Categories & Indicators
Mosaic is built on the goals and policies of the Oregon Transportation Plan. The Mosaic framework includes nine categories for transportation system performance, each with its own objective reflecting the impacts to consider. Each category has a set of general indicators (broad descriptions of what to measure) and specific indicators (individual measures). The nine categories are similar to the evaluation criteria typically established at the beginning of any planning process. Click on the icons below to explore the specific indicators for each category. Click on this link to download information on all of Mosaic's indicators together: Specific Indicator Information Sheets.
Does the "bundle of actions" facilitate the ease with which travelers can reach or use modes of transportation? Does the plan or action ease access to opportunities and destinations that give rise to the need for travel?
Ease of Connections
This general indicator refers to the completeness of a transportation network (for example, whether bicycle facilities connect with each other to create a complete vs. fragmented network), the ease of making connections between transportation networks (for example bicycle and pedestrian connections to transit), and network redundancy (for example, whether alternate routes are present in the case of a traffic incident).
Specific Indicators:
- Location of industrial jobs in relation to the regional freight network
Modal Availability
This general indicator refers to the availability of different transportation modes, including bicycle, pedestrian, transit, and auto, as well as to the availability of non-traditional transportation modes, such as the internet for teleworking or online-shopping. Transportation decision making can influence modal availability by prioritizing and identifying the types of capital projects that will be developed.
Specific Indicators:
- Amount of multi-use paths and bike boulevards
- Population and employment within quarter mile of a transit stop served by at least 30 vehicles per day
- Sidewalk coverage
Proximity
This general indicator refers to aspects of land use that increase access to and between common destinations, including mixed land uses and measures of density (such as intersection density and activity center density, etc). Transportation decision making can influence land use by shaping and guiding development decisions.
Specific Indicators:
- Population within X minutes between work and home
- Transportation Cost Index
Does the "bundle of actions" contribute to the economic prosperity of Oregon (i.e., growth in employment, production, or other high value economic activity)?
Economic Impacts of More Efficient Transportation Services
This general indicator refers to changes to the State, regional or local economy resulting from improvements in the performance of the transportation system (e.g., travel time saving, improved access, and reduced shipping costs). Examples include: economic development at either end of an expanded freight corridor, and improved labor productivity resulting from reduced commuting times.
Specific Indicators:
- Changes in employment by industry and wage category
- Changes in transportation costs by industry
Economic Impacts of Spending for Construction
This general indicator refers to changes to the State, regional or local economy resulting from transportation expenditures. These include the short-term impacts of capital spending (e.g., design and construction of a new commuter rail line) and the longer term effects of annually recurring expenditures (e.g., labor costs associated with the operation of commuter trains, track maintenance). Direct, indirect and induced impacts are typically estimated. They may be expressed in terms of jobs, output, income, and/or tax revenue. These in turn may be expressed in gross or net terms (gross includes transfer from other sectors, whereas net includes only net new value to the State economy).
Specific Indicators:
- Number of jobs created or retained by bundle
Structural Economic Effects
This general indicator refers to changes to the State, regional or local economy resulting from a transportation plan/project/action, and arising specifically because of market imperfections in transportation-using industries (i.e., where conditions of perfect competition are not met, either because of market power or external, unaccounted for, benefits and costs). Examples include: agglomeration economies (changes in productivity resulting from the spatial concentration of firms and workers), or increased output in locations where excessive transportation costs had prevented market entry and competition.
Specific Indicators:
- Changes in productivity from increased connectivity
- Changes in the total value of exports and imports
Does the "bundle of actions" help provide a transportation system that meets the ecological and social needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own ecological and social needs?
Air
This general indicator refers to air quality, as regulated under the Clean Air Act. Transportation decision making can impact air quality in a variety of ways, including the emission of Criteria Air Pollutants (e.g. carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, lead, and particulate matter) and Mobile Source Air Toxics (MSATs) during the construction and operation of transportation projects.
Specific Indicators:
- Air Toxics
- Criteria Air Contaminants
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
This general indicator refers to the energy consumed and green house gases emitted during the design and construction of transportation projects, as well as during transportation operations. Transportation decision making can impact energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in a variety of ways, including the decision of the types of capital projects to invest in (highway, transit, bike, or pedestrian, etc), the types of programs to invest in (e.g. transportation demand management programs), and/or policies to implement (e.g. road pricing or parking fees that can discourage single occupancy vehicle travel), among others.
