CALTRANS MOVING

TOWARD SUSTAINABILITYAASHTO Audit Annual Meeting | July 10, 2019

Jeanie Ward-Waller, PE

Overview

1. Sustainability at Caltrans

2. Changing Performance Metrics

3. Rising Challenges

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

SUSTAINABILITY

AT CALTRANS

People: Improve the quality of life for all

Californians

Planet: Reduce environmental impacts from

the transportation system with emphasis on

supporting a statewide reduction of

greenhouse gas emissions to achieve 80%

below 1990 levels by 2050

Prosperity: Improve economic prosperity of the

State and local communities through a resilient

and integrated transportation system

– Director's Policy 33

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

PEOPLE

PLANET PROSPERITY

IMPROVING BUSINESS PRACTICES

Energy Efficiency & Renewables

Reduced Potable Water

Use

Climate Adaptation

Green Operations

Zero-Emission Vehicles: Fleet & Workplace

CALTRANS SUSTAINABILITY ROADMAP

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

CALTRANS SUSTAINABILITY PRIORITIES

Support Healthy

Communities

Lead Climate

Action

ChampionWalking,

Bicycling, & Transit

Advance Zero-Emission

Vehicles

Prepare for Climate Change

and Extreme Weather

Advance Social Equity

Reduce Vehicle-Miles

Traveled

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Changing Performance Metrics

Reduce Air Pollution

& Climate Emissions

Reduce Vehicle

Miles Traveled

Encourage Walking,

Biking, & Transit

Reduce Smog

Increase Vehicle

Throughput

Consider All

Road Users

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Changing Performance Metric #1

Reduce Air Pollution

& Climate EmissionsReduce Smog

✓ AB 32

✓ SB 32

✓ EO S-3-05

✓ EO B-14-18

✓ AB 617

✓ Many more…

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

KEY CLIMATE GOALS

Source: CARB, 2018

CALIFORNIA

GHG EMISSIONS

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

• Transportation sector

emissions are included in

several “pieces of the pie”

• Tailpipe and fuel refinery

emissions account for well

over 40%

Source: California Air Resources Board, GHG Inventory 2018

10

GHG

Emissions

Trends

California on track to meet total 2020 GHG emissions goal but transportation sector emissions are rising

California GHG Emissions by Sector

TRANSPORTATION

ELECTRIC POWER

INDUSTRY

Source: CARB CA GHG Inventory 2000 to 2016

COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES

Increased Recycled Asphalt Content

Renewable Diesel Use inFleet & Heavy Equipment

Environmental Product

Declarations Pilot

Sustainable Operations, Materials, & Equipment

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Caltrans Zero-Emission Vehicle

(ZEV) Program

WorkplaceFleet

VehiclesSustainable

FreightPublic Partnerships

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

ZEV Implementation

Progress

• 212* installed fast charging

stations at workplaces and fleet

locations

• 252* light-duty ZEVs in the

Caltrans fleet

• Over 30 public charging station

installations underway

• West Coast Electric Highway

*As of July 2019

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

14

Source: California Air Resources Board, Mobile Source Strategy 2016

Statewide GHG Emissions from Transportation

GHG Reduction Projections

AB 32 SB 32

Cleaner Fuels

VMT Reduction

Cleaner Vehicle Technologies

Carbon Neutral

Source: California Air Resources Board, Mobile Source Strategy 2016

AB 32 SB 32

Cleaner Fuels

VMT Reduction

Cleaner Vehicle Technologies

Federal Rollback of CA Auto Emission Standards (Rulemaking pending)

Carbon Neutral

Statewide GHG Emissions from Transportation

GHG Reduction Projections

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Changing Performance Metric #2

Reduce Vehicle

Miles Traveled

Increase Vehicle

Throughput

✓ SB 375

✓ SB 391

✓ SB 150

✓SB 743

VMT

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

VMT EXPLAINED

Factors that affect VMT include:

• Average length of vehicle trips

• Average vehicle occupancy: all else

being equal, carpooling reduces VMT

• Total number of vehicle trips

• Mode share: Walk, bike and transit trips

can replace car trips, reducing VMT

Vehicle miles traveled is a

cumulative measure of

distance driven by

passenger and freight

vehicles

WHY REDUCE VMT?

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Mitigate Climate Change & Air Pollution

Increase Physical Activity & Public Health

Incentivize Smart Growth

Provide Alternatives to

Congestion

Improve Quality of Life

19

VMT rising after decrease associated with the 2008 financial crisis

Source: Caltrans, DRISI, 2018. “Highway Performance Monitoring System Public Road Data.”

