Regional Emergency Transportation
Routes (RETR)

In 2019-2021, the RDPO and Metro partnered to update the designated Regional Emergency Transportation Routes (RETRs) for the five-county Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region, which includes Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah and Washington counties in Oregon and Clark County in Washington. Before that, the last update occurred in 2006.

Current Work - Phase 2 (2024-2026)

A second phase of follow-on work to prioritize and tier the updated network is scheduled to begin in 2024. The project will again be co-managed by RDPO and Metro. More details to come.

background

Regional ETRs have been defined as priority routes targeted during an emergency for rapid damage assessment and debris-clearance and used to facilitate life-saving and life-sustaining response activities, including the transport of first responders …

Regional ETRs have been defined as priority routes targeted during an emergency for rapid damage assessment and debris-clearance and used to facilitate life-saving and life-sustaining response activities, including the transport of first responders (e.g., police, fire and emergency medical services), fuel, essential supplies and patients.

This project was identified in Metro’s 2018 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) as a necessary step to better integrate transportation with planning for resiliency, recovery and emergency response. Funding for the project is provided by the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that is managed by the RDPO.  The UASI grant program makes funding available to enhance regional preparedness in major metropolitan areas throughout the United States and directly supports expanding regional collaboration to assist in the creation of regional systems for prevention, protection, response and recovery.

Prior Work - phase 1 (2019-2021)

Policy Framework and Best Practices

In Spring 2019, the Transportation Research and Education Center at PSU conducted a study to capture best practices for establishing emergency transportation routes in other regions, both within the US and internationally. They reviewed the policy frameworks that influenced the update of our regional ETRs. Read TREC’s findings and recommendations for the ETR project work group.

2021 DISSEMINATION EVENT

 The Regional Emergency Transportation Route (RETR) Update team hosted a 90-minute dissemination event and Q&A on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 to provide partners with an overview of the RETR Update results as well as feedback from the 2021 regional review period. Team members introduced partners to the robust GIS data, tables, and charts that will enable regional emergency managers, transportation planners, and GIS analysts to put the RETR data layers to use.

PHASE 1 FINAL REPORT Deliverables

The Phase 1 Regional ETR Update was completed in April 2021. The RETR Working Group and various committees and councils affiliated with the RDPO and Metro reviewed the deliverables.

Tables

Detailed Regional Emergency Transportation Route data charts are available for download. They have been formatted for ease of use by local jurisdictions:

PHASe 1 project Timeline

TimelineRETR.png

Phase 1 Methodology

In winter of 2019/2020, the RDPO and Metro developed a draft Methodology Memo on updates to Regional Emergency Transportation Routes. The Memo outlines criteria across three dimensions to identify the best regional routes for emergency response during a seismic event and a six-step approach to validate the updated Regional Emergency Transportation Routes. The dimensions include:

1. Connectivity and Access: Assess RETR connectivity and access to regional assets and from state to local routes

2. Route Resilience: Assess resilience of RETR infrastructure to multiple natural hazards

3. Community and Equity: Assess RETRs for access to vulnerable and isolated communities

Phase 1 Project Work Group

The following entities were actively engaged as core planning stakeholders during Phase 1:

ETRWG.png

  • RDPO

  • Metro

  • Portland State University (PSU) TREC

  • Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)

  • Washington Department of Transportation

  • Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI)

  • TriMet

  • Clackamas County Disaster Management

  • Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA)

  • Columbia County Emergency Management

  • Columbia County Public Works

  • Multnomah County Emergency Management

  • Multnomah County Transportation Division

  • Portland Bureau of Emergency Management

  • Portland Bureau of Transportation

  • Washington County Emergency Management Cooperative (EMC)

  • Washington County Operations and Maintenance

Phase 1 Consulting Team

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP

  • Thuy Tu, Thuy Tu Consulting

  • Allison Pyrch, Salus Resilience

GIS MANAGEMENT AND MAPPING

  • Jed Roberts, FLO Analytics

  • Erica McCormick, Cascade GIS & ConsultinG