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CCRPC committee advances equity screening framework for regional transportation projects
Summary
CCRPC staff outlined a draft VPSP2 equity screening using ECOS Map data and outside advisers; members favored a categorical High/Medium/Low/Neutral ranking and asked staff to apply the screen after VTrans delivers Transportation Value scores.
CCRPC staff presented a draft equity‑screening framework May 5 intended for application to regionally driven transportation projects once VTrans provides Transportation Value scores.
Senior planner Bryan Davis said the screening effort drew on outside reviewers, including Mark Hughes of the Racial Justice Alliance and participants from the Transportation Equity Coalition convened by Old Spokes Home, to evaluate how well project planning addresses equity concerns. Staff described using ECOS Map indicators—race (% non‑white, with note to disaggregate), linguistic isolation, poverty, subsidized housing types, and an opportunity index that includes poverty, school proficiency and job access—to assign an impacts‑benefits based ranking.
Davis and Charlie Baker emphasized this is an early draft. The initial approach adapts an impacts/benefits method used by other agencies and papers such as the Transportation Equity Project Prioritization Criteria; staff will test the framework and welcome member feedback. "We want to develop and employ a functional Equity Screening process, and we are seeking help from outside consultants to help set this up," Davis said.
Members discussed scoring methodology. Chair Mike O’Brien said he preferred categorical labels over numeric scores: "rather than a number score, he prefers a High, Medium, Low, or Neutral ranking." Members raised concerns about weighting and the meaning of scores and agreed the screening needs to be meaningful in order to affect project selection. Staff committed to apply the updated equity screen to regionally driven projects after VTrans delivers its scoring and to present results at the June meeting for further discussion.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the screening framework itself; staff called the work a starting point and invited member input.
