So NASTO 2019 finally saw a re-emergence of some attention to Climate Change issues
(NASTO is the Northeastern Association of State Transportation Officials, which
recently held its annual conference in Wilmington, DE).
I was happy to see that Resilience was back on the
agenda. As usual with
transportation people, there was little discussion of “Climate Change.” The focus was on Extreme Weather Events
and how to respond to them. The
overall takeaway is that Resilience is being mainstreamed in state DOTs, at
least in the Northeast. Elements
of the developing approach to Resilience include input from academic research,
long-range planning, development of greener approaches to hardening of
infrastructure, and detailed planning for disaster response. In the works – and coming out shortly –
is a “CEO Primer” on Resilience issues for state DOT secretaries and
commissioners (information here).
It was also encouraging to see a session on electrification
of the transportation sector, which I consider an urgent priority. The two technologies discussed were
electric buses and hydrogen fuel cells (for a variety of uses).
Electric buses, I’m pleased to say, are making rapid market
penetration throughout the country.
The technology is rapidly advancing and the business plan of the leading
manufacturer, Proterra, appears solid.
They argue that electric buses are now cheaper than diesel vehicles over
their lifetime, as the long-term savings in maintenance costs (electric buses
are very low-maintenance) overcomes the initial higher cost to purchase. Interestingly, Proterra has no plan for
developing in-service charging, reasoning that current batteries will last
through a day of typical revenue service – and these batteries are getting
better at a rapid rate.
I don’t know much about hydrogen fuel cells, which certainly
have many benefits but also have the drawback of requiring considerable new
infrastructure. California is
rapidly scaling up so that light-duty HFC vehicles, now for sale, can have
relatively easy access to hydrogen fueling stations. HFC technology is also very promising for trucks and trains
(see my blog posting here).
Unfortunately, counterbalancing these minimal, though
promising, discussions on Climate Change issues was a Maryland DOT presentation
touting their massive Interstate highway widening plan. They intend to use a public/private
partnership arrangement to raise $11 Billion for a major widening of the
Maryland portion of the Capital Beltway (I-495) and the I-270 radial freeway in
Montgomery and Frederick counties.
In my view, a widening program on this scale represents a huge setback
on multiple levels to efforts to combat Climate Change (full disclosure: I have
provided information in support of this view to my client, the Maryland Climate
Coalition, who are fighting the MDOT plan). Sadly, the same DOT that is advancing this oversized
widening program has also stopped the Baltimore Red Line transit project, which
should have been – and can still be – an enormous step forward in promoting
urban redevelopment, greenhouse gas emission reduction, and multimodal
mobility.
I should say a word about our host city – Wilmington – and
the Riverfront Redevelopment area where we met. The Wilmington Riverfront is a real urban redevelopment
success story, transforming a derelict industrial wasteland into a vibrant
mixed-use community over a 25-year period. This success was powered by the usual forces: strong
political leadership, major public investment, powerful private sector actors
willing to support it, and many entrepreneurs willing to take a risk. The process wasn’t always easy (see the
video on the Redevelopment website here) but has paid off in a big way. The Riverfront is such a success story
that the former director of the Redevelopment agency – Michael Purzyki – was
elected mayor!
Congrats to Delaware DOT for hosting a great conference!
