Truro Climate Action & Resilience Plan

SECTION 1: ABOUT YOU

1.What is your connection to Truro? (Select all that apply)

Other (please specify)

2.How familiar are you with the draft Climate Action & Resilience Plan?

I haven’t seen it

I’ve heard about it but haven’t read it

I’ve skimmed it or read parts

I’ve read it in detail

SECTION 2: TRURO'S NET ZERO GOAL

3.In 2021, Truro voters committed the town to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

How much do you support Truro’s 2050 net-zero goal?

SECTION 3: PRIORITY ACTIONS

The Climate Action & Resilience Plan focuses on four areas:

- Transportation (45% of Truro's emissions) — mostly personal car travel

- Buildings (33% of emissions) — heating homes and buildings

- Energy (22% of emissions) — generating electricity

- Resilience — preparing for climate impacts like storms, flooding, and power outages

For each area, the plan proposes 1-3 priority actions. We're seeking community feedback on each to help shape the town's priorities.

Transportation Actions

4.Achieve Gold Certification in the Charging Smart Program

Charging Smart is a national program that helps municipalities promote electric vehicle adoption and build charging infrastructure. With free technical assistance from the Cape Cod Commission, Truro would implement best practices like updating zoning and permitting, engaging Eversource, public education, and developing more public chargers.

How do you feel about this action?

5.Improve Public Transportation

Truro will work to better utilize and enhance the existing bus system. This includes raising awareness of current Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) services (routes, free fares, on-demand options), and advocating for improvements like bus shelters, expanded service, dedicated bus lanes, and electric buses.

How do you feel about this action?

6.Join the MassDOT Complete Streets Program

A “Complete Street” provides safe and accessible options for all travel modes—walking, biking, transit, and vehicles—for people of all ages and abilities. The program provides technical assistance and grant funding to improve infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists. It involves passing a Complete Streets policy, developing a prioritization plan, and applying for implementation funds.

How do you feel about this action?

7.Electrify the Municipal Fleet

Truro will develop a plan to transition town vehicles to electric, building on the Municipal Decarbonization Roadmap goals of 50% fleet electrification by 2030, 80% by 2040, and 100% by 2050. This includes integrating vehicle replacements into the Capital Improvement Plan and pursuing grant funding. Electric vehicles have lower operating and maintenance costs, which offset some of the upfront cost difference.

How do you feel about this action?

Buildings Actions

8.Promote Cape Light Compact Mass Save Programs

Cape Light Compact offers free home energy assessments, weatherization services, and heat pump incentives—but uptake has been limited. Truro will launch a community outreach campaign using word-of-mouth, climate cafes, neighbor-to-neighbor conversations, and testimonials from local leaders to increase participation.

How do you feel about this action?

9.Implement the Municipal Buildings Decarbonization Roadmap

Truro has committed to decarbonizing all municipal buildings by 2050. This involves hiring consultants to assess buildings, developing retrofit strategies, and phasing implementation over 15 years to align with building system replacement cycles and grant funding. The goal is to eliminate fossil fuel use in town buildings while reducing overall energy consumption.

How do you feel about this action?

10.Run a HeatSmart Campaign to Encourage Heat Pump Adoption

Truro would organize a campaign to help many residents install heat pumps together and negotiate group discounts on equipment and installation. Heat pumps are more efficient than oil or propane heating and can also provide air conditioning. HeatSmart is the name of this kind of bulk procurement campaign.

How do you feel about this action?

Energy Actions

11.Develop Solar Installations Beyond the Town Landfill

With the landfill solar project already approved at Town Meeting, Truro will analyze other potential sites for solar installation—including municipal building roofs, solar canopies over parking lots, and community-scale installations on town land. Local solar keeps energy dollars in the community and can provide revenue for the town.

How do you feel about this action?

Resilience Actions

12.Develop Resilience Hubs

A Resilience Hub is a community facility upgraded to serve two functions: (1) provide emergency shelter with backup power from solar and batteries, and (2) provide everyday benefits like food access, community meeting space, and social services. Truro has won a ~$260,000 state grant to plan hubs at the Library/Community Center and/or Truro Central School, with the goal of applying for construction funding by 2027.

How do you feel about this action?

13.Update the Hazard Mitigation Plan

A Hazard Mitigation Plan is required for FEMA funding eligibility and must be updated every five years. Truro’s current plan is from 2017 and is overdue for an update. The plan identifies risks from natural hazards like floods and storms and develops strategies to protect lives, homes, businesses, and infrastructure. For Truro that includes emergency planning, dune restoration, barrier beach management, culvert replacement, ecological restoration, and other coastal resilience actions.

How do you feel about this action?

14.Create a Food Resilience Plan

Truro imports the vast majority of its food, making us vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. A Food Resilience Plan would bring together farmers, gardeners, nonprofits, restaurants, and emergency managers to identify policies that support local food production and access. This could include community gardens, food preservation facilities, emergency food stockpiles using locally-produced goods, and support for organizations like Truro Community Kitchen and the Truro Food Pantry.

How do you feel about this action?

SECTION 4: YOUR IDEAS AND CONCERNS

15.What factors are most important to you when prioritizing climate action?

For example, you might consider cost, potential impact, equity, co-benefits in areas like health or housing, etc.

16.Are there other actions you think should be prioritized?

The full plan includes many more actions, but we can only focus on so much at a time. Are there other climate actions you think Truro should prioritize? If so, which of the actions above would you deprioritize to make room?

17.What concerns do you have?

Are there aspects of the plan or specific actions that worry you? What would you want addressed?

18.Anything else you’d like to share? (Optional)

SECTION 5: STAY INVOLVED (OPTIONAL)

19.Would you like to receive updates about the Climate Action & Resilience Plan?

Yes

No

20.Would you be willing to participate in a follow-up interview about your responses?

Yes

No

21.Would you be interested in volunteering on the implementation of this plan?

Yes, I'd like to help.

Maybe, tell me more.

No

22.Email Address (Optional, for updates only)

Thank you for taking the time to share your input. Your feedback will directly shape Truro’s climate priorities.

Survey responses will be compiled and summarized in the final draft Climate Action & Resilience Plan, which goes to the Select Board for approval in Spring 2026.

Truro Climate Action & Resilience Plan — Community Survey