Title
Regional Freight Plan - Interim Update
Kenneth Withrow/MPO Staff
Body
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, in cooperation with the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHCMPO), and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has hired the consultant services of Parsons Brinckerhoff to develop a Regional Freight Plan for the Triangle region. The study is jointly funded by the agencies as mentioned above. The partnership recognizes the importance and need for these agencies to jointly address freight issues in the region. The purpose of the plan is threefold:
• To conduct a comprehensive regional study of freight, goods movement, and services mobility needs;
• To develop a framework to proactively address freight and goods movement mobility needs and challenges in our region; and
• To examine all modes of a freight transportation system with emphasis on trucks, rail and air cargo and to develop freight recommendations for the 2045 joint Metropolitan Transportation Plan.
It is envisioned that the proposed plan will guide freight investments in a manner that supports the region’s goals for safety, social equity, economic productivity, sustainability, and livable communities. The consultant team has worked with key private- and public-sector stakeholders to create a Regional Freight Advisory Committee throughout the study process. The Regional Freight Stakeholder Advisory Council (RFSAC), as it is formerly called; met on Thursday, September 22, 2016. Also, the Triangle Regional Freight Plan Steering Committee, which includes the staff from the funding partners, the consultant team project manager and consultant team members, as well as other regional staff chosen for their subject-matter expertise met on September 22 following the Advisory Council meeting. Issues discussed at both meetings included: (1) a Freight Future Conditions Assessment for the Triangle, (2) a review of regional Freight Strategic Corridors for the proposed Triangle Freight Network, and (3) a review of proposed Logistics Clusters and Development Zones.
The actions that are needed from staff and TCC members following the Steering Committee meeting include:
• Reviewing maps showing the proposed nonresidential economic development zones, and
• Reviewing maps or GIS files of the proposed freight network.
CAMPO staff will send out an email following the TCC meeting to set up sessions (either group or individual sessions) with TCC members to review the proposed economic development zones and freight network through their jurisdictions.
Requested Action: Action inReceive as Information