Caltrans previews EQI mapping and planning tools, seeks subcommittee input

Caltrans senior adviser Carolyn Abrams previewed the Caltrans Equity Index (EQI) and related planning tools to the Interagency Transportation Equity Advisory Committee (EAC) Data Implementation Subcommittee during a virtual meeting on June 17, 2025.

The EQI is “basically a spatial screening tool, very similar to some of these other mapping platforms that are out there such as Cal EnviroScreen or Healthy Places Index,” said Carolyn Abrams, Senior Adviser on Race and Equity, Caltrans Director's Office of Equity and Tribal Affairs. She told the subcommittee the EQI operates at the census-block level rather than census tracts to better reflect neighborhood-scale transportation impacts.

Why it matters: Caltrans staff said the EQI will be used to identify transportation-based priority populations, improve analysis of project impacts on underserved communities and integrate equity metrics into the Caltrans System Investment Strategy (CSIS). Staff also described work to incorporate EQI-derived measures into early project scoping and Complete Streets outreach tied to state programs.

Abrams described three indicator groups in the EQI: demographic indicators (for example, low-income populations and tribal land status), traffic exposure indicators (including truck-weighted traffic proximity and crash exposure) and access-to-destination indicators (multimodal access by transit, bicycle and walking).

On crash measurement, Abrams said the EQI uses a buffer around crash locations (she said the buffer is about 500 meters) and excludes property‑damage‑only incidents. “The EQI crash exposure indicator considers crashes that result in both injuries and fatalities, but no property damage crashes, are included,” Abrams said. She added crashes are weighted by the highest level of injury at the crash — fatal crashes are weighted higher than severe injuries, which are weighted higher than minor injuries.

Limitations and data availability: Abrams acknowledged limits in the current tool. “This tool does not account for near misses. It is 1 of the limitations of the tool,” she said, noting near misses are harder to measure but could be considered through supplemental data or future versions. She also said wildlife corridors are not included in the current version. Caltrans staff said all EQI datasets are publicly available for download on the agency website and that they expect most datasets to be updated on roughly an annual cadence; methodological updates and a versioning approach (for example, a potential “version 2”) are under internal discussion.

Tools and use cases: Staff showcased a public EQI web map and a separate analytical tool aimed at planners. Abrams said the web map supports interactive exploration (clicking a census block returns indicator breakdowns) and a story map walks users through the tool’s functions. The analytical planner tool allows a user to map a proposed project and receive a generated report indicating whether components are likely to produce positive, neutral or negative directional impacts based on EQI indicators and offering considerations to mitigate harms.

Planned integrations and guidance: Caltrans staff described three near-term use cases: integrating EQI metrics into CSIS to refine investment prioritization; embedding EQI review in the early scoping process (the transportation scoping information sheet, described in the meeting as TSYS) so inequities are considered earlier in project development; and using the EQI demographic layer as a data-driven definition of “underserved communities” for targeted outreach under Complete Streets implementation tied to state legislation referenced in the meeting. Abrams said the EQI is also referenced in the Senate Bill 1 transportation equity supplement and available as a resource in related program guidelines published in August 2024.

Subcommittee role and next steps: The EQI team asked the newly formed Data Implementation Subcommittee to advise on the EQI user guide and on how the tool might be applied beyond Caltrans (for example, by MPOs, RTPAs, community-based organizations and grant applicants). Abrams said the team plans to work with the subcommittee chair on scheduling and expects to return to the subcommittee with pilot use cases; staff tentatively targeted an August meeting but said they might defer to November if the materials are not ready.

The presentation prompted technical and procedural questions from members about near-miss capture, crash weighting and the possibility of sharing data layers with other mapping platforms. Abrams said she would follow up with technical documentation and coordinate on data-sharing questions; she noted the agency’s datasets are already available for download on the Caltrans site.

Staff will circulate the EQI web map, story map, analytical tool and technical documentation to subcommittee members and work with the chair on priorities and timing for future advisory input.