First and Last Mile Connectors

1. First and Last Mile Connectors Freight Advisory Committee Meeting #3 June 17, 2013 Ashley Probart Deputy Director Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board

2. First and Last Mile Connectors • Why identify them? • What laws exist? • What are they? • Where are they? • How are they funded? • What work has been done to date? • Freight Advisory Committee guidance

3. First and Last Mile Connectors Why identify them? • Congressional delegation has expressed interest • MAP-21 and Washington State Transportation Commission have emphasized system connectivity • Metropolitan Planning Organizations/Regional Transportation Planning Organizations look at system connectivity • Identified during the 2011/12 Connecting Washington Task Force • Identified as part of Washington State Rail Plan Advisory Committee outreach • Container Ports Land Use Group Study • Historic local interest (i.e. King County Valley Cities, Spokane, Spokane Valley)

4. Federal Law MAP-21 Section 1116.PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS TO IMPROVE FREIGHT MOVEMENT. (edited) (c) Eligible Projects- Eligible projects to improve the movement of freight under this section may include, but are not limited to-- (1) construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and operational improvements directly relating to improving freight movement; (2) intelligent transportation systems and other technology to improve the flow of freight; (3) efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of freight movement on the primary freight network; (4) railway-highway grade separation; (5) geometric improvements to interchanges and ramps. (6) truck-only lanes; (7) climbing and runaway truck lanes; (8) truck parking facilities eligible for funding under section 1401; (9) real-time traffic, truck parking, roadway condition, and multimodal transportation information systems; (10) improvements to freight intermodal connectors; and (11) improvements to truck bottlenecks.

5. Federal Law MAP-21 Section 1118. STATE FREIGHT PLANS. (edited) (a) In General- The Secretary shall encourage each State to develop a freight plan that provides a comprehensive plan for the immediate and long-range planning activities and investments of the State with respect to freight. (b) Plan Contents- A freight plan described in subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum-- (1) an identification of significant freight system trends, needs, and issues with respect to the State; (2) a description of the freight policies, strategies, and performance measures that will guide the freight-related transportation investment decisions of the State; (3) a description of how the plan will improve the ability of the State to meet the national freight goals established under section 167 of title 23, United States Code; (4) evidence of consideration of innovative technologies and operational strategies, including intelligent transportation systems, that improve the safety and efficiency of freight movement; (5) in the case of routes on which travel by heavy vehicles (including mining, agricultural, energy cargo or equipment, and timber vehicles) is projected to substantially deteriorate the condition of roadways, a description of improvements that may be required to reduce or impede the deterioration; and (6) an inventory of facilities with freight mobility issues, such as truck bottlenecks, within the State, and a description of the strategies the State is employing to address those freight mobility issues.

6. State Law Washington State Transportation Commission’s primary function is to: …….. “propose policies to be adopted by the governor and the legislature designed to assure the development and maintenance of a comprehensive and balanced statewide transportation system which will meet the needs of the people of this state…” (RCW 47.01.071)

7. State Law RCW 47.06A.010 Definitions. (Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board)Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter……     (6) "Strategic freight corridor" means a transportation corridor of great economic importance within an integrated freight system that:     (a) Serves international and domestic interstate and intrastate trade;     (b) Enhances the state's competitive position through regional and global gateways;     (c) Carries freight tonnages of at least:     (i) Four million gross tons annually on state highways, city streets, and county roads;     (ii) Five million gross tons annually on railroads; or     (iii) Two and one-half million net tons on waterways; and     (d) Has been designated a strategic corridor by the board under RCW 47.06A.020(3). However, new alignments to, realignments of, and new links to strategic corridors that enhance freight movement may qualify, even though no tonnage data exists for facilities to be built in the future.

8. State Law • Statewide multimodal transportation plan (RCW 47.06.040 ) • State owned (RCW 47.06.050) • State interest (RCW 47.06.043, 47.06.045, 47.06.060-.110) • State Freight Plan-(RCW 47.06.045) • Transportation facilities and services of statewide significance — Level of service standards (RCW 47.060.140) • Defines transportation facilities that are “state significant,” which also limits local GMA authority over these facilities: (freight examples): • Highways of statewide significance; • interstate highway system; • interregional state principal arterials including ferry connections that serve statewide travel; • major passenger intermodal terminals excluding all airport facilities and services; • the freight railroad system; • the Columbia/Snake navigable river system; • marine port facilities and services that are related solely to marine activities affecting international and interstate trade, key freight transportation corridors serving these marine port facilities;

9. State Law Heavy haul industrial corridors — Overweight sealed containers and vehicles. (RCW 46.44.0915) • Its very limited: ”…..the department of transportation, with respect to state highways maintained within port district property, may, at the request of a port commission, make and enter into agreements with port districts and adjacent jurisdictions or agencies of the districts, for the purpose of identifying, managing, and maintaining short heavy haul industrial corridors within port district property for the movement of overweight sealed containers used in international trade.” • SR 97 near the Canadian Border • SR 509 in Tacoma

10. First and Last Mile Connectors?

11. First and Last Mile Connectors What and where are they? Staff Findings: • No single definition, or series of definitions exist. • Access to port, rail yard, distribution centers or truck terminals is a common theme

12. First and Last Mile Connectors What has been done to date? Staff Findings: • Most Regions have identified “centers”, which can mean manufacturing centers, regional growth centers, etc. The definition varies widely. • FMSIB/WSDOT have freight corridor data.

13. First and Last Mile Connectors What has been done to date? (continued) Staff Findings: • WSDOT’s freight office is developing GIS layers that overlay freight routes with parcels that are classified as industrial, commercial, etc.: • To/from T-1 and T-2 routes, strategic US Defense facilities • Over dimensional truck freight routes connecting the state’s significant intermodal facilities to T-1, T-2 highway system • In urban areas: • To-and-from the Interstate system and the • Closest major airport with air freight service • Marine terminals, ports, barge loaders, and other intermodal facilities • Warehouse/industrial lands. • From high-volume urban freight intermodal facilities to either urban intermodal facilities, i.e. Port of Seattle to BNSF rail yard in Seattle • In rural areas: • To-and-from state freight hubs located within 5 miles of T-1 and T-2 highways • Agricultural processing centers • Distribution centers • Intermodal facilities • Industrial/commercial zoned land • Routes that carry 1 million tons during three months of the year (reflecting seasonality) of agricultural, timber, or other resource industry sector goods

14. First and Last Mile Connectors How are they funded? Staff Findings: • The Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board, and to a lesser extent, the Transportation Improvement Board and Community Economic Revitalization Board fund projects that would likely qualify as a first/last mile connector. • WSDOT may fund first/last mile connectors. • Metropolitan Planning Organizations/local governments fund projects that would likely qualify as a first/last mile connector.

15. First and Last Mile Connectors Next Steps: Freight Advisory Committee Guidance • June through August: • Work with FAC members, WSDOT and FMSIB, Ports, regional governments to develop a working definition of first and last mile connectors, including draft criteria. • Provide (representative) inventory at September meeting