Vehicle Miles

Traveled

(VMT) Trends

California VMT per Capita by Year

8450

8500

8550

8600

8650

8700

8750

8800

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

VMT/Capita

Y E A R

VE

HI

CL

E

MI

LE

S

TR

AV

EL

LE

D

(V

MT

)

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

VMT REDUCTION STRATEGIES

1. Build safe, convenient, connected networks for public transit, walking, bicycling

2. Discourage short, single-occupant auto trips by increasing the price to drive

3. Encourage high occupant vehicles with priority lanes

4. Support compact land uses, not auto-dependent development

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Changing Performance Metric #3

Encourage Walking,

Biking, & TransitConsider All

Road Users✓ Deputy

Directive 64

✓ Strategic Plan

Targets

✓ SB 1

✓ SB 127 (pending)

• Improve physical/mental health

• Provide affordable options

• Offer reliable travel times

• Opt-out of congestion

• Zero emissions

• First/Last mile to transit

• Promote social cohesion and

vibrant communities

• Support local economies

• Low-impact, space-efficient

infrastructure

• Reduce need for parking

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Walking, Bicycling, & Transit

PRIORITY ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

ACTIVITIES

Utilizing Big DataSetting &

Managing Speeds

Improving Pedestrian &

Bicyclist Safety

Building Facilitieson State Hwys

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

RISING CHALLENGS

Advancing

Social Equity

Preparing for

Climate Change

& Extreme

Weather

CLIMATE IMPACTS WE

EXPERIENCE TODAY

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

❑ Sea level has already risen nearly 6 inches since 1900

❑ Sacramento River peak runoff occurs a month earlier than in 1950

❑ Sierra Nevada glaciers have lost 70% since 1900

❑ 2012-2016 drought was exacerbated by unusual warm temps

❑ Very wet winter in 2016-2017 followed the drought

❑ 2.7 million people live in high wildfire risk areas

D3 flooding on I-5 during winter 2017 D2 Carr Fire damage in 2018

D5 mudslide on Hwy 101 in 2017 D3 washout on Hwy 50 in Pollock Pines

during 2017 winter

CLIMATE CHANGE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS

Five Climate Risks

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Temperature Precipitation Sea Level Rise(Coastal districts)

Wildfire Storm Surge(Coastal districts)

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Northeastern Focus: Wildfire

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Bay Area Focus: Sea Level Rise

FRAMEWORK FOR PRIORITIZING

CLIMATE ADAPTATION NEEDS

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

http://www.dot.ca.gov/transplanning/ocp/vulnerability-assessment.html

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

RISING CHALLENGS

Advancing

Social Equity

Preparing for

Climate Change

& Extreme

Weather

Advancing Social Equity

Equality = same treatment for all

Only works if everyone starts from

the same place

Equity = treatment that accounts

for disparities, prioritizing

‘disadvantaged’ communities

Disparities result from a legacy of

damage by past investments and

decision-making that marginalized,

displaced, or divided communities

Fig. 1. Equality v. Equity

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Social Determinants of Health

Outcomes describe a

person’s health.

Inequitable burdens

such as:

• Poor access to jobs

or health care

• Close residential

proximity to SHS

result in poor

outcomes for

impacted populations

(Transportation affects access to other determinants)

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Safety Disparity: Pedestrian Fatalities by Race in CA

Pedestrian Fatalities per 100,000 people by race/ethnicity

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Source: Smart Growth America

Access Disparity

Humboldt CountyNative American and other non-white respondents nearly twice as likely as white respondents to face transportation challenges in meeting their family’s health needs

… and are 2.5 times less likely to have a vehicle in the household

Transportation reported as a problem meeting health needs, by Race / Ethnicity,

Humboldt County

White15.0%

Native American

25.3%

Other Non-White

25.2%Source: CA Center for Rural Policy, Humboldt State University

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Transportation

Disparity: Mode Choice

Los Angeles County

Households without a car by race:• 19% Black• 17% Latino• 9% Asian/Pacific Islander• 8% non-Hispanic white

Share of households without cars in

LA County, 2006-2010

Cross-hatched areas indicate high % of people of color, darker blue indicates higher % households w/o a car

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Disadvantaged Community (DAC) & Low-Income Funding Mandates

25-35% Minimum Funding Mandate

• Transit & Intercity Rail Capital Program

• Active Transportation Program

50% Funding Minimum

• Low-Carbon Transit Operations Program

• Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Equity in Statewide Planning Efforts

➢California Transportation Plan 2040

➢State Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan: Toward an Active CA

➢SB 350: Clean Energy & Pollution Reduction Act (2015)

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Government Alliance on Race & Equity (GARE) California Capitol Cohort

GARE is a national network of government agencies working toward racial equity

The Capitol Cohort is a capacity-building program for California State Agencies

Providing tools and resources to:

✓ Normalize conversations about race

✓ Operationalize new policies

✓ Support institutional culture changeCaltrans 2018 GARE Team

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

MOVING TOWARD

SUSTAINABILITY

Jeanie Ward-Waller, PE

Sustainability Program Manager

Jeanie.Ward-Waller@dot.ca.gov

CALTRANS MOVING

TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY