National Academies Press: OpenBook
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2007. Guidebook for Freight Policy, Planning, and Programming in Small- and Medium-Sized Metropolitan Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14036.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2007. Guidebook for Freight Policy, Planning, and Programming in Small- and Medium-Sized Metropolitan Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14036.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2007. Guidebook for Freight Policy, Planning, and Programming in Small- and Medium-Sized Metropolitan Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14036.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2007. Guidebook for Freight Policy, Planning, and Programming in Small- and Medium-Sized Metropolitan Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14036.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2007. Guidebook for Freight Policy, Planning, and Programming in Small- and Medium-Sized Metropolitan Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14036.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2007. Guidebook for Freight Policy, Planning, and Programming in Small- and Medium-Sized Metropolitan Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14036.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2007. Guidebook for Freight Policy, Planning, and Programming in Small- and Medium-Sized Metropolitan Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14036.
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TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2007 www.TRB.org N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP REPORT 570 Subject Areas Planning and Administration • Design • Operations and Safety • Rail • Freight Transportation Guidebook for Freight Policy, Planning, and Programming in Small- and Medium-Sized Metropolitan Areas CAMBRIDGE SYSTEMATICS, INC. Cambridge, MA W I T H TRANSMANAGEMENT, INC. Bethesda, MD TRANSTECH MANAGEMENT, INC. Greensboro, NC A N D KEVIN HEANUE Alexandria, VA Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective approach to the solution of many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program employing modern scientific techniques. This program is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of the Association and it receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies was requested by the Association to administer the research program because of the Board’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this purpose as it maintains an extensive committee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; its relationship to the National Research Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains a full-time research correlation staff of specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those who are in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators of the highway and transportation departments and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific areas of research needs to be included in the program are proposed to the National Research Council and the Board by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Research projects to fulfill these needs are defined by the Board, and qualified research agencies are selected from those that have submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Research Council and the Transportation Research Board. The needs for highway research are many, and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement rather than to substitute for or duplicate other highway research programs. Published reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at: http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America NCHRP REPORT 570 Project 8-47 ISSN 0077-5614 ISBN 978-0-309-09873-1 Library of Congress Control Number 2007921916 © 2007 Transportation Research Board COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Board’s judgment that the program concerned is of national importance and appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council. The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research, and, while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical committee, they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical committee according to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the individual states participating in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report.

CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 570 Robert J. Reilly, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Crawford F. Jencks, Manager, NCHRP Ronald D. McCready, Senior Program Officer Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Kami Cabral, Editor Ellen Chafee, Assistant Editor NCHRP PROJECT 8-47 PANEL Field of Transportation Planning—Area of Forecasting Steven R. Kale, Oregon DOT (Chair) John A. Barton, Texas DOT Michael W. Gray, Virginia DOT Richard A. Nordahl, California DOT G. Wayne Parrish, Mississippi DOT Joel R. Phillips, Colorado DOT Jolanda P. Prozzi, University of Texas—Austin Suzann Rhodes, Wilbur Smith Associates, Prospect, OH Thomas TenEyck, Pennsylvania DOT Eloise Freeman-Powell, FHWA Liaison Elaine King, TRB Liaison AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Guidebook presented in this document was developed through NCHRP Project 8-47, led by Cam- bridge Systematics, Inc. Michael T. Williamson of Cambridge Systematics was the Principal Investigator and primary author. He was responsible for development of the technical approach, the data collection activities, and the Guidebook. He was supported by several key experts. Michael Fischer of Cambridge Sys- tematics served as the Principal in Charge, providing high-level guidance and advice to the project. James Brogan of Cambridge Systematics led development of the case studies and was a key contributor to the Guidebook development. Sarah Campbell of TransManagement, Inc., contributed to the development of case studies. Henry Canipe of TransTech Management, Inc., provided expertise in public/private partner- ships and industry outreach. Kevin Heanue, an independent consultant, contributed to the development of the self-assessment exercise and provided overall insight to the project. C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S

