addressing climate change adaptation in regional transportation plans

Addressing Climate Change Adaptation in Regional Transportation PlansA Guide for California MPOs and RTPAsExecutive SummaryThe reality of a changing climate means that transportation and planningagencies need to understand the potential effects of changes in storm activity, sealevels, temperature, and precipitation patterns; and develop strategies to ensurethe continuing robustness and resilience of transportation infrastructure andservices. This is a relatively new challenge for California’s MPOs and RTPAs –adding yet one more consideration to an already complex and multifacetedplanning process. In that light, this guide is intended to support planningagencies in incorporating the risks of climate change impacts into their existingdecision-making, complementing the broader planning and investmentprocesses that MPOs and RTPAs already manage.This guide was designed to account for the varying capacities and resourcesamong MPOs and RTPAs, featuring methods that can be used by organizationsseeking to conduct a more sketch-level assessment of the risk and vulnerabilityof the regional transportation assets to climate impacts, or in-depth analysis thatincorporates separate stakeholder processes and geospatial analyses. It isoriented to provide information for two types of audiences.A Basic User, a MPO or RTPA conducting climate impact assessmentsand/or climate vulnerability and risk assessments for the very first time.This pathway is appropriate for agencies with limited resources and GIScapability.An Advanced User, a MPO or RTPA that has experience with climate impactassessments, has strong interagency partnerships with universities, naturalresources agencies or public works departments and have more staffresources and technical tools to dedicate to the effort.For both of these user types, this guide is a resource to help MPOs and RTPAs to: Assess the relative risks to their transportation system infrastructure andservices of different climate stressors (sea-level rise, temperature changes,precipitation changes, extreme weather events); Conduct an asset inventory and vulnerability assessment of existinginfrastructure; Incorporate climate impact considerations into future long-rangetransportation planning and investment decisions.Currently, there is no requirement to date to incorporate climate adaptation intoregional transportation planning. Nevertheless, this guide provides informationand tools to help MPOs/RTPAs anticipate the incorporation of climateassessment and adaptation into future planning efforts.Cambridge Systematics, Inc.ES-1