addressing climate change adaptation in regional transportation plans

State-of-the-Practice Climate Change Adaptation Activities for California MPOs and RTPAsAppendix3.5 SHASTA COUNTY REGIONAL TRANSPORTATIONPLANNING AGENCY (SCRTPA)Efforts UnderwayClimate change adaptation has not been a priority for Shasta County RegionalTransportation Planning Agency (SCRTPA). Climate change adaptation has notyet emerged in Board conversations or through public meetings. In theupcoming update to the RTP/SCS there are no plans to address the issue.The Shasta County Air Quality Management District is assembling a ClimateAction Plan that addresses adaptation. This effort takes a greenhouse gas (GHG)inventory and polls all local agencies for GHG reduction policies, and some ofthese policies may touch on climate change adaptation.Additionally, Shasta County recently completed a local hazard mitigation plan,which included information similar to what one might be important in a climatechange adaptation planning process.Effects of Climate Change in Shasta CountyShasta County expects to be affected by changing precipitation and temperaturesassociated with climate change, but anticipates that these effects will not be asdramatic those felt in other parts of the. Worsening air quality due to forest firesand drought conditions are likely to affect Shasta County. If heat effects anddrought conditions are amplified in future years, there will be increasingly worseair quality in the region.Bridges in the northern part of California will be affected by climate change.Two thirds of the state’s bridges are in the northern counties. Shasta Countywould like to know how climate change might affect the bridge structures in thenear or distant future. An inventory of where these bridges are and the expectedeffects climate change is expected to have on these structures would be helpful.Shasta County does not keep a bridge layer in GIS (note: this is something thatCaltrans would likely have) but it may have a note of this in a feature classwithin the database.How Caltrans Can Advance Climate Change Adaptation EffortsSCRTPA would consider RTP guidelines that address climate change adaptationif they are easy to integrate. Climate change adaptation might not be consideredone of the core issues in this round of RTP/SCS at this time but it could be takenunder consideration.SCRTPA understands that other MPOs might consider climate changeadaptation as a factor within project selection within the RTP’s list of projects.For Shasta County, the issue of climate change adaptation would be unlikely tobe weighted at all within project priority. However, to the degree climate changeCambridge Systematics, Inc. B-19