Regional Freight Planning in Baltimore Jocelyn Jones Baltimore Metropolitan Council 410/ , x1049 March 21, 2001

Overview About Baltimore Freight Movement Task Force Useful Resources

About Baltimore Five counties & Baltimore City Major interstates: I-70, I-95, I-83 Port of Baltimore (POB) BWI Airport Railroads: CSX, NS, shortlines

Freight Movement Task Force Established in 1994 Incorporates freight issues into the MPO planning process Four meetings per year Private sector chair & vice-chair

Task Force Fact Sheet

Recent Meeting Topics Airport: air cargo & passenger growth, Fed Ex tour Port: dredging, terminal operations Rail: Conrail merger, state rail plan Consultant perspective on international & regional issues Woodrow Wilson Bridge status

Task Force Activities Operational Focus Truck Parking Subcommittee Freight Trends Intermodal Connectors

Truck Parking Subcommittee Safety issue: Trucks park along highway shoulders and vehicles occasionally run into the back of them. Is there a need for more truck parking spaces along I-95?

Major participants: state police, private truck stop operators (TSOs), two truck associations, MD DOT & modal administrations Key point: subcommittee chair had relationships with chair of TSO council and state police Truck Parking Subcommittee (cont’d)

Information collected: Interviews with TSOs revealed that spaces are available TSOs identified spaces available at various times of day State police identified where trucks park on shoulders

Truck Parking Subcommittee (cont’d) Information collected (cont’d): Many big signs advertise rest areas, few little signs advertise TSOs State’s truckers map was outdated, difficult to get, & cost $1

Truck Parking Subcommittee (cont’d) Recommendations: New signs related to truck stops Revise truckers map, improve distribution, & offer for free Review enforcement practices, if no change takes place

Freight Trends

Intermodal Connectors March Workshop to identify potential improvements on connectors and other local roads Invitees: truck, rail, port, air cargo, econ. dev., & public works reps; intermodal terminal mgrs; logistics mgrs; TSOs

Intermodal Connectors Participants are asked to identify improvements in advance of workshop, develop prioritization criteria, encouraged to participate in site visits Improvements on intermodal connectors are reviewed by consultant, local public works to review others

Useful Resources Connect with peers: mailing lists, attend meetings Publications: Traffic World, modal newsletters/magazines Other Groups: Council of Logistics Management, Traffic Club Site Visits Training: Building the Partnership