To the Editor:
Last Tuesday, March 1, I attended the open workshop on the Newburgh Area Transportation and Land Use Study at the Newburgh Town Hall. I was truly dismayed that in the overview of the plan given at the start of the meeting and in the “Project Information” at www.newburghareastudy.info/, not once was the transportation impact on climate change or greenhouse gases given consideration or even mentioned.
Transportation choices will have an impact on greenhouse gases released to the atmosphere and climate change will have a significant impact on transportation infrastructure and operations.
Adaptation
Plans such as The Newburgh Area Transportation and Land Use Study must pinpoint vulnerabilities that will result from global warming. We must begin implementing adaptation strategies now as part of this plan. Some of the climate changes of particular importance to transportation in our area are: 1) increases in very hot days and heat waves; 2) rising tide levels; 3) increases in intense precipitation events; and 4) increases in hurricane intensity.
Transportation professionals can single out examples of best practices. Transportation planners and climate scientists can begin collaboration on the development of regional scenarios for likely climate-related changes and the data needed to analyze their impacts. Existing design standards should be re-evaluated to accommodate climate change. As an example, intuitively, we know that current flood prone areas will get worse.
Mitigation
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must take its place among the other transport priorities. Transportation design must be climate change-friendly. What does that mean?
GHG reduction strategies include promoting eco-driving styles, improved vehicle maintenance, in-vehicle technological aids, more efficient replacement tires, incentives for all-electric car charging stations, better park-and-ride locations, and enforcement of reduced idling laws. Better traffic management such as reduced lef- turn opportunities, increase yield/merge opportunities and, of course, roadways that are bike and public transportation friendly.
I feel that no “transportation plan” at this time of incipient climate change can be complete without the above considerations.
Sincerely,
John Gebhards
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