Background 

Oregon Metro, more commonly known as Metro, 

the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the 

Portland, Oregon metropolitan region, focused 

on ways to address disparities and improve 

racial and social equity in the implementation of 

Vision Zero projects in the region. The agency’s 

boundary encompasses Portland, Oregon and 

23 other cities stretching from the Columbia River 

in the north to the bend of the Willamette River 

near Wilsonville, and from the foothills of the 

Coast Range near Forest Grove to the banks of 

the Sandy River in Troutdale. 

First, Metro worked with cities, counties, 

community organizations, and other agencies to 

develop a definition of transportation equity.

“The removal of barriers to eliminate 

transportation-related disparities faced by and 

improve equitable outcomes for historically 

marginalized communities, especially communities 

of color.”

Metro also identified equity focus areas within 

the region to provide a framework for evaluating 

how transportation investments affect three 

demographic groups (which are not mutually 

exclusive): people of color, people with lower 

income, and people with limited English 

proficiency1.

1 2018 Regional Transportation Plan, Appendix E: Transportation 

equity evaluation, and evaluation of equity, Environmental 

Justice and Title VI outcomes. December 6, 2018. Equity focus 

areas were identified using Census data. Census tracts with 

above-average concentration and double the density of people 

of color, people with limited English proficiency, and/or people 

with lower incomes were identified as equity focus areas.

Focus Areas

Equity focus areas in the Portland, 

Oregon metropolitan region have a 

higher proportion of fatal and serious injury 

pedestrian and bicycle crashes compared to 

the region and include a majority of Regional 

High Injury Corridors:

67% of pedestrian fatalities and 72%

of serious injury pedestrian crashes occur 

in equity focus areas, while only 56% of 

the population live in these areas.

83% of bicycle fatalities and 69% 

of serious injury bicycle crashes occur in 

equity focus areas.

56% of fatalities and 61% of serious 

injury crashes occur in equity focus areas.

50% of high injury corridors (250 miles) 

are in areas with above average densities 

of people of color, while only 41% 

of the population live in these areas.

54% of high injury corridors (270 miles) 

are in areas with above average densities of 

people with low-income, while only 43% 

of the population live in these areas.

Equity in Vision Zero — Oregon Metro 

VISION ZERO NOTEWORTHY PRACTICE — PARTNERSHIPS

APRIL 2020 | FHWA-SA-20-011
Metro collected and analyzed crash data from

2011-2017 to identify trends in fatal and serious

injury crashes and compare equity focus areas to

regional averages. Additionally, Metro identified

Regional High Injury Corridors and Intersections for

the 6 percent of roadway miles in the region where 

60 percent of fatal and serious crashes occur.2 The 

data showed pedestrian fatalities are the most

common type of fatal crash in the region, with a

disproportionate percent of such crashes in equity

focus areas.

2 2018 Regional Transportation Safety Strategy. https://www.

oregonmetro.gov/regional-transportation-safety-plan

The Oregon Public Health Authority identified the 

following statewide crash trends from 2008-2014: 

• American Indians/Alaska Natives have the

highest average rate of vehicle related deaths

at 5.9 deaths per 100,000 population, which is

1.8 times the rate among Whites.

• American Indians/Alaska Natives and African

Americans have the highest hospitalization for

traffic related injuries at 52.2 and 46.2 admits

per 100,000 population compared to 45.5 for

Whites and 20.8 for Asian Pacific Islander.

Reducing disparities in equity focus areas is a 

priority when allocating funds and prioritizing 

safety projects in the region.

Figure 1. Graphic. Oregon Metro’s Equity Focus Areas overlaid with Regional High Injury Corridors 

and Intersections.

POC: Persons of Color

LEP: Limited English Proficiency

© 2018 Oregon Metro.
Performance Planning

Oregon Metro outlined distinct goals, objectives, 

policies, strategies and actions, and targets and 

performance measures in the 2018 Regional 

Transportation Plan for transportation safety and 

equity. These policies help implement Metro’s 

2016 Strategic Plan to Advance Racial Equity, 

Diversity, and Inclusion. While the policy areas of 

transportation safety and equity are distinct, they 

are linked through prioritizing safety investments in 

equity focus areas that show a disproportionate 

number of fatal and serious crashes when 

compared to the region.

