PORTAL is the Portland, OR - Vancouver, WA regional transportation data lake project with terabytes of vehicle, transit, bicycle and pedestrian data. Since its inception in 2003, and initial data collection in 2004, it has grown to include data from multiple state and regional agencies. A small team of Portland State University data scientists develop applications and tools based on input. Input is critical to prioritizing questions to answer using data from the traveling public. Priorities were determined through collaborative engagement with agency partners, practitioners, and researchers. Moving forward, our goal is to engage with community representatives and organizations.
The tentative role of the advisory committee is to advise and recommend enhancements to PORTAL. For example, are there data we should be collecting and making publicly available? Are there data that would help inform equitable implementation of transportation projects? Are there barriers to data and data literacy that prevent community organizations from utilizing these data? What would improve communicating what the data indicates and broaden the listening to how people receive new information?
We ask that committee members are able to commit to quarterly meetings and a part of the Portland, OR - Vancouver, WA metropolitan region. As an advisory committee member, we value your time and expertise and as such offer a stipend. If you or your organization are interested in participating, please fill out this form. There is a tentative six person advisory committee limit and applications will remain open until May 30. If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us (askportal@pdx.edu).
