qualify as clean fuel vehicles.

State Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, said the state is looking at several pieces of legislation aimed at encouraging the use of alternative fuel vehicles, including the state Green Communities Act, which was approved in June. Mr. Brewer said the state would be required, among other things, to develop a plan to purchase hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles. Its goal would be to replace half the state's fleet with alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles by 2018.

The bill also includes incentives for communities to purchase environmentally friendly vehicles and requires the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to create alternative fueling facilities at all Massachusetts Turnpike fuel facilities by 2014. A bill also has been filed in the state Senate aimed at dedicating $2.5 million for new vehicles for the state Office of Environmental Law Enforcement, of which 20 percent must be hybrids. The bill would also authorize $10 million in bonds for grants for alternative fuel stations and for municipalities, school districts and regional transit authorities to purchase alternative fuel vehicles.

Mr. Brewer said his concern is that although all the efforts now to reduce gasoline consumption and vehicle emission could have a positive impact, the country has traveled that road before.

"Part of this is, will we maintain this green thinking as gas is going down?" he asked.

Mr. Brewer recalled that under the administration of President Jimmy Carter, many environmentally friendly initiatives were talked about.

"Then the price of oil went down," he said. "We could have been 30 years ahead of where we are now."

Even with the initiatives being talked about in the Statehouse, Massachusetts lags behind many states in hybrid laws and incentives. California sets the standard for states to meet. According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center, California has more than 20 different incentives and regulations for developing, selling, purchasing and using alternative energy vehicles.

Other states focused on promoting alternative transportation include Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington.

Contact George Barnes by e-mail at [e-mail].

ART: PHOTO

PHOTOG: T&G Staff/CHRISTINE PETERSON

CUTLINE: Worcester Polytechnic Institute has 14 spaces for hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles in several locations around campus. Zipcar is a company that allows members to drive by the hour or day; all its cars at WPI are hybrids.