Integrating Freight into Transportation Planning and Project-Selection Processes (2007)

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NCHRP Project 8-53 – Integrating Freight into Transportation Planning and Project-Selection Processes 1.0 Introduction Over the last decade, the incorporation of freight issues into the transportation planning activities of state departments of transportation (DOT) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) has received significant focus from Federal transportation agencies and entities, business and industry leaders, and other key stakeholders. This enhanced focus on integrating freight issues within existing statewide and metropolitan transportation planning processes has been driven by several factors, including: • Federal surface transportation legislation, beginning with the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, which first emphasized freight as a factor to consider in the transportation planning process. The importance of incorporating freight issues within metropolitan and statewide planning efforts was further emphasized in the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21) and again most recently with the passage of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). • Recognition by business and community leaders that efficient freight transportation is a key factor in statewide and metropolitan economic competitiveness and vitality and an important consideration in business attraction and retention decisions. • Continued globalization and an increasing reliance on international trade, which has heightened the importance of a safe, reliable, and secure transportation system and placed increased pressure on already strained infrastructure. • Acknowledgment from private industry that public investments will be considered – and in many cases required – to meet increasing freight demands. In response to these and other influences, Federal, state, and local transportation planning agencies have begun to focus attention and resources on developing and refining freight planning programs and on more effectively incorporating freight into existing transportation planning activities. Federal agencies and other entities, including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) have designed, developed, and delivered a range of resources designed to help freight planning practitioners and transportation decision-makers better understand the issues and trends affecting freight movements; how those trends affect statewide and local transportation systems and economic development efforts; and how freight interests can be better integrated into existing transportation planning programs. Programs such as the “Talking Freight” Seminar Series, National Highway Institute (NHI) training courses, the FHWA Freight Professional Development Program, and other efforts have helped advance the level of freight knowledge among state Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 1-1

NCHRP Project 8-53 – Integrating Freight into Transportation Planning and Project-Selection Processes DOT and MPO technical staff and provide them with the resources to better incorporate freight issues within the planning process. Many states and MPOs have taken advantage of these resources and have begun to conduct successful planning activities and incorporate freight into traditional transportation planning programs and processes, particularly long-range plans. In fact, 84 percent of MPO respondents to a recent FHWA survey reported including freight issues in their most recent long-range transportation plans.1 There are many examples of MPOs that have embraced freight planning by looking at local freight flow patterns and trends and reaching out to the freight community for advice and guidance on developing freight transportation improvements. Incorporation of freight issues into statewide long- range plans also is common. An analysis of 48 long-range statewide transportation plans revealed that each had addressed freight transportation at some level2 and many states have begun to build statewide pictures of freight movement and link freight policy and transportation investments more closely to state economic development goals. But while the inclusion of freight in long-range planning activities has helped raise the profile of freight and emphasize the importance of incorporating freight into statewide and metropolitan transportation planning programs, many state DOTs and MPOs still find it difficult to program, develop, and implement projects that benefit freight movements. Even in states and MPOs where freight is addressed within long-range planning documents, freight issues are not often translated into actual freight improvement projects that appear in Transportation Improvement Programs (TIP) and Statewide Transportation Improvement Programs (STIPs), making it difficult for freight issues to receive equal consideration in the establishment of priorities and the programming of funds. And while there are several resources available to states and MPOs to help them generally incorporate freight issues into their planning activities, there is little specific guidance to assist states and MPOs in effectively translating the general discussions of freight in long-range plans or stand-alone freight studies into actual freight programs and projects that can be programmed, developed, and implemented. Providing guidance on programming, developing, and implementing freight improvement projects within the traditional transportation planning process will allow freight issues to become mainstreamed within that process, allowing states and MPOs to address transportation needs more comprehensively. This project was designed to provide states and MPOs with techniques to more fully incorporate freight throughout the entire transportation planning and programming process and more effectively plan, develop, program, and implement freight improvement projects. This Final Project Report documents the approach and findings resulting from this project. A separate Freight Planning and Programming Guidebook has been produced which organizes the findings and recommendations of the project into a user-oriented 1 Freight Planning at States and MPOs: An Analysis of FHWA Freight Activity Surveys, FHWA, 2001. 2 Evaluation of Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plans, FHWA and Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, 2002. 1-2 Cambridge Systematics, Inc.

NCHRP Project 8-53 – Integrating Freight into Transportation Planning and Project-Selection Processes guidebook format. The Guidebook also includes the full set of case studies developed as part of the project. The final Freight Planning and Programming Guidebook will be a key resource to freight planning practitioners and other stakeholders, allowing states and MPOs to successfully incorporate freight into existing transportation planning processes and then program and deliver freight projects. „ 1.1 Purpose of This Project The goal of this project was to develop a guidebook that will assist state DOTs and MPOs integrate freight into their transportation planning and programming processes. The Guidebook focuses specifically on project development and implementation issues that have not been fully explored by other freight planning initiatives conducted to date. These include identification and dissemination of best practices, and development of specific guidance to improve the programming, development, and implementation of freight improvement projects at state DOTs and MPOs. The project had three key objectives: 1. Identify practices, procedures, and processes that can be used by state DOTs, MPOs, and other transportation planning agencies to more effectively incorporate freight needs across all modes into the transportation planning and programming process, focusing specifically on programming and delivery of freight improvement projects. These practices, procedures, and processes are practical in nature and were derived from (but not limited to) methods being used today by freight planning practitioners in the field. 2. Develop a guidebook based on the identified best practices, procedures, and processes for use by state DOTs, MPOs, and other transportation planning agencies to effectively integrate freight into existing planning, programming, and implementation processes. The best practices cover a wide range of DOT and MPO functions, including funding and financing of freight improvement projects; development of data and tools to identify potential projects and evaluate them for inclusion in a TIP or STIP; and creation of public-private partnerships to facilitate the development, funding, and delivery of freight improvement projects. The best practices presented in the Guidebook are illustrated with case studies wherever possible. The Freight Planning and Programming Guidebook was designed to be used in conjunction with existing freight planning resources previously developed by FHWA and NCHRP. This Guidebook, when used in conjunction with these other resources, will help states and MPOs mainstream freight issues within all elements of a transportation planning program. 3. Develop an outreach program to promote the methods and processes for freight planning and programming that were developed and documented in the Guidebook. The marketing plan for the materials made maximum use of conventional means of dissemination (direct mail flyers, presentations at major transportation planning Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 1-3

