It’s no secret that Chester has served as the lab rat for numerous studies over the years. The latest one on Climate Adaptation has got to be one of the more interesting ones as presented on Delcotimes.com
The Climate Adaptation Plan will add initiatives to Chester’s Vision 2020 Comprehensive Plan with a goal of better handling flooding and extreme heat.
When you have a creek snaking through the downtown section of your city bringing the county’s storm water to the river that borders your city, flood prevention should be a top priority. Combining the study with handling extreme heat doesn’t seem to fit, but who am I to question another study?
...better informing the public about the value in understanding the effects of extreme weather were the main objectives of the plan.
Oh. This is a study to improve the city’s communication mechanism that inform citizens when it’s hot, cold, rainy, or snowy.
“Present day climate stressors, such as extreme heat, severe coastal storms, flooding and drought, threaten the City of Chester’s developed and natural environments,”...
In other words, hot days, rainy days, and the lack of rain is affecting houses, businesses, streets, underground pipes, and the parks.
The team worked for more than two years to develop the plan, but have been looking into climate issues in Chester for longer than that.
Wow. We’ve got some serious climate issues around here. Why not take another year or two? Don’t sell us short.
Among them are plans to significantly improve floodplain management by better planning around the city’s vulnerabilities to flooding and storm surges.
That’s great and much needed. As soon as we repair the Lloyd Street bridge, we’ll get right on it.
Dealing with bouts of extreme heat by increasing the number of cooling centers available to vulnerable populations, like the elderly and homeless, also would help to reduce the number of heat-related injuries in the city. Better communication with the public via block captains also was suggested.
How much time out of the two year study did it take to come up with that discovery?
Chester is becoming well-known across the nation for its environmental initiatives.
...among other things.
...the first suggestion in the plan is to create an Environmental Advisory Council made up of residents, business leaders and government officials that would have an ongoing exchange to continue addressing climate-related issues.
Is this really the first suggestion? I suggest finding some other folks to address climate related issues while we try to get our residents to check homework, attend school board meetings, and work to keep our neighborhoods safe and clean.
“Other mayors are a little bit jealous of the grant that we’ve been getting in Chester,” Linder said. “Mayors around the country ... are doing more in their cities to manage their carbon footprint and cut back their energy consumption.”
Other mayors want a lot of studies in their cities, too? What does carbon footprint and energy consumption have to do with this study?
Councilwoman Portia West said the plan not only helped to secure future economic development in the city, but also helps to give peace of mind to residents who are affected by flooding.
What economic development was secured from this study? There’s a lot of flooding basements in Chester during a routine rain event. Help couldn’t come fast enough.
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