Specific Indicators:
Resources at Risk
This general indicator refers to refers to the presence and diversity of species (both plant and animal) as well as the conservation of critical habitat. Transportation decision making can influence biodiversity in several ways, including decisions regarding where and how to develop (impacts to habitat), creating impacts to the environment that are harmful to threatened and endangered species (air, water, and noise pollution, etc), and construction and design techniques (split profile roadways , wildlife crossings, etc), among others.
Specific Indicators:
- Natural, Built, and Cultural Resources at Risk
How are the effects of the "bundle of actions" distributed across different geographies and population groups? Does the "bundle of actions" improve the availability of transportation choices among different geographies and population groups?
Accessibility
This general indicator will help identify disparate impacts of transportation decision making among different geographies, including regions, urban and rural locations, counties, census tracts, zip codes, and/or transportation analysis zones, among others. This can be important to decision-makers to help ensure that the costs and benefits of transportation plans, projects, or actions are distributed equitably by geography.
Specific Indicators:
- Distribution of user benefits across population groups
Environmental Stewardship
Transportation decision making can impact access to recreational resources, such as shared-use paths and trails, and to open space, such as parks and natural areas. Natural environments and green space have been linked to psychological health and well-being in numerous academic studies. This can be important to decision makers to help ensure that the costs and benefits of transportation plans, projects, or actions are distributed equitably among different geographic areas with recreational and open space environments.
Specific Indicators:
- Distribution of PM and PM diesel emissions across population groups, based on geographic distribution of emissions
Quality of Life
This general indicator will help identify disparate impacts of transportation decision making among different population groups, such as low-income and minority populations, and potentially among groups based on age, gender, and/or household structure, among others. This can be important to decision-makers to help ensure that the costs and benefits of transportation plans, projects, or actions are distributed equitably among different population groups.
Specific Indicators:
- Distribution of health benefits from active transportation across population groups
Safety
This general indicator will help identify disparate impacts of transportation decision making among different population groups, such as low-income and minority populations, related to actual and perceived safety concerns such as loss of life or injury from the transportation system. This can be important to decision makers to help ensure that the costs and benefits of transportation plans, projects, or actions are distributed equitably among different population groups.
Specific Indicators:
- Distribution of accident rates (fatalities and injuries) across population groups
How does the "bundle of actions" impact public accounts in terms of effects on fiscal balances and indebtedness?
Capital Costs
This general indicator refers to all one-time, non-recurring expenditures associated with the implementation of a plan, project or action. Typical capital costs for a transportation project include right-of-way acquisition costs, permitting costs, design and engineering costs, and construction costs.
Specific Indicators:
Leveraging Funds from Private Sector and Other Agencies
This general indicator refers to the extent to which a plan, project or action may be paid for with contributions from the private sector (through various forms of Public Private Partnerships), from other State agencies, or from Federal agencies (through transportation grants and loan programs, or multi-agency funding initiatives).
Specific Indicators:
- Share of lifecycle funds that are new or recycled
Lifecycle Costs
This general indicator refers to all recurring and non-recurring costs incurred over the full life span (or period of analysis) of a plan, project or action; including operations, maintenance, renewal, upgrading and disposal. The residual or salvage value of transportation assets is typically netted out of the lifecycle cost estimates in Least Cost Planning applications.
Specific Indicators:
Net Impact on State and Local Fiscal Balance and Debt
This general indicator refers to the net change (positive or negative) in the States budget and borrowing needs, resulting from a plan, project or action; accounting for all short-, medium-, and long-term impacts on outlays and revenues (including, for example, reductions in fuel tax revenue resulting from a Travel Demand Management initiative).
Specific Indicators:
- Net Impact on State and Local Fiscal Balance
Operating Revenues
This general indicator refers to changes in revenues generated through the provision of transportation services or access to transportation facilities, resulting from a plan, project or action. Examples of operating revenues include passenger fares, tolls, concessions, parking, and advertising revenues.
Specific Indicators:
Does the "bundle of actions" help foster efficient development patterns that optimize travel, housing, employment, and infrastructure spending decisions?
Land Value
This general indicator refers to the amount, type and nature of land development (e.g., residential, commercial, mixed use) in a community. Transportation decision making can influence the amount and nature of land development by making changes to access and modal availability in a certain area. OLCP will consider both the direct and indirect (or secondary) land use impacts of transportation plans/projects/actions.
Specific Indicators:
- Relative land value change compared to base case or no action
Population and Employment Density
This general indicator refers to the number of people or jobs within a certain area. Population and employment density can affect the viability of retail business and transit service within a community. Transportation decision making can influence population and employment densities by changing access to key activity, employment, and residential areas.
