# Presentation: 065492

## Environmental Justice Assessment Process of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission

## The Purpose Of This Effort

- Assess transportation planning at MORPC
- Process
- Transportation Plan
- Transportation Improvement Program
- This effort commences an ongoing process

## Initial Assessment Process  2000

- Assemble Task Force
- Review Public Involvement Process
- Develop, identify, review and apply measures to gauge regional burdens and benefits of transportation system investments (TIP & T-Plan)
- Identify needs of target populations
- Identify additional work efforts to better incorporate Environmental Justice principles into planning and project evaluation processes
- Identify potential areas of non-conformance with the principles of environmental justice

## Task Force Representation

- MORPC’s Committees
- Policy Committee
- Citizen Advisory Committee
- Transportation Advisory Committee
- Columbus Area Transportation Coordination Program (CATCP)
- Other neighborhood and organization representatives

## MORPC’s Public Involvement Process

- CAC
- Special Project or Program Meetings
- Media Advisories
- Sunshine Mailings
- MORPC Web Site
- Annual/Biennial Reports

- Information Dissemination
- Neighborhood Groups
- Employers
- Libraries
- Local Public Agencies
- Special Interest Groups
- Present/Display Info Upon Request

**Notes:**
MORPC’s current public involvement process is quite comprehensive and seeks the participation of the targeted populations through the CAC...

## Slide 6

## Slide 7

## Slide 8

## Types of Measure Data 

- Population Group Based
- Numeric measures to compare different population groups
- Geographic Area Based
- Numeric measures to compare different geographic areas
- Maps
- Visual inspection to draw general conclusions

## Population Group Measures

- Average number of near-by opportunities
- jobs
- shopping
- other opportunities
- Percent of population close to a
- college
- hospital
- major retail destination

## When compared to the 2030 base, 2030 TPlan population groups have access to more jobs and the gains appear to be relatively uniform across all of the population groups.

- Target populations on average have  access to more jobs than non-target populations

## Population Group Measures

- Average Travel Time
- All Trips, Work Trips, Shopping Trips, Other Home Based Trips
- Average Time to Columbus CBD
- Transit Accessibility to Columbus CBD

## Target populations on average have shorter travel times than non target populations

- When compared to the 2030 base, 2030 TPlan population groups have shorter travel times and the improvements appear to be relatively uniform.

## Geographic Area Measures

- Percent Vehicle Miles of Travel under congested conditions
- Highway Investments
- Displacements

## Geographic Area

## When compared to the 2030 base, both the target and non-target areas experience less congested travel and the improvements appear to be relatively uniform.

- The target area experiences less congested travel than non-target populations.

## Map Assessments

- Travel Time to Closest:
- College
- Hospital
- Major Retail Cluster (Northland, Eastland, Westland, Tuttle, Sawmill & SR 161, Easton, Polaris, City Center, Brice south I-70,)
- COTA Service Relative to Target Populations

## Slide 18

## Conclusions

- Measures applied so far did not identify significant EJ issues
- benefits appear to be proportionally spread
- Need further involvement of target groups

##  Environmental Justice Assessment Process

- process will be ongoing (explicitly in Work Program)
- review efforts of other agencies
- develop and apply additional assessment measures and techniques especially in light of new regional model
- consultation with target populations