Transportation Safety & Equity

Background

One of the six (6) goals of Arlington’s Vision Zero program is to prioritize transportation safety investments equitably in Arlington’s communities. While developing the Vision Zero Action Plan, we compared equity indicators to crash data to determine if/how imbalances in social opportunity relate to transportation safety. Findings showed a rough relationship between crashes and block groups with either more racial diversity or lower income levels.

To learn more, the Action Plan prescribed Action Item A4: Equity Analysis: to identify the inequitable impacts of transportation on safety in Arlington County communities and integrate this work with countywide efforts in furtherance of the County’s Equity Resolution and  Realizing Arlington’s Commitment to Equity (RACE) strategic framework.

We convened an interdisciplinary internal project steering team to refine the scope of work and contribute feedback throughout the entire analysis. This was our first investigation into transportation safety with an equity lens. 

Report, Findings, & Next Steps

View the 2024-2026 Equity Emphasis Areas(PDF, 203KB)

View the Transportation Safety Equity Analysis Report(PDF, 25MB)

View the Report Appendices(PDF, 21MB)

Ver el Informe de Equidad de Seguridad en el Transporte en español(PDF, 8MB)

This analysis confirmed that there are neighborhoods in Arlington that have historically been overrepresented in crash data and underrepresented in responses to transportation-related safety requests.

The recommendations create a path forward for Arlington to:

• Be proactive in addressing infrastructure needs with an equity lens
• Create a platform to prioritize safety projects in underserved neighborhoods
• Ensure that reporting channels are clear and accessible to all community members

By tracking progress overtime, we commit to reduce and rectify these disproportionalities over time.

The Vision Zero program will continue to prioritize safety projects that reduce fatal and severe crashes. This analysis integrates equity into that prioritization process to ensure there is no undue burden on any of Arlington’s community members. 

Go back to the Vision Zero project homepage.