Seattle Multimodal Corridor Program:World-Class Data Governance

CHALLENGE

Seattle’s MICMA program ("Multimodal Integrated Corridor Mobility for All") is a groundbreaking national-scale infrastructure project, with the intention of integrating adaptive signals, emergency vehicles, transit, infrastructure, and multimodal routing systems. The integrity of all that data is critical to supporting program goals, ensuring first responder situational awareness, preventing exposure of sensitive information, and establishing public trust.

LANDSCAPE

At the outset, Seattle's data infrastructure had all the hallmarks of a large system that emerged in grassroots ways over many years.

• Data fragmentation and silos that could create blind spots for operations
• Manual processes that increase exposure to human error or insider threats
• Single points of failure where one dataset, API, or staff role could jeopardize continuity
• Unclear data ownership creating accountability gaps and higher incident risk
• Privacy risks tied to personally identifiable movement data (pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders)

STRATA’S ROLE: ARCHITECTING TRUST

Strata was engaged to design the MICMA Data Governance Framework: The invisible infrastructure that ensures Seattle’s mobility intelligence is secure, private, and mission ready.

Strata defined a framework to build controls into the DNA of Seattle’s systems:

• Use Case Definition
• Data Requirements, Inventory & Gap Analysis
• Output Alignment, Access Control, and Ownership
• Documentation & Infrastructure Standards
• Internal Controls, Audit & Maintenance

OUTCOMES

A world-class, achievable governance architecture to elevate MICMA from ambitious pilot to trusted operational asset, including:

• A clear and achievable framework for achieving operational
• continuity, citizen privacy, and system reliability.
• A process to identify and ensure stakeholder-aligned
• capabilities even as systems adapt and new sources emerge.
• A repeatable model for rapid and compliant expansion of
• Intelligent transportation systems city-wide