Proximity to Heavy Traffic Roadways [Washington (State)]
State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal · 2025 Full Details
Tip: Check “Visit Source” link for download options.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Click on map to inspect values | |
Full Details
- Title
- Proximity to Heavy Traffic Roadways [Washington (State)]
- Description
- This data is included as part of the Environmental Health Disparities Version 3.0 map. To see this map, visit our webpage . For more technical information on this map and the model used, visit our technical report (link) . Background Vehicle exhaust contains harmful chemicals that can seriously affect people's health. More traffic means more poll ution in the air. The closer someone lives to busy roads, the more pollution they are exposed to. "Traffic density" is how much vehicle exhaust exposure there is, based on how much traffic there is in an area. Heavy traffic contributes to many health concerns, such as noise pollution, smog, and car accidents. It is associated with a range of health problems, including infant death, negative birth outcomes, heart disease, and cancer. Traffic-related pollution is especially harmful for specific groups. These include: People of color The elderly Children (especially those in childcare facilities) People with preexisting health conditions People with fewer financial resources People with limited access to cars Renters People in these groups face increased exposure due to discriminatory practices, such as redlining and placing highways in historically minoritized communities . While heavy traffic contributes to many health concerns, such as noise pollution, smog, and car accidents, one of the biggest concerns is that it worsens air quality both indoors and outdoors. Poor indoor air quality is particularly harmful to people's health. Pollution from traffic can enter homes, schools, and workplaces. Improving indoor air filtration can help reduce exposure to this harmful pollution. Some communities are trying to address traffic pollution by creating green spaces or using electric buses. Evidence Dense traffic is a significant contributor to pollution. More traffic results in higher emissions of harmful air pollutants. These include particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)[1]. Traffic also worsens indoor air quality. Facilities like schools and childcare centers are often located near busy roads. This puts the people inside, including children and childcare workers, at higher risk [2, 3]. Traffic-related air pollution is linked to multiple health concerns. These include increased risk of heart disease, respiratory issues, type 2 diabetes, lower rates of physical activity, and low birth weight [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. Living close to busy roads means breathing in higher levels of pollutants from vehicle exhaust[2][10]. This makes existing health problems worse. This is especially true for children, who are more sensitive to the effects of pollution. Children who are exposed to traffic pollution can develop chronic respiratory conditions and developmental delays [11]. The noise and disruptions from traffic can also cause stress and poor sleep quality. This increases both physical and mental health challenges within these areas [12]. Data source Washington State Office of Financial Management's 2020 census boundaries ( Census geographic files , Office of Financial Management (wa.gov) , and 2019 roadway traffic from WSDOT map center . Methods This measure shows the maximum amount of traffic on highways divided by distance to each census tract. The highway with the highest number of vehicles is determined from Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) data. AADT data come from a network of highway traffic counters. Distance is the shortest distance from anywhere in the census tract to the heavily traveled highway. For very short distances, a minimum of 1 km was used. The units for this measure are maximum highway AADT (vehicles per day) / distance to highway (km), or vehicles/day/km. Depending on the levels of traffic, the highway used in the calculation may not be the closest highway to the census tract. Caveats This measure does not calculate exposure to emissions. It calculates proximity to heavy traffic as a proxy. Factors such as wind direction, local geography, and weather conditions can change how pollution spreads. As a result, people living near busy roads may not always experience the same level of pollution. This measure represents the entire census tract, not individual areas within it. These data should always be supplemented with local data and equitable engagement for more accurate insights. Sources Gauderman, W. J., Vora, H., McConnell, R., Berhane, K., Gilliland, F., Thomas, D., ... & Peters, J. (2004). Effect of exposure to traffic on lung development from 10 to 18 years of age: a cohort study. The Lancet, 365(9461) , 1849-1856. González-Martin, J., Kraakman, N. J., Pérez, C., Lebrero, R., & Muñoz, R. (2021). A state-of-the-art review on indoor air pollution and strategies for indoor air pollution control. Chemosphere, 262 , 128376. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2015). Best practices for reducing near-road pollution exposure at schools. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved from Berglind, N., Bellander, T., Forastiere, F., von Klot, S., Aalto, P., Elosua, R., ... & Peters, A. (2009). Ambient air pollution and daily mortality among survivors of myocardial infarction. Epidemiology, 20(1) , 110-118. Ghosh, R., Causey, K., Burkart, K., Wozniak, S., Cohen, A., Brauer, M., ... & Forouzanfar, M. H. (2012). Ambient and household air pollution in pregnancy and adverse perinatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pediatrics, 130(5) , 944-955. Habermann, M., & Gouveia, N. (2014). Socioeconomic position and low birth weight among mothers exposed to traffic-related air pollution. PLOS One, 9(11) , e113900. von Klot, S., Peters, A., Aalto, P., Bellander, T., Berglind, N., D'Ippoliti, D., Elosua, R., Hörmann, A., Kulmala, M., Lanki, T., Löwel, H., Pekkanen, J., Picciotto, S., Sunyer, J., & Forastiere, F. Health Effects of Particles on Susceptible Subpopulations (HEAPSS) Study Group (2005). Ambient air pollution is associated with increased risk of hospital cardiac readmissions of myocardial infarction survivors in five European cities. Circulation, 112(20) , 3073-3079. Pyko, A., Andersson, N., Eriksson, C., de Faire, U., Lind, T., Mitkovskaya, N., Ögren, M., Östenson, C. G., Pedersen, N. L., Rizzuto, D., Wallas, A. K., & Pershagen, G. (2019). Long-term transportation noise exposure and incidence of ischaemic heart disease and stroke: a cohort study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 76(4) , 201-207. Roswall, N., Raaschou-Nielsen, O., Ketzel, M., Overvad, K., Olsen, A., & Sørensen, M. (2017). Long-term exposure to residential railway and road traffic noise and risk for diabetes in a Danish cohort. Environmental Research, 160 , 292-297. Boehmer, T. K., Foster, S. L., Henry, J. R., Woghiren-Akinnifesi, E. L., & Yip, F. Y. (2013). Residential proximity to major highways — United States, 2010. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), 62(3) , 46-50. Gunier, R. B., Hertz, A., Von Behren, J., & Reynolds, P. (2003). Traffic density in California: Socioeconomic and ethnic differences among potentially exposed children. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology, 13(3) , 240-246. Eze, I. C., Schaffner, E., Fischer, E., Schikowski, T., Adam, M., Imboden, M., ... & Probst-Hensch, N. M. (2017). Long-term air pollution exposure and diabetes in a population-based Swiss cohort. Environment International, 108 , 191-200. Citation Washington Tracking Network, Washington State Department of Health. Web. "Proximity to Heavy Traffic Roadways". Data obtained from the Washington Department of Transportation, 2019 Traffic Data. Published September 2025.
- Creator
- WADOH
- Publisher
- State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal
- Temporal Coverage
- Last Modified: 2025-07-18
- Date Issued
- 2025-07-08
- Rights
- Neither the Washington State Department of Health (WADOH), nor any agency, officer, or employee of the WADOH warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity who relies on any information obtained from this system does so at their own risk.
- Access Rights
- Public
- Format
- ArcGIS FeatureLayer
- Language
- English
- Date Added
- February 02, 2026
- Provenance Statement
- The metadata for this resource was last retrieved from State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal on 2026-02-02.
Cite and Reference
-
Citation
WADOH (2025). Proximity to Heavy Traffic Roadways [Washington (State)]. State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal. https://geo.wa.gov/datasets/c486b352ac3e4f51ad1c43dffa5efcab_0 (web service) -
BTAA Geoportal Link
