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Dear Neighbor,
On May 3, 2022, Public Works staff made a presentation to the Commission entitled “Roadway Elevation – A Community Resilience Conversation.” This presentation recognized that resilience continues to be a Commission Top Priority and policy discussions are needed to consider long-term approaches to determining City investments in climate adaptation strategies including the last resort, roadway elevation.
Based on feedback received that day, the Public Works Department engaged the Urban Land Institute to convene an Advisory Panel of national experts on March 11th-14th, 2024, to develop a set of criteria for resiliency strategies. I attended the public sessions and participated because sea level rise and resiliency are of paramount importance to our City.
The listening session on the evening of Monday, March 11th at the Museum of Discovery and Science was absolutely fantastic. A wonderful discussion ensued that analyzed flood-prone city roads. I was so pleased to see many of our District 2 residents present and be very engaged. On March 12th, the panel interviewed a series of stakeholders (residential, commercial, real estate, developers, transportation planners, utility experts, lawyers, etc.) from all sides of the issue to get further data for their findings. On the morning of Thursday, March 14th, the panel met a final time to discuss challenges to be addressed and recommendations going forward.
The ULI’s assignment was summarized in four key parts-1) Assess the impact of sea level rise on roadways, 2) recommend criteria/policies to equitably guide selection of city roadways for elevation, 3) guide how to balance road elevation requirements with investments in other city districts and 4) discuss how the city can address roadway “harmonization” and project funding.
Some of the challenges identified were that simply elevating roads will not create an enduring solution; the cost of today’s solutions are greatly increased by the need to address yesterday’s infrastructure, and potential for liability exists due to lack of full transparency in property transactions. Amidst these challenges, we found a number of opportunities to create momentum and success. The ULI found a range of powerful assets that we have available as we embark on this process.
Fortunately, as the ULI pointed out, the funding tools and mechanism for these kinds of subjects is increasing every day. State, federal and local funds are becoming more widely available as threats of sea level rise increase.
Panel recommendations discussed include taking a comprehensive long-term approach to adaptation which involves addressing compound risks, establishing a plan for near-term and long-term cooperative street level efforts between the city and residential neighborhoods. The information provided was so expansive and informative that I have included the session videos and back up material below. I strongly encourage you to watch the ULI panel experts engage with our neighbors and help move us forward in this endeavor. The ULI will issue a full report that will be discussed at an upcoming Commission meeting.
The ULI Advisory Panel was most complimentary when discussing how much the City has already accomplished in battling climate change; they were particularly appreciative of how our Public Works Department prepared them for months in advance of arriving in our city.
I want to thank Colonel Alan Dodd, Dr. Nancy Gassman, and the Public Works team for engaging the ULI, along with all of the residents who attended and gave their input during this process. Together, we will find a solution.
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