April 29, 2024
DVRPC staff hosted several paid focus groups in July and August of 2023 to discuss the impact of transportation projects affecting daily life for underserved groups. These discussions underscored the urgent need for investment in EJ communities, with a particular emphasis on transportation and recreational infrastructure.
Transportation infrastructure gets us where we need to go, but it can also come with consequences related to travel costs, access, community cohesion, loss of open space, air quality, noise, and visual quality. Historically, negative impacts from transportation investments have been disproportionately experienced by communities of color and low-income persons. Additionally, the planning profession has had a history of excluding and not meeting the needs of these communities. In preparation for an updated long-range plan and associated region-wide environmental justice (EJ) analysis, DVRPC staff hosted several paid focus groups in July and August of 2023 to discuss the impact of transportation projects affecting daily life for underserved groups.
The focus group discussions underscored the urgent need for investment in EJ communities, with a particular emphasis on transportation and recreational infrastructure. Participants expressed a desire for roadway preservation and safety, sidewalks, accessible parks, digital bus shelters, ADA-accessible transit stations, and expanded bike lanes and bike-sharing programs to enhance their local communities and reduce the need to travel to other regions for recreation. While some participants acknowledged the positive aspects of example transportation projects in the current long-range plan, many felt these investments were not being made for their benefit. However, small improvements enhancing safety and state-of-good repair were, overall, more important to participants than any major investments. Five key themes emerged across focus groups: need for investment in EJ communities, mitigation of negative impacts, state of repair, safety and security, mode choice and connectivity, and communication. Learn more about these focus groups and the findings in Voices of Environmental Justice Communities: Shaping an Equitable Long-Range Plan.