Title
SacAdapt Transportation Infrastructure Adaptation Plan
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FileID
File ID: 2026-00449
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Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation
Recommendation: Review and comment.
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Contact
Contact: Sarah Kolarik, Sustainability Program Specialist, (916) 808-1421, skolarik@cityofsacramento.org; Rachel Patten, Sustainability Program Manager, (916) 808-5016, rpatten@cityofsacramento.org; Jennifer Donlon Wyant, Mobility and Sustainability Division Manager, (916) 808-5913 jdonlonwyant@cityofsacramento.org; Department of Public Works
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Presenter
Presenter: Sarah Kolarik, Sustainability Program Specialist, (916) 808-1421,
skolarik@cityofsacramento.org
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Presentation
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Additional Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: The SacAdapt Transportation Infrastructure Adaptation Plan (SacAdapt) is a collaborative planning effort between the City of Sacramento (City) and Sacramento Regional Transit Agency (SacRT) to analyze current and anticipated future extreme weather risks to the City’s transportation system, and to identify prioritized recommendations to improve resilience of the transportation system. SacAdapt is funded by a California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Adaptation Planning Grant.
The City manages over 3,000 lane miles of streets, over 800 traffic signals, more than two dozen floodgates, and over 80 miles of shared-use walking and bicycling paths. As the largest transit provider in the Sacramento region, SacRT operates 53 light rail stations carrying approximately 14,600 passengers per day and manages 3,200 bus stops servicing approximately 21,000 bus passengers per day. Climate change impacts (e.g., extreme heat, flooding, wind, and fire/smoke) are already affecting these transportation assets, and the impacts are projected to worsen in the coming decades.
The SacAdapt planning process evaluated existing and projected climate hazards (e.g., flooding, heat, wind, fire) and critical transportation infrastructure (e.g., roadways, signals, bikeways, sidewalks, light rail lines, etc.) to perform a risk assessment, generate possible adaptation solutions, and develop a prioritized list of adaptation strategies.
The resulting SacAdapt Plan will provide a long-term implementation plan for adapting Sacramento's transportation network to the increasing impacts of climate change and ensuring the system's long-term resilience. As the key outcome of this project, SacAdapt will provide the City of Sacramento and SacRT with a prioritized list of actionable projects that help achieve the climate adaptation objectives of the City's General Plan 2040 and the City's Climate Action & Adaptation Plan. In addition, SacAdapt will identify actionable policy and maintenance recommendations equipping the two agencies to address deficiencies and inequities in Sacramento’s transportation system that may be exacerbated by climate change. SacAdapt will help position the City and SacRT to secure future funding. By completing this plan together, the agencies can ensure consistency and shared priorities when applying for competitive funding to mitigate climate impacts.
The SacAdapt planning effort was kicked off in Fall of 2024 and the final plan needs to be approved by City Council by April 30, 2026 to meet the grant funding deadline. The SacAdapt planning effort includes five major tasks (Literature and Exiting Conditions Review, Vulnerability Assessment, Resilience Strategy Identification and Prioritization, Community Engagement, and Final Plan Development). These five tasks are divided into three project phases, with each phase including a significant community engagement component. The three project phases are:
1. Understand current and future risks and needs. Phase 1 took place between late-2024 and mid-2025 and coincided with Task 1 (Literature and Existing Conditions Review) and Task 2 (Vulnerability Assessment). Phase 1 community engagement was conducted between January and February 2025 and focused on gaining insight from the community about how travel around Sacramento is impacted by extreme weather events. Input from the community helped the project team understand the needs and concerns of the community. Community feedback was used in conjunction with feedback from agency experts to identify the climate change impacts that are of highest concern to the transportation system.
2. Identify and prioritize recommendations. Phase 2 took place between mid-2025 and late-2025 and coincided with Task 3 (Resilience Strategy Identification and Prioritization). This phase identified and prioritized recommended adaptation strategies for both the City and SacRT. Phase 2 community engagement was conducted between September and November 2025 and focused on community priorities related to transportation resilience as well as understanding where investments in person-scale comfort (e.g., to mitigate impacts of extreme heat or rain/flooding) can have the biggest impact on mode shift to active and public transportation. Community feedback was used to refine recommended transportation adaptation strategies and inform prioritization of the strategies.
3. Finalize the plan. Phase 3 is currently taking place between late-2025 and early-2026 and coincides with Task 5 (Final Plan Development). Phase 3 engagement began on January 15, 2026 and will conclude on February 12, 2026 and focuses on public review of the Draft SacAdapt Plan. Input received during Phase 3 engagement will inform finalization of the SacAdapt Plan that will be presented to City Council for approval in April 2026.
The adaptation strategies for the City are broken out into four hazards with ten total strategy categories:
• Heat:
o Create built environments that reduce exposure to extreme heat and mitigate urban heat island effect.
o Create built environments that are resilient to the impacts of extreme heat.
• Flooding:
o Increase stormwater drainage capacity.
o Invest in infrastructure maintenance.
• All-Hazard:
o Increase community resilience to prepare for climate impacts.
o Reduce the risk of power outages.
o Strengthen City government capacity for climate resilience.
o Support resilience of transit facilities.
• Disaster preparedness:
o Strengthen City government disaster preparedness and capacity for emergency response.
o Consider evacuation needs in planning.
Many of the adaptation strategies are aligned with previously adopted strategies in the 2040 General Plan, Climate Action & Adaptation Plan, Urban Forest Plan, Streets for People Plan, and Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. Within these previously adopted strategies, suggested additions are highlighted as relevant. Additional strategies are identified to address gaps in previously adopted strategies.
The SacAdapt Plan also includes a list of adaptation strategies for SacRT to increase resilience of the public transportation system. These strategies are included in the public review Draft SacAdapt Plan.
The purpose of this presentation is to hear input from the Commission on the recommended adaptation strategies and Phase 3 community engagement approach.
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: The SacAdapt Transportation Infrastructure Adaptation Plan is an implementing action of the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (Resolution No. 2024-0067) Measure A-1-3: Climate Informed Infrastructure Planning - “to establish guidance and procedures for the consideration of climate impacts in all City infrastructure and capital projects, including minimum levels of preparation as applicable” and Measure A-5-21: Resilient Transportation Infrastructure - “Conduct an assessment of infrastructure at risk from flooding and climate impacts and prioritize improvements to those facilities that are most critical and at greatest risk.”
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: None.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations: The action requested is review of a citywide planning study to be used as guidance for future engineering, design, and analysis. The informational update in this report is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), because it is an administrative activity that does not involve any commitment to a specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment, as contemplated by Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Sections 15378(b)(5) and is, therefore, not subject to CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3). Projects consistent with the Plan will be subject to review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act during the project-specific Preliminary Design and Environmental phase.
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Sustainability
Sustainability: This Plan will prepare the City to improve the adaptive capacity of the City’s transportation network in the face of extreme weather events that will be exacerbated by climate change. These efforts will advance the City’s commitment to prepare for the effects of climate change (Resolution No. 2019-0433), and support Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (Resolution No. 2024-0067) Goal A-1-Strengthen City government capacity for integrated, holistic climate adaptive strategies and to reduce climate risks, and sub-strategies A-1-3-Climate-Informed Infrastructure Planning, A-1-4-Resilient City Facilities, and A-5-21-Resilient Transportation Infrastructure.
Additionally, the Plan will consider mobility for all modes of transportation to reduce dependence on the private automobile, even when the transportation network experiences the negative impacts of climate change. This will support CAAP Measure TR-1-Improve active transportation infrastructure to achieve 6% active transportation mode share by 2030 and 12% by 2045-and CAAP Measure TR-2- Support public transit improvements to achieve 11% public transit mode share by 2030 and maintain through 2045.
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: The Plan and Phase II engagement approach were presented to the DAC at the November 5, 2025, meeting for review and comment.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: Community and commission feedback is important to inform revisions to the draft plan.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: None.
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Public/NeighborhoodOutreachComments
Public/Neighborhood Outreach and Comments: Phase 1 community engagement was conducted between January and February 2025 and focused on gaining insight from the community about how travel around Sacramento is impacted by extreme weather events. Input from the community helped the project team understand the needs and concerns of the community. Community feedback was used in conjunction with feedback from agency experts to identify the climate change impacts that are of highest concern to the transportation system.
Phase 2 community engagement was conducted between September and November 2025 and focused on community priorities related to transportation resilience as well as understanding where investments in person-scale comfort (e.g., to mitigate impacts of extreme heat or rain/flooding) can have the biggest impact on mode shift to active and public transportation. Community feedback was used to refine recommended transportation adaptation strategies and inform prioritization of the strategies.
Phase 3 is currently taking place and consists of public review of the SacAdapt Plan. The primary tool for capturing public feedback during Phase 3 engagement is the online Konveio review platform (https://sacramento.konveio.com), where individuals can review and comment on the Draft SacAdapt Plan. The plan review period began on January 15, 2026 and will close on February 12, 2026. The public review Draft SacAdapt Plan is also available for download from the project website (cityofsacramento.gov/SacAdapt) and comments can be emailed to climate@cityofsacramento.org.
The Project Team is leveraging multiple strategies to encourage community participation in the Phase 3 public review, including a project webpage (cityofsacramento.gov/SacAdapt); a City Express post; City and SacRT social media posts; emails to community partners; digital toolkit; and multiple in-person pop-up events, workshops, and presentations, including:
• January 15: SacRT Mobility Advisory Council Presentation
• January 15: Active Transportation Commission Presentation
• January 15: City Connect Mixer
• January 28: Light Rail Station Outreach
• February 3: Online Workshop #1
• February 4: Disabilities Advisory Commission Presentation
• February 5: Online Workshop #2
• February 7: Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration
Additional engagement events will be added to the project website as they are confirmed.
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