Transportation Health and Mobility Access
This exploration pulls together data related to demographics (income, poverty level), pedestrian and bicyclist activity, congestion and traffic incidents, and health outcomes. Individually, these data can tell us a lot about regional wellbeing and travel patterns. Together, they allow for more holistic transportation planning and prioritization that integrates health outcomes and mobility access considerations. The exploration pulls together open-source data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey and CDC PLACES, as well as proprietary data sources from Waze and Strava.
VALUE PROPOSITION
Examining these data sources together provides more value than examining any one source alone. For example, areas with low levels of bicycle and pedestrian activity and high levels of traffic congestion could be identified as areas where bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects should be prioritized. Congestion mitigation efforts (including TDM program deployment and active transportation infrastructure) could be targeted in areas with high levels of congestion and poor health outcomes. Projects emphasizing transportation safety improvements could be prioritized in areas with high bicycle and pedestrian activity and high volumes of traffic incidents.
TARGET AUDIENCE
NYSDOT Region 11 transportation planners could benefit from this application to develop holistic planning strategies encompassing both transportation activity and health-related data. The exploration could help planners advance data-driven decision-making, which may enable an effective interface with both transportation engineers and policymakers about research and project priorities.
GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT
Data are summarized at the Census Tract level.
Currently, this exploration is limited to NYSDOT Region 11. Demographic and health outcome data could be expanded statewide. Additional pedestrian, bicycle, and traffic data would be required to expand the case statewide.
TIMEFRAME
Demographic data reflect a 2019 average, whereas health outcome data reflect a 2020 snapshot. Transportation data reflect activity from 8/15/2021 to 8/22/2021.
UPDATE FREQUENCY
Update frequency to be determined. Updates would focus on transportation data, as updates to demographic and health outcome data will be published less frequently.
ACCESS
This use case is publicly available and can be accessed via: