Civic entrepreneur Herb Crowther, and representatives and
entrepreneurs from private companies, port authorities and other transportation
oriented economic development organizations come together during a 90
minute interactive discussion about freight-related sustainable
transportation opportunities. Shifting freight transport to rail and water can
improve freight mobility and reduce transportation costs while using cleaner
transportation modes. The purpose of the conversation is to raise the
community's consciousness of how much activity related to sustainable
transportation and freight mobility is already going on in Northeast Ohio, and
brainstorm strategies for leveraging collaboration and integrating
transportation initiatives to drive job creation and economic development.
Moderated
by Herb Crowther, Co-founder of TransTech, Northeast Ohio's transportation
technology economic development initiative.
Sweden's
Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications (Mistra) defines
Sustainable Transportation as the "socially and economically efficient,
long-term sustainable transport of people and goods." "A
sustainable mobility system should meet several goals simultaneously: it should
be economically efficient in its own right as well as contributing to the
overall economic efficiency of the society; it should be socially inclusive and
not leave large groups of the population without access to mobility; and it
should meet stringent environmental criteria."
Freight
volumes will grow dramatically in the years ahead. Adding lanes of
highway will have little impact on mitigating the predicted gridlock, but
entrepreneurial, innovative intermodal solutions can reduce road congestion and
conserve energy while creating economic benefits throughout the region.
Northeast Ohio can strengthen its position as a gateway to global trade by
developing and managing the region's transportation infrastructure as a dynamic
system, developing strategically located intermodal facilities, and promoting
the region's transportation and logistics cluster.
This can
improve attraction, retention and expansion of manufacturing and distribution
facilities and improve mobility and air quality for the region's
residents. Freight revenue can significantly improve the financial
feasibility of the proposed lake ferry to Canada and rail systems (e.g.
overnight parcel service) aimed at improving passenger mobility.
Container deconsolidation and hybrid warehousing operations that combine
product assembly, order fulfillment and distribution can co-locate in
state-of-the-art freight villages and logistics parks. These developments
will bring jobs and opportunity to brownfield sites having rail sidings and
proximity to highways, maritime facilities and airports, and will promote sustainable
compact land use.
Initiatives
and Panelists include:
· Ferry to Canada: Stephen Pfeiffer/Maritime
Director, Port of Cleveland. Following extensive research, the Port of
Cleveland awarded a contract to Dutch ferry operator Royal Wagenborg to develop
and operate a for-profit freight and passenger ferry service between Cleveland
and Canada. With two (or in peak season potentially three) round trips
per day, 800 trips per year could carry up to 400,000 cars and 80,000 trucks per
year. As reported in Logistics Today, in Europe 41% of ton-kilometer
cargo movements is transported by short sea shipping compared to 43% by road
transport. Modeled on best practice in Europe, this short sea shipping
corridor will enhance NAFTA trade with Ohio's largest international trading
partner and create freight, transit and tourism related land side development
opportunities in Northeast Ohio. The Port's research found that
reliability, on-board customs processing and other direct cost savings were the
primary considerations for prospective freight customers.
· Ohio Rail Hub: Don
Damron AICP/State Rail Planner, Ohio Rail Development Commission.
The ORDC's mission is to plan, promote and implement the improved movement of
goods and people faster and safer on a rail transportation network connecting
Ohio to the nation and the world. Its mission is accomplished through a
coordinated freight and passenger rail system which is an integral part of a
seamless, intermodal transportation network contributing to Ohio's quality of
life and economic development. The ODRC is actively pursuing the
development of the Ohio & Lake Erie Regional Rail Hub Plan. The Ohio Hub
Plan calls for an 860-mile network of high-speed passenger trains in system
that grows from Ohio's 3-C Corridor (Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati) and acts as
the spine for other potential corridors connecting Ohio with Chicago, Toronto,
Detroit, Pittsburgh and New York. It proposes up to eight trains a day
providing a fast, frequent and cost-effective travel option that connects
people with major downtown centers, international airports, and suburban areas
with access to interstate highways as well as major sports, arts and
entertainment attractions.
· Ohio River Cargo Port:
Tracy Drake/Executive Director, Columbiana Port Authority. Conceived as a
transshipment facility for regional industry to promote economic development
and as a multimodal transportation logistics nexus for national distribution
purposes, the 70-acre Columbiana Intermodal Industrial Park in Wellsville Ohio
(with 800 additional developable acres) is located at the northernmost point of
the Ohio River. Flowing south to the Mississippi River, New Orleans and the
Gulf of Mexico, the Ohio River carries 250 million tons of cargo per year.
(More cargo than the Panama Canal.) The Intermodal Park is developing
facilities to transfer bulk and container cargo between the river port, the
Norfolk and Southern Railroad yard (serving its dual mainline track between the
East Coast and Chicago), and truck facilities. It has direct access to
four-lane State Route 7, connecting to routes I-70 and I-76/80 40 miles
away. Located in Foreign Trade Zone #181, U.S. Customs processing of
international cargo containers is processed on site and Empowerment Zone status
provides additional development incentives.
· Transit
Entrepreneurism: Bob Foraker/Industrial Relations Director, XGEM. XGEM
and related companies are involved in a variety of innovative public transit
system and hybrid electric vehicle initiatives in Northeast Ohio and
nationally. XGEM is seeking demonstration sites for its Hybrid Transit
Technology Project (HttP(tm)) and associated automated trolley system.
· Global Freight
Mobility Trends: Perry Trunick/Executive Editor, Logistics Today.
Published by Penton, Logistics Today is the Supply Chain Management industry's
flagship publication with a monthly circulation of over 85,000 subscribers and
growing. The magazine and its logisticstoday.com website explore the
news, trends, and issues that are vital to the understanding, selection,
acquisition and deployment of logistics and supply chain solutions world wide.
Time & Place: Tuesday, December 14, 4 P.M. to 5:45 P.M., Peter
B. Lewis Building, Room 401
Admission: Free & Open to the public
Parking: Campus Center Garage, entrance adjacent to Severance Hall
on East Blvd, $1.00/per 30 minutes. Metered parking may also be available on
the street.
Join us weekly to discuss innovation happening here and in other
regions across the country. We'll talk together about best practices, lessons
learned and how we can apply new ideas to build a prosperous, globally
competitive, Northeast Ohio.
Regional Economics Action Links North East Ohio
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