addressing climate change adaptation in regional transportation plans

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Addressing Climate Change Adaptation in Regional Transportation PlansA Guide for California MPOs and RTPAsneeded in developing a comprehensive approach to adaptation. For example,Oregon has already taken strategic planning steps in that direction, documentingexisting knowledge about climate change impacts and summarizing data thatcan lead to the development of a full vulnerability assessment of transportationinfrastructure (Oregon CCIG, 2008).The Gulf Coast Study Phase I, a joint U.S. DOT and U.S. Geological Survey(USGS) report, conducted under the auspices of the interagency U.S. ClimateChange Science Program, investigated the potential impacts of climate change by2050 and 2100 on transportation infrastructure in the north central Gulf Coast.That study integrated environmental trend data, climate model outputs based ona range of climate scenarios, and transportation infrastructure data to identifyareas of risk to climate impacts in the region. The study also developed aframework for risk assessment and explored adaptation options to address thepotential risks of climate change (CCSP, 2008b).For Phase II of the study of the Gulf Coast, U.S. DOT performed an in-depthassessment of transportation assets across all modes for a single Gulf Cost MPOto: 1) identify critical assets; 2) assess climate impacts on those assets; 3) assessvulnerability; and 4) perform detailed engineering assessments of vulnerableinfrastructure, including a review and analysis of adaptation options. The resultsof this MPO-specific research and analysis informed the development of riskmanagement tools, templates, and architectures for the planning agency in thestudy region to use in deciding what infrastructure or transportation programsneed protecting, and for prioritizing efforts to protect, accommodate, or relocateassets.In 2008, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) published Special Report 290,Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U.S. Transportation (NRC, 2008). In thisreport, adaptation to climate change within the transportation sector falls intothree categories of actions: operational changes, design changes, and otheractions.Climate variability and extreme events, such as storms and precipitation ofincreased intensity, will require changing operational responses fromtransportation providers. While U.S. transportation providers already addressthe impacts of weather on transportation system operations in a diverse range ofclimatic conditions, existing planning does not take into account long-termchanges in climate. Operational changes may include adjusting maintenance(both in the timing and type of maintenance); improved monitoring of conditions(both climatic and infrastructure conditions), incorporating climate scenariomodeling into infrastructure planning, modifying procedures for emergencymanagement, and altering construction schedules.In general, operational changes will apply to procedural planning at varyingdegrees of adjustment. For example, greater use of technology such as climatescenario modeling can enable infrastructure providers to monitor climatechanges and receive advance warning of potential failures due to changing4-2 Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
Addressing Climate Change Adaptation in Regional Transportation PlansA Guide for California MPOs and RTPAsconditions (such as water levels and currents, wave action, winds, andtemperatures), exceeding what the infrastructure was designed to withstand.While transportation planning efforts do take weather conditions into account inthe design of infrastructure, there is less examination of whether current designstandards are sufficient to accommodate climate change.For example, the drainage capacity of road infrastructure often incorporatesconsideration of a 100-year storm event. However, climate projections indicatethat current 100-year storm events are likely to occur more frequently (such asevery 50 or perhaps even every 20 years) by the end of the current century. Inthis case, design standards for drainage would need to be updated to considerthese changing conditions. Examples of design strategies include improvingmaterials or developing new materials, or upgrading current systems withimprovements in design, and enhancing protection.Similarly, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maps are oftenused to support development decisions, including the siting of roadways.Because FEMA maps do not reflect projected climate change impacts, includingeffects of climate change on floodplain designations, roads may be established inareas that are highly vulnerable to flooding in the future.In addition to operational