The Vermont Sierra Club submitted comments to the Climate Council on transportation issues. There will be more comments filed in the upcoming months. Submitted June 9, 2021
Dear Vermont Climate Council and Subcommittee Members:
The Sierra Club believes that the Vermont Climate Council should strategically focus on addressing transportation needs that will accelerate progress on climate change while simultaneously improving equitable outcomes such as access to reliable transportation. As our state leaves a difficult year focused on the Covid-19 pandemic, we believe that strategic investments in a clean and modern transportation system will improve Vermont’s economic recovery and better meet the needs of Vermonters.
Most analyses conclude that the transportation sector remains the largest greenhouse gas contributor in Vermont, at nearly half of total emissions (Vermont Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Forecast). We see an important opportunity to ensure that the climate action plan coupled with additional federal funds prioritizes ways that help shift our transportation system toward one that offers alternatives to driving alone in privately owned vehicles, and that serves groups not currently served by our system. Specifically, we believe that investment should focus on the following areas:
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Vehicle electrification, including transit and school bus electrification, as well as electrification of medium and heavy-duty trucks
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Strengthen vehicle incentive programs to meet the scale of the climate crisis (e.g. Mileage Smart, Replace Your Ride).
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Focus on introducing incentives for Electric Trucks such as the F-150 to meet the needs of Vermonters dependent on trucks for employment.
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Expansion of charging access (at workplaces and multi-family dwellings, and committing to achieving goals of high-speed charging within 5 miles of interstate exits and within 25 miles on every state highway)
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Expansion of Transit Services (e.g. free fares, Transportation Demand Management)
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Bike infrastructure and Complete Streets*
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Commuter rail and Amtrak
We recommend focusing on the expansion of electric vehicle incentives and charging access because we see this tool as critical to reducing our state’s carbon footprint while ensuring equity and access to transportation. According to the Energy Action Network, “One of the most effective actions [to reduce carbon emissions] is the purchase and use of electric vehicles instead of fossil fuel vehicles.” Investments to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles will help accelerate a reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions because they are more efficient than fossil fuel-powered vehicles and rely on Vermont’s cleanest-in-the-nation electricity portfolio. Furthermore, investments in electric vehicles can help save rural Vermonters money through lower fuel costs and maintenance.
In addition to vehicle electrification, the Vermont Sierra Club envisions Vermont attempting to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) per capita to 2011 levels, and attempting to reduce the share of single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) commute trips by 20%. In order to do that Vermont needs to implement the Report on Methods to Increase the Use of Public Transit in Vermont (Section 20 of Act 59 (2019) of the Vermont Legislature directed the Agency of Transportation to develop a report on methods to increase the use of public transit in Vermont). While the Agency of Transportation is already working on many of the suggestions, we believe that a continued commitment to fare-free transit and the requirement for all large employers to implement transportation demand management programs are essential for increased ridership that is equitably accessible. In addition to increased ridership on existing transit routes, we also urge the state to implement innovative micro-transit routes and to determine the needs for new routes for more conventional public transit.
Walking, bicycling, and rail helped to form Vermont’s historical transportation network, and while the basics still exist in our town settlement pattern, these modes have been severely neglected and underfunded for decades. The Climate Action Plan needs to state that these are the cleanest, most cost-effective, and most energy-efficient modes of travel known, and insist that their comfort level, safety, and utility be brought up to the same level that has been accomplished for automobiles. Goals must be set looking beyond the current cost-benefit analysis and level of service evaluations that favor car projects, mandating instead at the very least a minimum threshold of service for these modes across the state to ensure equity. Ebikes should be recognized as a significant enhancement and supported with not just incentives but with walking and bicycling infrastructure provided for 2 miles out from the center of every town for both first mile / last mile connection and safe non-vehicular access to towns for all users.
It is time to replace what was lost during transportation planning’s unquestioning headlong rush during the 1900’s to embrace the automobile. The Climate Action Plan should recommend a dedicated program to install this infrastructure, with a larger proportion of transportation funding going towards a robust, resilient, multimodal network and less toward an automobile-centered design that can not exist in 2050. Rail service on corridors that we already own is a backbone for this network, and the Plan should require that it be brought up to modern usable standards for both local commuting and passenger rail between regions, and linked with programs that support and encourage everyday human-scale travel in livable village centers around it.
The Climate Action Plan needs to provide a clear directive regarding how additional Federal Transportation and Infrastructure funds and Vermont’s Transportation and General Fund dollars will best be spent to help address both GHG emissions and other serious, structural shortcomings in our transportation system. These shortcomings have left the need of many Vermonters -- especially our most vulnerable, lower-income, and non-car-owning citizens -- behind for far too long.
Thank you again for your work and for considering this request. We look forward to seeing the recommendations of the Climate Action Council.
Posted: June 14 by Robb Kidd, Vermont Sierra Club Conservation Program Manager. robb.kidd@sierraclub.org