The Wilmington Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO) has released a social equity analysis of the region’s transportation system for public review.
The 2019 Transportation Justice Plan examines historically disadvantaged populations within the transportation system and public planning processes, including: low-income, racial and ethnic minorities, seniors, people with disabilities, those living households without cars; and those who do not speak, read, or write English well.
The analysis found that African Americans faced more transportation obstacles, such as more difficulty reaching activities (also true of low-income residents), higher rates of bike and pedestrian crashes, more road traffic, and less community transportation project funding than expected based on population size.
The Transportation Justice Plan recommends changing WILMAPCO’s project prioritization process so that projects located in African Americans neighborhoods receive higher priority for funding to help correct for chronic underfunding.
Other key work in the plan includes analyses and recommendations for other populations challenged with mobility, a destination connectivity analyses, a food desert analyses, updated public outreach considerations, and a Language Assistance Plan to assist people with low-literacy and limited English language skills in getting involved with WILMAPCO.
The draft plan is available at www.wilmapco.org/tj through September 9.
