2024 Climate Adaptation Vulnerability Assessment
Climate Adaptation Vulnerability Assessment and Transportation Priorities Report (CAVA)
FINAL CAVA REPORT NOW AVAILABLE
The final report for CAVA will come before the Commission at their February 2025 meeting. The draft report comment period closed on Friday, January 17th. The draft report was updated and clarified based on comments received from stakeholders and the public.
About
The RTC, the County of Santa Cruz Department of Community Development & Infrastructure and the Santa Cruz County Office of Response, Recovery & Resiliency are partnering to develop a Climate Adaptation Vulnerability Assessment and Transportation Priorities Report (CAVA) for unincorporated Santa Cruz County maintained roads and the entirety of the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line (SCBRL). The hazards brought on by climate change pose a serious threat to the county’s transportation infrastructure and thus the safety and quality of life of its residents.
The emphasis of the vulnerability assessment will be on identifying transportation infrastructure assets in the county that may be particularly vulnerable to climate hazards, and developing a prioritization list to identify the order in which those assets should undergo detailed assessments for climate resilience actions and implementation.
Climate change impacts are increasing at an alarming rate. How we respond to and proactively address the impacts of climate change on the transportation network so that challenges can be mitigated will have a profound impact on county residents.
Project Highlights
- Project will determine the transportation infrastructure in Santa Cruz County that may be vulnerable to climate hazards
- Project will provide a priority list of transportation projects in the unincorporated county and on the SCBRL for taking next steps in identifying actions for climate resilience and implementation
- Prioritization metrics will consider severity of climate hazards as well as how critical the asset is to the functioning of the transportation network
- Identify both state and federal funding sources for prioritized climate adaptation projects
- Engage local stakeholders and members of the public for input on project prioritization
- Emphasis of prioritization is on environmental justice and vulnerable populations
Milestone 1: Framework Development
The framework for the CAVA assessment was developed based on several factors. It was created to align with industry best practices including the Caltrans adaptation framework for climate-focused risk and vulnerability assessments and grant funding criteria for resilience-related transportation projects. It was also informed by data and information availability. Furthermore, it was modified to align with community feedback and priorities based on the results from a range of Milestone 1 stakeholder and public engagement efforts. The CAVA framework was approved by RTC at their February 2024 meeting.
Milestone 2: Climate Risk Modeling Results and Draft Prioritization
Based on the Milestone 1 project framework, County transportation system and SCBRL facilities were analyzed to create overall risk scores 0-100, with 100 representing the highest overall risk as a function of hazard likelihood and community consequence. The draft scores were presented to stakeholders and the community through Milestone 2 public outreach. Workshop and survey feedback was used to calibrate the model at a system-wide framework level, not at an individual asset level, to avoid inappropriately prioritizing specific assets based solely on public feedback.
This calibration involved a range of updates to the model, including adjusting datasets, modifying metric weighting, and other changes. The updated CAVA Overall Risk prioritization analysis results, as shown in the publicly available interactive CAVA mapping tool below. Milestone 2 was approved by RTC at their September 2024 meeting.
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