The Zero Emissions Transportation Plan Report

Catherine Zusy

https://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/communitydevelopment/netzero­ transportationplan 3 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................. 5 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Transportation is the Last Piece of our Climate Strategy to Address Greenhouse Gas Emissions..

8 Why did we Make the Clean Transportation Plan? ........................................................................... 9 How do We Eliminate Transportation Emissions? .......................................................................... 10 Transportation and Emissions Trends in Cambridge ..................................................................... 10 What Makes Reducing GHGs From Transportation Challenging? ..................................................

13 Ongoing and Projected Transportation GHG Reductions .............................................................. 13 Electrification ............................................................................................................................... 14 State and Federal Initiatives .........................................................................................................

15 Local Initiatives ............................................................................................................................ 16 How Did We Develop the Zero Emissions Transportation Plan? ................................................... 17 Technical Approach .........................................................................................................................

17 The Planning Process ...................................................................................................................... 17 Following Engagement Best Practices ......................................................................................... 18 Advisory Group ................................................................................................................................

18 Community Engagement Activities ................................................................................................ 20 What We Learned From the Community to Guide the Plan ........................................................... 21 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................ 23 How did we Decide on These Recommendations? ........................................................................

23 Strategies to get to Zero Emissions by 2050 ................................................................................... 24 Community Engagement .............................................................................................................. 25 Buses and Shuttles .......................................................................................................................

27 Walk, Bike, and Micromobility ...................................................................................................... 28 Reducing Car Trips ........................................................................................................................ 29 Reducing Car Ownership ..............................................................................................................

31 Electric Vehicles ............................................................................................................................ 31 How Will We Measure our Progress Towards Zero Emissions? ..................................................... 34

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

4 How Will This Plan Move the City Into the Future?........................................................................ 39 Near-Term Priorities........................................................................................................................ 39 Lessons Learned and Considerations for Future Processes .........................................................

41 Process Lessons .............................................................................................................................. 41 Advisory Group ............................................................................................................................ 41 Community Engagement .............................................................................................................

41 Technical Lessons ........................................................................................................................... 42 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 43 What's Next: Cambridge Access and Mobility Plan .......................................................................

44 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... 45 Appendices ........................................................................................................................................ 47 Appendix 1: Community Engagement Events ...............................................................................

47 Appendix 2: Modelling Methodology and Assumptions ............................................................... 48

TABLE OF CONTENTS

5

Executive Summary

Why a Zero Emissions Transportation Plan, and Why Now?1

The climate crisis, with impacts such as extreme heat, worse air quality, and more frequent weather emergencies, is already reshaping life in Cambridge and around the globe. In response, the City of Cambridge has committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Net Zero2 refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas that's produced and the amount that's removed from the atmosphere.

Transportation contributes a significant portion of Cambridge’s emissions, with 94% coming from private on-road vehicles.3 The intent of the Zero Emission Transportation Plan (ZETP) is not only to make it so that no climate pollu­ tion coming from transportation goes into the air in Cambridge, but also to create a more acces­ sible and equitable transportation system that makes traveling around the city work better. To meet our climate commitment, we need to act now.