and design changes, other types of adaptation optionsare available for transportation infrastructure. Transportation planning and landuse controls, especially concerning new construction and development, canintegrate projected climate changes into the planning process. For example,development can be restricted or prohibited in zones most at risk from stormsurges, flooding, and sea-level rise. In addition, long-range planning andpromoting cross-agency collaboration are two examples of other potentialadaptation actions for transportation planning.4.2 POTENTIAL CLIMATE IMPACTSON THE CALIFORNIA TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMAND STRATEGIES FOR ADAPTATIONAs described in Section 3.2, projected climate impacts that will affect Californiainclude sea-level rise, increases in intense precipitation events, and temperature –specifically the increase in higher heat days. Each of these key climate impactswill affect a variety of transportation assets ranging from roadways, to railways,to airports and bridges. The focus for regional transportation planners will be tobe aware of the potential climate impacts on their regions and their effects on theinfrastructure in the MPO or RTPA region. This section will first describe thetypical climate impacts in California and their effects on infrastructure. Forevery climate impact, there are a range of adaptation strategies that can bedeployed either through planning, design or operational methods. A listing ofthese strategies is summarized in Table 4.1.Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 4-3
Page 1: Addressing Climate Change Adaptatio
Page 13 and 14: Addressing Climate Change Adaptatio
Page 101 and 102:
Addressing Climate Change Adaptatio
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127:
Page 130 and 131:
Page 132 and 133:
Page 134 and 135:
Page 136 and 137:
Page 138 and 139:
Page 140 and 141:
Page 142 and 143:
Page 144 and 145:
Page 146 and 147:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153:
Page 157:
appendix b reportState-of-the-Pract
Page 161 and 162:
State-of-the-Practice Climate Chang
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181:
Page 185 and 186:
C A L I F O R N I AADAPTATIONPLANNI
Page 188 and 189:
(This Page Intentionally Left Blank
Page 190 and 191:
Adaptation Planning Guide - Advisor
Page 192 and 193:
List of Tables (cont’d.)Table 6.
Page 194 and 195:
Climate Impact RegionsThe APG is or
Page 196 and 197:
APGSTART HERE:PLANNING FOR ADAPTIVE
Page 198 and 199:
What are the designated climate imp
Page 200 and 201:
CA Climate Adaptation Planning Guid
Page 202 and 203:
Page 204 and 205:
Page 206 and 207:
• Selected Demographic Data. Sele
Page 208 and 209:
Cal-Adapt ProjectionsTable 1. Summa
Page 210 and 211:
Selected Infrastructure and Regiona
Page 212 and 213:
illnesses due to air pollution resu
Page 214 and 215:
Additional Resources• Sea level r
Page 216 and 217:
Cal-Adapt ProjectionsTable 5. Summa
Page 218 and 219:
Page 220 and 221:
frequency can harm forests. Large i
Page 222 and 223:
Bay Area RegionCounties: Alameda, C
Page 224 and 225:
the Sacramento and San Joaquin rive
Page 226 and 227:
Table 12. Selected Population Data
Page 228 and 229:
Sea level rise is also expected to
Page 230 and 231:
Additional Resources• Public Heal
Page 232 and 233:
Cal-Adapt ProjectionsTable 13. Summ
Page 234 and 235:
Page 236 and 237:
Table 16. Selected Population Data
Page 238 and 239:
As with crops, climate change impac
Page 240 and 241:
Additional Resources• Wildfire Re
Page 242 and 243:
elevations, increased static levee
Page 244 and 245:
The ecosystem functions of the Delt
Page 246 and 247:
Setting and HistoryThe California D
Page 248 and 249:
The islands in the lower Bay-Delta
Page 250 and 251:
Some of the questions that should b
Page 252 and 253:
Southern Central Valley RegionCount
Page 254 and 255:
Biophysical CharacteristicsThe west
Page 256 and 257:
The crops produced are varied and i
Page 258 and 259:
Communities in this region should e
Page 260 and 261:
Page 262 and 263:
Page 264 and 265:
have the resources to prepare for,
Page 266 and 267:
Additional Resources• Sea Level R
Page 268 and 269:
Page 270 and 271:
Page 272 and 273:
Timber practices have also had ecos
Page 274 and 275:
Southeast Sierra RegionCounties: Al
Page 276 and 277:
Biophysical CharacteristicsThe sout
Page 278 and 279:
ultimately result in reduced water
Page 280 and 281:
Page 282 and 283:
Page 284 and 285:
particular concern are populations
Page 286 and 287:
Additional Resources• Sea Level R
Page 288 and 289:
Page 290 and 291:
Page 292 and 293:
industry around Big Bear. As there
Page 294 and 295:
California Natural Resources Agency
show all

addressing climate change adaptation in regional transportation plans

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?