Congestion Pricing and Environmental Justice: Research Conducted for an Environmental Justice Analysis of Tolling on the SR 520 Bridge in Seattle

摘要

In addition to providing funding for our aging transportation infrastructure, congestionpricing can improve traffic flow, safety, and trip reliability. Given these benefits, morestates are exploring congestion pricing.There is concern, however, about the potential unintended consequences of congestionpricing on low-income people, who may not be able to afford the tolls. Will un-tolledalternatives, such as riding transit or taking an alternate route add too much travel timeand distance to be viable options? Will low-income people have a credit or debit accountto establish or replenish an account for an electronic transponder? Will limited-Englishproficient people understand how to obtain a transponder or use the system? There is verylittle data to answer these questions.Environmental Justice guides states to evaluate the potential adverse effects of highwayprojects on low-income and minority people. The stakes are high: transportation officialsneed to be able to more definitively answer questions about the equity of congestionpricing from policymakers and the public, or risk lawsuits and costly delays to theirprojects. Reliable data can also provide sound foundation for meaningful mitigation,should it be necessary.Because environmental justice is an emerging science, however, states are wrestling withhow to evaluate the effects of congestion pricing on low-income and minoritypopulations. Typically, to conduct an environmental justice analysis on a highwayproject, we examine the environment within a specified distance from the project limits,because the project effects – such as increased noise or traffic – should not extend fartherthan this. Because tolling a roadway or bridge will affect users of the facility as much asit will affect the environment around it, we must supplement the conventional approachwhen we conduct an environmental justice analysis of a tolled facility.At the request of the Washington State Department of Transportation, PRR, a multidisciplinarypublic affairs firm, developed a methodology for conducting anenvironmental justice analysis of tolled facilities. We used this approach in ourevaluation of the effects of tolling the SR 520 Bridge on low-income and minoritypeople.This paper will present:1. Our research methodology, which includes a transit intercept survey, telephonesurvey, and focus groups with SR 520 Bridge users;2. Applying our findings to an environmental justice analysis; and3. Recommendations for next steps in evaluating the effects of congestion pricing onenvironmental justice populations.