Transportation
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Chapter 9 Transportation Authors: Klaus Jacob,1,2 George Deodatis,2 John Atlas,2 Morgan Whitcomb,2 Madeleine Lopeman,2 Olga Markogiannaki,2 Zackary Kennett,2 Aurelie Morla,2 Robin Leichenko,3 and Peter Vancura3 1 Sector Lead 2 Columbia University 3 Rutgers University, Department of Geography Contents Introduction....................................................................300 9.4 Adaptation Strategies ..............................................313 9.1 Sector Description ...................................................300 9.4.1 Key Adaptation Strategies..............................314 9.1.1 Economic Value ..............................................300 9.4.2 Large-Scale Adaptations................................315 9.1.2 Statewide Overview........................................300 9.5 Equity and Environmental Justice Considerations ...320 9.1.3 Metropolitan Transportation Authority............301 9.5.1 Social Vulnerability and Equity .......................320 9.1.4 Port Authority of New York and New Jersey....304 9.5.2 Adaptation and Equity ....................................321 9.1.5 Other Transportation Operators Serving the 9.6 Conclusions .............................................................321 New York Metropolitan Area .........................306 9.6.1 Main Findings on Vulnerabilities and 9.1.6 Freight Railway Services in New York State...306 Opportunities .................................................321 9.2 Climate Hazards ......................................................306 9.6.2 Adaptation Options .......................................322 9.2.1 Temperature and Heat Waves .......................307 9.6.3 Knowledge Gaps ............................................322 9.2.2 Precipitation....................................................308 Case Study A. Future Coastal Storm Impacts on 9.2.3 Sea Level Rise and Storm-Surge Hazards in Transportation in the New York Metropolitan Coastal Regions, Tidal Estuaries, and Rivers...308 Region.....................................................................322 9.2.4 Other Climate Factors ....................................309 References ....................................................................354 9.3 Vulnerabilities and Opportunities .............................310 Appendix A. Stakeholder Interactions ...........................356 9.3.1 Ground Transportation....................................310 Appendix B. Method of Computation of Area-Weighted 9.3.2 Aviation...........................................................312 Average Flood Elevations for Nine Distinct 9.3.3 Marine Transportation, Hudson River, and Waterways in New York City...................................357 Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River Seaway Appendix C. Method to Compute Economic Losses ....359 Shipping.........................................................312 300 ClimAID Introduction 9.1.1 Economic Value The transportation sector, as defined in the context of Nationally, transportation contributes on the order of the ClimAID report, consists of the built assets, 10 percent to the economy. Translated to New York operations, services, and institutions that serve public State’s annual gross state product (in excess of $1 and private needs for moving goods and people within, trillion), this would correspond to a contribution of to, and from the State of New York. The transportation about $100 billion per year to the state’s economy.1 sector and the energy and communications sectors are Without an effective transportation infrastructure, the highly interdependent (see Chapter 8, “Energy,” and economy of a state cannot function and grow. Chapter 10, “Telecommunications”). Transportation occurs by different modes: land, air, and 9.1.2 Statewide Overview water. On land, it can be divided into road, rail, and pipeline systems. Transported goods are people and Transportation in New York State is a complex system freight (the latter includes raw materials, supplies, in which the public and private sectors interface by finished products, and waste). In urban areas, mass different transportation modes, including roads, rails, transit systems serve commuting populations traveling aviation, and shipping.2 The New York State to and from daily work, school, shopping, etc. In Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the state’s suburban and rural areas, largely private vehicular transportation lead agency and has the following transportation on roads and highways dominates, but functions:3 this also reaches the central business districts of cities. Long-distance and interstate traffic on roads is • Developing and coordinating comprehensive complemented by railway, water, and air transport. transportation policy for the State; assisting in and coordinating the development and operation of The purposes of this chapter are 1) to provide a transportation facilities and services for highways, comprehensive overview of the vulnerabilities of the railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways, state’s transportation system to changing climate, and and aviation facilities; and formulating and keeping 2) to present the adaptation options that can turn the current a long-range, comprehensive statewide challenges posed by the changing climate into master plan for the balanced development of public opportunities to revitalize and modernize the state’s and private commuter and general transportation transportation systems while at the same time facilities. improving their climate resilience. This chapter is • Administering a public safety program for railroads structured based on climate hazards and risks. This and motor carriers engaged in intrastate commerce; means that regions with the highest concentration of transportation assets located in the most vulnerable places, and hence representing the largest risks for potential losses from climate change, will be scrutinized in much greater detail than those regions with fewer assets at risk and with lesser climate change impacts on the state’s economy. 9.1 Sector Description Transportation is a lifeline fundamental to modern developed societies. Provided in this section is an overview of the transportation sector in New York State. This section includes a description of the many transportation systems in the state and discusses the Source: National Atlas, modified agencies that are responsible for managing them. Figure 9.1 Interstate and major state highways in New York State Chapter 9 • Transportation 301 directing state regulation of such carriers in matters consisting of equipment, raw materials, manufactured of rates and service; and providing oversight for the goods, and produce (for details see Section 9.1.6). Long- safe operation of bus lines, commuter railroads, and distance intercity passenger rail is provided by Amtrak. subway systems that are publicly subsidized through Commuter rail mass transit is provided by several the Public Transportation Safety Board. agencies largely in the New York City metropolitan region, further discussed below. Highways and Bridges Aviation New York State DOT designs, operates, and maintains the majority of the Interstate and State Highway system The state has over 500 public and private aviation (Figure 9.1). It consists of about 113,000 miles of facilities through which more than 31 million people highways and more than 16,000 bridges,4 associated travel each year. ramps, underpasses, drainage systems, other related structures, and signage and signal systems. The combined state and local highway system annually Shipping handles over 100 billion vehicle miles. The state is home to 12 major public and private ports, The New York State Thruway Authority operates the which handle more than 110 million tons of freight toll-collecting Thruway and related bridges connecting annually. Of these, five major ports handle 50 million New York City via Albany and Rochester to Buffalo; it tons of freight annually. also operates the state’s canals. The Thruway Authority manages 2,818 lane miles of highway and more than 800 bridges. More than 246.7 million trips were taken Mass Transit on the Thruway in 2009, representing more than 8.1 billion miles traveled. Over 130 public transit operators serve over 5.2 million passengers each day. They include the Capital District The New York State Bridge Authority is responsible for Transportation Authority (CTDA), serving the region five toll bridges in the Mid-Hudson Valley:5 Bear in and around Albany; the Central New York Regional Mountain Bridge; I-84 Bridge near Newburgh/Beacon; Transportation Authority (CNYRTA), serving the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge near region centered on Syracuse; the Rochester Genesee Poughkeepsie; George Clinton Kingston-Rhinecliff Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA); the Bridge; and Rip van Winkle Bridge at Catskill, Hudson. Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA), Not included is the Thruway Berkshire Spur Bridge serving the greater Buffalo region; and many county- (about 10 miles south of Albany), which is overseen by based transit systems, plus private bus operators. In the the New York State Thruway Authority. most transportation-intensive New York City metropolitan area, several major authorities are charged with operating multiple modes of travel. (For a County and Local Roads schematic plan of the combined passenger rail systems, visit http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/subway). County and local roads and bridges are a vital and indispensable part of the state’s transportation infrastructure.