NCHRP Project 8-53 – Integrating Freight into Transportation Planning and Project-Selection Processes conferences) as well as more cutting-edge methods (web-based distribution, on-line links to information sources). „ 1.2 Approach To effectively meet the goals and objectives of this project, a detailed approach was prepared. This approach consists of seven distinct tasks and is the result of extensive coordination with the NCHRP 8-53 Project Panel. This section presents a high-level description of the major activities undertaken as part of this project. A detailed description of the work plan is included as Appendix A Task 1 – Review Existing Freight Planning and Programming Activities. The objective of this task was to review all available literature relating to the freight planning and programming methods of states and MPOs. This literature review specifically focused on the freight programming methods of states and MPOs, including the development of public-private partnerships to identify, fund, and implement freight-specific improvement projects and the development and use of criteria and other tools to evaluate potential freight improvement projects for inclusion in TIPs and STIPs. Task 2 – Document Successful Freight Planning and Programming Practices. The objective of this task was to document successful freight planning and programming practices of states and MPOs by developing detailed case studies based on the findings of Task 1. Interviews with public and private sector stakeholders involved in developing, programming, and implementing freight improvement projects allowed the expansion on information collected as part of the literature review. These interviews provided a better understanding of the challenges faced by states and MPOs in programming freight improvement projects and allowed the project team to identify the critical success factors that could be useful to other states and MPOs in conducting freight planning and programming activities. A list of interviewees is provided in Appendix B and the interview guide is provided in Appendix C. Task 3 – Develop Recommended Practices, Processes, and Procedures. The objective of this task was to develop recommended practices, processes, and procedures to guide freight planning and programming at states and MPOs, focusing on translating the general discussions of freight in long-range plans and other planning documents into actual freight improvement projects that can be developed, programmed, and implemented. The recommendations have been presented in such a way as to allow states and MPOs to mainstream freight issues throughout their transportation planning processes. This task included development of a proposed guidebook framework to incorporate freight issues and projects into traditional transportation planning and programming processes. Task 4 – Develop Interim Report. The objective of this task was to compile the results of the first three tasks into an interim report that documents the best freight planning and programming practices of states and MPOs. This included documentation of existing data 1-4 Cambridge Systematics, Inc.

NCHRP Project 8-53 – Integrating Freight into Transportation Planning and Project-Selection Processes and information, identification of best practices for statewide and metropolitan freight planning and programming, and the development of recommended practices, processes, and procedures. Task 5 – Prepare Outreach Plan. The objective of the outreach effort was to obtain input and feedback from the freight planning community regarding the content, organization, and presentation format of the guidebook. Specifically, the project team sought input on the following topics: the general organizational structure of the guidebook; the validity of the best practices and their applicability to other states and MPOs; and how effectively the information in the Guidebook is presented. The Outreach Plan for the project is provided in Appendix D. Task 6 – Conduct Outreach Sessions. The objective of this task was to conduct outreach activities and obtain input on the format and content of the Guidebook. This input was synthesized and used to finalize the Guidebook as part of Task 7. Task 7 – Prepare Final Guidebook. The objective of this task was to prepare the final Freight Planning and Programming Guidebook in a suitable format for ongoing use by statewide and metropolitan freight planners. The Guidebook provides a “how-to” approach for effective freight planning and programming supplemented with case study examples to demonstrate different approaches that states and MPOs can take to more effectively incorporate freight into transportation planning and programming activities. „ 1.3 Organization of This Report This Final Project Report provides a summary of the approach and key findings of the research effort. The remaining sections of this report are organized as follows: • Section 2.0, Transportation Planning and Programming at States and MPOs – This section presents an overview of the transportation planning and programming process and identifies the key challenges faced by states and MPOs as they integrate freight within that process. • Section 3.0, Summary of Current Practices – This section describes the approach used to conduct case studies and presents a summary of current freight planning and programming practices of states and MPOs. These practices were used to develop the recommended practices, processes, and procedures described in Section 4.0. • Section 4.0, Recommended Practices, Processes, and Procedures – This section presents recommendations for successful practices, processes, and procedures based on interview results, identified best practices, and team expertise. Recommendations to guide freight planning and programming at states and MPOs are organized around the individual phases of the transportation planning process (i.e., needs identification, plan development, project programming, and project development and Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 1-5

NCHRP Project 8-53 – Integrating Freight into Transportation Planning and Project-Selection Processes implementation). These practices, processes, and procedures were used to develop the Freight Planning and Programming Guidebook. • Section 5.0, Development of the Freight Planning and Programming Guidebook – This section describes the approach for developing the Freight Planning and Programming Guidebook. • Section 6.0, Suggested Topics for Further Research – This section describes future freight research areas that NCHRP may wish to consider. 1-6 Cambridge Systematics, Inc.