Equity and Mobility Advisory Committee

About the Equity and Mobility Advisory Committee

To ensure equitable I-205 and I-5 toll projects and processes, and to help develop a framework, ODOT convened an Equity and Mobility Advisory Committee. This committee is a group of individuals with professional or lived experience in equity and mobility coming together to advise the Oregon Transportation Commission and ODOT on how tolls on the I-205 and I-5 freeways, in combination with other demand management strategies, can include benefits for populations that have been historically and are currently underrepresented or underserved by transportation projects.

In providing input to the Oregon Transportation Commission, the committee shall consider needs and opportunities for achieving community mobility and equity priorities as part of the National Environmental Policy Act process for toll implementation. Currently, ODOT is considering options for tolling locations on the I-205 and I-5 corridors. The committee will advise on the equity foundation of these toll projects, including guidelines, strategies and processes.

After two years of thoughtful, dedicated work and candid conversation, Equity and Mobility Advisory Committee (EMAC) members brought their July 2022 recommendations to the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC). Hear from these community leaders about why they are engaged in this work, their perspectives on the intersection of equity and mobility, and their ideas on how to advance an equitable toll program.

The public is welcome to join regular EMAC meetings; click here to get information about both past and upcoming meetings.

Purpose

The committee shall advise the Oregon Transportation Commission by:

Providing input and supporting ODOT during the technical and environmental review process to ensure milestone decisions and project developments are grounded in the draft toll projects' equity framework, including the development and refinement of performance measures and the evaluation of alternatives for the I-205 and I-5 Toll Projects.

Providing input on mobility and equity strategies as the I-205 and I-5 Toll Projects are going through the environmental review process, including:

Availability of transit and other transportation options.
Transportation needs of, and benefits for, people of color and people with low-incomes, limited English proficiency or disabilities that live near or travel through the project area.
Better understanding of neighborhood benefits and impacts for the communities near the tolled facilities (e.g., changes to cut-through traffic, pedestrian and bicycle options, transit access).
Developing an equitable engagement plan that will result in ongoing input and participation from communities that have been historically and are currently underrepresented in transportation planning.
Supporting the implementation of the equitable engagement plan by hosting or cohosting meetings, events and/or other activities as determined by the engagement plan.

The Equity and Mobility Advisory Committee has adopted a Committee Charter to guide their work.

Recommendations

The Equity and Mobility Advisory Committee is developing recommendations to create equitable toll projects in Oregon. These recommendations consist of policy and strategy considerations that were presented to the Oregon Transportation Commission in July 2022. The meeting recording is available here. EMAC’s recommendations, in the form of recommended actions, inform guidelines, strategies, processes, and policies to advance equity with implementable measures before and after tolling begins. Review EMAC’s final recommendations document here.

Members

The Equity and Mobility Advisory Committee has 15 members, including members appointed by the ODOT director and selected through an open application process.

The 15 committee members represent a spectrum of mobility and equity interests. We selected members for the experiences and perspectives they can offer as Oregon develops the toll program.

Forming the committee was a collaborative process between states, cities and counties. To start, we asked local agencies in Clackamas, Washington, Multnomah and Clark counties, as well as the cities of Vancouver and Portland, for their advice on who should represent their communities. For transit and ride services representation, we asked TriMet, Ride Connection, CTRAN, and SMART to identify members with equity and mobility experience. Then, to add experience in active transportation, racial equity, social equity and large business, we invited regional partners to offer recommendations. County coordinating committees and their technical staff in Clackamas, Washington and East Multnomah counties contributed, as did nearly 20 non-profit organizations in the Portland metro area.

We designated three at-large committee members through an open application process. ODOT's project team reviewed more than 40 applications using a blind review system. They selected top candidates on diversity and equity criteria, including: commitment to, and experience in, supporting or advocating for equitable processes and outcomes; experience with the transportation system in the Portland metro area and/or Southwest Washington; and, interest in participating on the committee. From the original pool, the project team created a “short list" of five candidates; ODOT named three of them to serve at-large.

Roster

Representative Organization

Abe Moland Clackamas County Health and
Transportation

Amanda Garcia-Snell Washington County Community
Engagement

Bill Baumann Community in Motion

Diana Avalos Leos League of United Latin American
Citizens Latino Youth Conference

Dr. Philip Wu                                  Oregon Environmental Council

Dwight Brashear   SMART

Eduardo Ramos    At-large member

Fabian Hidalgo Guerrero Causa

Germaine Flentroy Beyond Black/Play, Grow, Learn

Ismael Armenta At-large member
  Oregon Walks

James Paulson                                WorkSystems Inc Board

John Gardner                               TriMet

Kari Schlosshauer At-large member
  Safe Routes Partnership

Michael Espinoza Portland Bureau of Transportation

Park Woodworth Ride Connection

Sharon Smith, Oregon Transportation Commissioner, serves as the committee liaison.

Meetings

We welcome public comment at regular meetings of the Equity and Mobility Advisory Committee. At each meeting, facilitators will reserve 10 minutes to hear verbal comments. We will allot up to two minutes to each speaker. For online Zoom meetings, when the facilitator asks for public comments, please use the “raise hand" function to indicate that you would like to speak (learn more here).

You can also submit written or verbal comments at any time. Please submit comments by email (oregontolling@odot.state.or.us) with “Committee Public Comment" in the subject line, or call 503-837-3536 and state “Committee Public Comment" in your message. If we receive your comment by 11:00 a.m. two business days before the meeting, we will send them to the committee in advance. All comments received after 11:00 a.m. two business days before the meeting will be provided to the committee at the next meeting. We will ensure that all written and verbal comments we receive prior to or at the meeting are included in the meeting summary.

For more information, contact Hannah Williams, Toll Program Community Engagement Coordinator, 503-894-4173 (cell) or Hannah.Williams@odot.state.or.us. Accommodations will be provided to people with disabilities. To request an accommodation such as materials in alternate formats, please call Hannah Williams at 503-894-4173 or call statewide relay at 7-1-1 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.