addressing climate change adaptation in regional transportation plans

Addressing Climate Change Adaptation in Regional Transportation PlansA Guide for California MPOs and RTPAsareas consider various sea-level rise scenarios for the years 2050 and 2100. Thisprovides guidance specific to California as well.The 2010 CTC RTP Guidelines provide only general guidance on climateadaptation in Section 6.30 Adaptation of the Regional Transportation System toClimate Change. Specifically, the document suggests the following best practices:Notwithstanding a lack of reliable information on the future impacts ofsea-level rise, precipitation changes, or extreme heat events, MPOs andRTPAs should begin to address climate change in their long-rangetransportation plans. There are numerous ways planning agencies canbegin preparing for climate change adaptation on the transportationinfrastructure including preliminary mapping of infrastructure that isvulnerable to changes in precipitation, heat, and sea-level rise. It is alsorecommended that design and planning standards be re-evaluated toaccommodate potential changes. It is important to ensure that plannedinfrastructure is engineered and built in locations that can withstandfuture climate change impacts (CTC 2010).Because climate information, projections and the science are constantly evolving,it is important to incorporate the most up-to-date guidance available before theplanning process, and to stay up-to-datewith new information available.Developing Stakeholders in a Preliminary ClimateStudyIn the Arizona DOT’s Preliminary Study of ClimateAdaptation for the Statewide Transportation System inArizona (2012), the project team used a “knowledgemapping” approach to determine the process flow ofthe planning, project development, and assetmanagement activities within the agency. To achievethis, the project team reviewed agency organizationalcharts, and identified departments that could playimportant roles in addressing climate adaptation,including management staff, technical staff, and“cross‐cutting” departments, who would work acrossdisciplines to provide data to either the managementor technical staff. The project team then consideredthe potential climate impacts that could affect ArizonaDOT’s operations, and assigned roles related to theseimpacts to the departments identified through theorganizational chart exercise. After that, focus groupswere conducted with members of these identifieddepartments to clarify their roles, collect feedback, anddetermine if the “knowledge mapping” exercise” wasthorough and accurate.Source: ADOT (2012).Identify and CultivateStakeholdersCreate Stakeholder Knowledge MapBecause climate change adaptation is aninterdisciplinary responsibility, manyindividuals and departments within theMPO/RTPA and externally will beidentified for carrying out plans, riskassessments and adaptation actions.At the beginning of the RTP process, thelead coordinator should identifystakeholders both inside of theMPO/RTPA, as well as at the cities,counties, and at Caltrans, who might beinvolved in performing the planningassessment, engaging with operational ordesign practices, or providing monitoringand feedback in response to climateimpacts. Generally, there are threecategories of stakeholders who should beinvolved.8-4 Cambridge Systematics, Inc.