Upper Midwest Freight Corridor Study

1
Upper Midwest Freight Corridor Study

• Research Team Meeting
• December 7 8, 2003
• Chicago, IL

2
Best Practices

• Planning Processes
• Look for and Define Elements of Freight Corridor
  Studies
• Develop Framework
• Identify Model for Cross-Jurisdictional
  Cooperation

3
Best Practices

• Planning Processes
• Questions to Build Framework
• Why did the study come into being?
• Where did funding come from?
• Who told them to do this work?
• How was the project organized?
• How were differences rectified?
• What are the common strategies?

4
Best Practices

• Corridor Study Review
• Web-Based Search
• Identify Relevant Corridor Studies
• Reduce the Quantity of Studies to Manageable
  Number
• Are Framework Questions Answered?
• Is Study Applicable to Midwest?
• TRB Review Board Comments
• Steering Committee Comments

5
Best Practices Freight Studies

• State Regional
• Minnesota Statewide Interregional Corridor Study
• Application of a Statewide Intermodal Freight
  Planning Methodology (VA)
• Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board (WA)
• Southern California Alliance of Governments
• International
• Latin America Trade and Transportation Study

• Multi-State Regional
• Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
• I-10 National Freight Study
• I-95 Corridor Coalition
• Midwest Regional Rail Initiative

6
Best Practices

• Current Status
• Finalize Studies to Review
• Comparison of Study Characteristics

7
Best Practices

• Next Step
• Identify Study Framework
• Model for Cross-Jurisdictional Cooperation
• Synthesis

8
Synthesis of Regional Freight Resources

• Organization Technology
• Used to store the resources as records in a
  database
• Format being tested currently at
  http//www.mrutc.org/doclib/index.php
• Issues with speed, but very robust

9
Synthesis of Regional Freight Resources

• The database will be available to the public via
  website
• Each record will include
• Title/Project
• Author (if applicable)
• Sponsoring Organization (if applicable)
• Link (if applicable)
• Short description
• Contact info

10
Synthesis of Regional Freight Resources

• Database of the following resources (with
  example(s))
• Cooperative freight planning efforts in the
  region (state freight plans, other corridor
  efforts, etc.)
• Research on freight transportation based in the
  region (work done at University of Manitoba,
  Northwestern, etc.)
• Freight news that impacts the region (CN to close
  intermodal terminals in Wisconsin)
• Freight transportation improvement projects that
  involve the public sector (UPS CACH facility,
  airport improvements, etc.)
• Research on freight transportation that could
  benefit the region, regardless of source or study
  (work done in UK to analyze the railways)

11
Synthesis of Regional Freight Resources

• Interviews
• Description Purpose Interviewing of regional
  stakeholders (mostly public agencies) in order to
  collect additional items of interest
• Timeline December 2003-March 2004
• Status 0
• Literature Search
• Description Purpose Mainly web search for
  relevant information to collect
• Timeline December 2003-March 2004
• Status 0

12
Synthesis of Regional Freight Resources

• Review/Future Options
• Description Have participants at next meeting
  review the collection and gather comments. Also
  research options to keep this asset viable after
  the study.
• Report
• Timeline March-August 2004

13
State Meetings

• Wisconsin (Oct), Minnesota (Nov), Ohio (Nov),
  Illinois (Nov), Indiana (Nov), Iowa (Dec)
• Overall impressions
• Passive support, reserved encouragement
• Several states would like this effort to move
  beyond this study
• This should not be treated as just another
  consultant study and get shelved.

14
State Meetings

• Common Themes
• Economic Development
• States rights, but willing to work together as a
  region
• Avoid duplication of work already done in this
  region (I-35, GCM)
• Inform and educate the executive level and the
  general public on the freight issue
• Show the impacts, compelling pictures
• Need to show rationale for working as a region