Oregon Metro’s Regional Transportation Safety and 

Equity Policy Framework includes:

• Goals: The region has a goal to eliminate deaths 

and serious injuries from traffic crashes and 

set five equity goals that address racial equity, 

community engagement, workforce diversity, 

safe communities, and resource allocation.

• Objectives: Transportation safety, particularly 

eliminating fatal and serious injury crashes for all 

modes of travel, is listed along with transportation 

security, preparedness, and resiliency as an 

objective. Objectives for equitable transportation 

include eliminating disparities and barriers 

for people of color and other historically 

marginalized communities.

• Policies: The region has nine regional 

transportation safety policies, including those that 

prioritize investment in high injury corridors and 

equity focus areas, to guide planning, project 

prioritization, investments, implementation, and 

seven equity policies to eliminate transportationrelated disparities and barriers.

• Strategies and Actions: Oregon Metro, State 

DOT, cities, counties, and other partners target 

transportation safety through more than 50 

actions across 6 strategies. These are included 

in the Regional Transportation Safety Strategy.

Transportation equity includes 30 actions across

the 7 equity policies which are outlined in the

2018 Regional Transportation Plan.3

• Targets and Performance Measures: The 

region has an overall safety goal of eliminating 

transportation related fatalities and serious 

injuries for all users of the region’s transportation 

system by 2035, with a 16-percent reduction by 

2020 (as compared to the 2015 five-year rolling

average), and a 50-percent reduction by 2025.

Oregon Metro plans to report on safety statistics

for the identified equity focus areas to link safety

with equity.

Project Prioritization:

Metro’s safety and equity policy framework results 

in an increase in investments in safety projects 

and associated safety benefits in equity focus 

areas. For planning purposes the region identifies 

safety projects and safety benefit projects in the 

following manner:

• Safety Project – A targeted project that

addresses an identified safety problem at a 

documented high injury or high-risk location.

• Safety Benefit Project – Project that increase 

safety for one or more roadway users but may 

not necessarily address an identified safety 

issue at an identified high injury or high-risk 

location. 

3 2018 Regional Transportation Plan, Chapter 3. 

https://www.oregonmetro.gov/sites/default/

files/2019/04/09/2018-RTP-Ch3-RegionalSystem-Policies_0.pdf
POINT OF CONTACT

LAKE STRONGHEART MCTIGHE

SENIOR REGIONAL PLANNER

OREGON METRO PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

503.797.1660 | LAKE.MCTIGHE@OREGONMETRO.GOV 

Metro’s 2018 Regional Transportation Plan brings

a heightened awareness of how safety projects

and safety benefit projects helped meet racial

and social equity goals across the region.

Metro’s Transportation Equity Analysis for the 2018

Regional Transportation Plan measured planned

investments in safety projects and safety benefit

projects in equity focus areas compared to safety

investments region-wide. The analysis found that

70 percent of safety projects and 72 percent of

safety benefit projects were planned in equity

focus areas. As the plan is implemented, Metro

will measure the progress of safety investments by

State, regional, and local partners in equity focus

areas and the impact on fatalities and serious

injuries in these areas. This will be reported in the

Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Plan

and in updates of the Regional Transportation

Plan. Metro will develop an annual progress report

documenting the progress made towards meeting

the Federally required transportation safety targets

and progress on actions by Metro and its partners.

In conjunction with this annual report, the region

will also report on similar statistics in the equity

focus areas.

Funding

Metro’s transportation planning funds cover safety

planning, analysis, and monitoring. Safety projects

are prioritized for Regional Flexible Funds (Federal

transportation funds allocated at the regional

level). In the most recent allocation of Regional

Flexible Funds, Metro evaluated and scored cities’

and counties’ proposed projects based on how

well they addressed the four policy priority areas

of the 2018 Regional Transportation Plan: safety,

equity, climate and congestion. A project with

a higher score is more likely to receive regional

funding.

Figure 2. Graphic. Oregon Metro’s Regional 

Transportation Safety Strategy.

© 2018 Oregon Metro.