Specific Indicators:
- Population and employment change and distribution
Does the "bundle of actions" help to reduce travel costs (out-of-pocket expenses and travel time) and improve travel time reliability for all modes?
Out-of-Pocket Costs
Out of pocket costs refer to fees paid by travelers, such as tolls, gasoline purchases, transit fares, parking, etc. Transportation decision making can affect out-of pocket travel costs through the implementation of road pricing programs, the establishment of free transit zones, parking fee structures, and other types of programs.
Specific Indicators:
Quality of Service
This refers to the increase in travel time experienced due to congested conditions or a breakdown in the transportation network compared to free-flow conditions. Transportation decision making can affect delay by increasing or decreasing the capacity and connectivity of transportation networks, and through other methods such as by providing incident response programs or improving traffic signal timing coordination.
Specific Indicators:
- Reliability Non-Recurring Congestion
- Reliability Recurring Congestion
Travel Characteristics
Trip length refers to the distance traveled between an origin and destination. Transportation decision making can impact average trip distances by coordinating land use and transportation, implementing a vehicle-miles traveled fee, and increasing the number of transit routes or bikeways to avoid causing out-of-direction travel, among others.
Specific Indicators:
- Mode Split
- Vehicle Miles Traveled / Capita
Travel Time
Travel time refers to the amount of time it takes to travel between an origin and destination. It is often considered to be a user cost and/or impediment to travel (though not always). Transportation decision making can affect travel times by either increasing or decreasing the capacity and connectivity of transportation networks (for all modes).
Specific Indicators:
- Hours of Congestion
- Travel Time
Does the "bundle of actions" improve the quality of living and working environments, and the experience for people in communities across Oregon?
Journey Ambiance
Transportation decision making can influence the quality of the street environment through the presence of funds for streetscape enhancements for improvements such as street trees, public art, and street furniture. Streetscape environments have been linked to improvements in walkability and to the creation of a "sense of place."
Specific Indicators:
- Quality of the travel environment
Noise
Transportation decision making can increase or decrease the percent of the population that is exposed to pollutants. For example, high traffic volume major arterials that are constructed near residential areas or schools can increase asthma rates among adjacent residents.
Specific Indicators:
Physical Activity
Transportation systems can influence the amount of physical activity residents of a community get by the presence or absence of active mode infrastructure. Active modes are generally considered to include non-motorized modes, such as biking and walking, and transit (which must often be accessed by foot or bike). Increased levels of physical activity have been show to increase both physical and mental health, which enhances overall quality of life.
Specific Indicators:
- Health benefits of active transportation
Does the "bundle of actions" improve the safety of transportation facilities and systems? Does the plan or action improve the security at existing or planned transportation facilities?
System Safety
This general indicator refers to costs related to the losses of life and property that result from transportation incidents. Transportation decision making can influence costs related to the loss of life by designing transportation plans, projects, and actions that result in increased safety for all modes and users. This general indicator refers to injury costs that result from transportation incidents. Transportation decision making can influence injury costs by designing transportation plans, projects, and actions that result in increased safety for all modes and users.
Specific Indicators:
- Fatal, Injury A, and Injury B Crashes
- Property Damage Only crashes
System Security
This general indicator refers to the resiliency of the transportation network to unexpected events, such as terrorism and natural disasters. Transportation decision making can influence resiliency by designing transportation plans, projects, and actions that consider evacuation routes and issues related to climate change adaptation, among others.
Specific Indicators:
- Emergency management systems
- Resiliency of the network
Programs
The Mosaic Programs Guide is designed to provide information on a variety of beneficial programs that jurisdictions may want to include in the bundles they are evaluating. The programs are transportation actions that can help meet the goals of the nine Mosaic categories of transportation system performance—access, equity, mobility, quality of life, safety, environmental quality, and economic vitality—that are not typically be included in a capital improvement plan. The programs are designed to help achieve those goals through an emphasis on efficient operations and reducing vehicle demand rather than capital investments.
The Programs Guide includes 20 programs in six subject areas: Bicycle and Pedestrian, Land Use, Operations/Intelligent Transportation Systems, Pricing, Transit, and Transportation Demand Management. For each program, a Program Description Sheet is included in the Guide that describes the program and provides information on where the program is being used, how it relates to the Mosaic Categories of Transportation System Performance, what is known about the benefits and costs of the program, and implementation resources. Individual case studies on program effectiveness, frequently from the Pacific Northwest, are also included. The Program Description Sheets aid in identifying and implementing the mix of programs best suited to a community's needs.
Download all of the program descriptions together in the Mosaic Programs Guide.