This guidebook provides the necessary resources to undertake freight transportation planning activities in small- and medium-sized metropolitan areas. This guidebook should be especially useful to small- and medium-sized Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), as well as their state and federal partners, as they work to effectively integrate freight into local and regional transportation systems planning, priority programming, and project development planning activities. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and the Trans- portation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) emphasized the need for state and met- ropolitan multimodal and intermodal transportation policy, planning, and programming activities—including identification of specific freight transportation activities. Results of successful freight programs in some of the nation’s larger metropolitan areas have been pre- sented at meetings and in publications of federal agencies, the Transportation Research Board, and other organizations. However, information about freight policy, planning, and programming activities in small-sized (less than 200,000 population) and medium-sized (200,000 to 1 million population) MPOs is more limited. Thus, there has been an ongoing need to systematically collect better information about freight programming activities in small- and medium-sized metropolitan areas, including freight movement on main trans- portation routes, intermodal connectors, and intermodal facilities and terminals. To support a better understanding of freight transportation, research is needed to (1) examine and analyze how state departments of transportation (DOTs) and MPOs are carrying out freight policy, planning, and programming activities; and (2) develop rec- ommended approaches for improving methods and processes aimed at defined freight objectives for small- and medium-sized metropolitan areas. The objective of this project was to develop a guidebook that can be used by practitioners and decision-makers to address freight issues in small- and medium-sized metropolitan areas. The guidebook describes how freight policy, planning, and programming processes can be most effec- tively designed, initiated, and managed. The research focused, in part, on lessons learned from experiences in small- and medium-sized metropolitan areas that resulted in more effective consideration of freight issues in policy, planning, and programming decisions. Under NCHRP Project 8-47, “Guidebook for Freight Policy, Planning, and Program- ming in Small- and Mid-Sized Metropolitan Areas,” a research team lead by Cambridge Sys- tematics, Inc., carried out a comprehensive investigation into current and effective practices for considering freight in the policy, planning, priority programming, and project develop- ment activities undertaken in small- and medium-sized metropolitan areas. The project resulted in a practical handbook designed to provide users with substantial information to F O R E W O R D By Ronald D. McCready Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

develop and tailor freight planning within the transportation planning processes of these metropolitan areas. The guidebook includes : (1) an introduction providing a brief back- ground on the importance of freight transportation planning for small- and medium-sized metropolitan areas; (2) instructions for the effective use of the guidebook; (3) a “Getting Started” module with a self-assessment exercise, evaluation steps to assess the nature of freight planning in the area, and identification of the appropriate mix of activities that can best achieve freight planning goals in the area; (4) specific guidance to stimulate freight pol- icy, planning, and programming activities within established MPO program functions, including long-range planning, transportation improvement programming, and unified planning work program development; (5) a comprehensive list of sequential steps that can be taken to establish an effective freight transportation planning program; and, (6) a freight reference module that includes data and analytical tools, training resources, case studies, available freight research, and freight glossary references. The guidebook should be of sig- nificant use to managers, practitioners, and decision-makers interested in addressing freight within the planning processes of small- and medium-sized metropolitan areas.

1 Introduction 1 Background 2 Purpose 2 Approach 1-1 Module 1 Using the Guidebook 1-1 Who Should Use This Guidebook? 1-1 How Should the Guidebook Be Used? 2-1 Module 2 Getting Started 2-1 Step 1. Freight Self-Assessment 2-3 Step 2. Definition of Your Freight Planning Program Stage 2-4 Step 3. Identification of Program Elements and Freight Planning Guidelines 3-1 Module 3 Integrating Freight into MPO Activities 3-2 Overview of Freight Policy, Planning, and Programming Guidelines 3-2 Developing a Freight Policy Directive 3-7 Developing a Regional Freight Profile 3-13 Identifying Freight Needs and Deficiencies 3-18 Developing a Freight Element of a Long-Range Plan 3-24 Identifying Freight Projects 3-28 Addressing Freight in Corridor Plans and Studies 3-32 Developing Freight Project Evaluation Criteria 3-36 Developing Freight Performance Measures 3-40 Identifying Innovative Funding and Financing Techniques 3-45 Assessing Freight Project Impacts 3-50 Data and Analytical Tools 3-55 Training and Education 3-59 Outreach and Partnerships 4-1 Module 4 Putting It All Together 5-1 Module 5 Identifying Freight Resources 5-3 Resources Available through FHWA’s Freight Professional Development Program 5-7 Freight-Related Databases in the United States, Canada, and Mexico 5-21 Current Federal Funding and Financing Programs for Freight Improvements 5-25 Case Studies 5-27 Small/Medium MPO Case Studies 5-87 Large MPO Freight Planning Case Studies 5-111 Freight Glossary References C O N T E N T S

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TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 570: Guidebook for Freight Policy, Planning, and Programming in Small- and Medium-Sized Metropolitan Areas explores how freight policy, planning, and programming processes can be most effectively designed, initiated, and managed in metropolitan areas of these sizes. The report examines lessons learned from experiences in small- and medium-sized metropolitan areas that resulted in more effective consideration of freight issues in policy, planning, and programming decisions.

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