The Oregon Department of Transportation works to create safer, more walkable, and bike-able networks all across the state. One major challenge is that the state’s pedestrian and bicycle network needs greatly outweighs the amount of funding available. It is critical to understand how and where to prioritize limited funding to provide Oregonians with the most impactful walking, biking, and road-crossing infrastructure in the most meaningful locations. To address this challenge, the Oregon DOT created a $150,000 data management system called the Active Transportation Needs Inventory, or ATNI, which identifies the needs and deficiencies of the state active transportation network and prioritizes the needs to best identify where to invest in walking, biking and crossing facilities. The Oregon DOT used a range of evaluation criteria including crash history and crash risk factors, bicycle level of traffic stress, access to transit and essential destinations, gaps in the network, locations in transportation-disadvantaged community, health impacts and local priorities. The agency then weighted the evaluation criteria to prioritize locations. Safety and equity criteria are weighted the highest to address the issue that communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by serious injuries and fatalities. This ensures Oregon DOT addresses the right projects at the right time for its communities.
America's Transportation Awards 