Transport Chicago focuses on freight

Chicago’s freight congestion problems were given top billing at the annual Transport Chicago convention in June, and key members of Business Leaders for Transportation — including MPC President MarySue Barrett — were on hand to discuss the solutions.

June 13, 2003

The importance of solving Chicago’s freight congestion issues was given recognition at the Transport Chicago Annual Mobility Conference, which devoted its main panel discussion to the topic. Key members of Business Leaders for Transportation addressed Chicago’s transportation community about the solutions now being considered, offering a preview of the Chicago-area rail plan just announced this past week.

An annual gathering that brings together experts from Chicago’s universities, consulting firms and government agencies, Transport Chicago was held June 6 on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago. The all-day event, attended by more than 200 people, featured a morning plenary on transportation and public health; more than 30 short presentations from area students, planners and transportation decision-makers; and a centerpiece luncheon panel on freight.

MPC President MarySue Barrett began the freight panel with an overview of the current situation in Chicago, highlighting many of the issues brought to light by Business Leaders’ 2002 report, Critical Cargo: A Regional Freight Action Agenda . Business Leaders for Transportation is continuing to work with regional leaders like U.S. Rep. William Lipinski (D-Ill.) to establish guaranteed rail infrastructure funding that recognizes the importance of improving efficiency in the Chicago region. As the main hub of U.S. freight, Barrett noted that it is important to remember that funding a plan to increase freight efficiency will not only spur regional economic development and ease roadway congestion, it will improve the freight system for the entire nation, a key argument at the federal level.

Paul Nowicki from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, a Business Leaders for Transportation member, outlined the rail industry’s perspective, noting that even though rail hauls 40 percent of the nation's ton-miles of freight — more than any other mode — its infrastructure receives no public subsidy. This has lead to a situation where the need for rail infrastructure updates is critical, and Nowicki called for increased public investment in rail infrastructure to achieve better “modal equity” in transportation spending.

Likewise, Steve Schlickman of Schlickman & Associates, also a Business Leaders member, agreed that there continues to be an urgent need for increased public investment in rail infrastructure, and called for a federal program to be established that would be funded by various revenue sources. Schlickmann noted that a group of transportation organizations from around the country had joined to form Rail Advocates for Infrastructure Legislation (RAIL), and was working to gain support for such a funding mechanism at the federal level. Meanwhile, back in the Chicago region, all three panelists mentioned looking forward to the implementation of the new, coordinated Chicago-region action plan that would outline the critical infrastructure improvements needed.

In the conference's opening session earlier in the day, Lawrence Frank, principal investigator of the SMARTRAQ project in Atlanta, described the links between land use, transportation design and public health. The project used data from the 13-county Atlanta area to examine how areas developed in the past few decades — with patterns that serve cars best and are not conducive to walking trips — have a much higher incidence of obesity.

With problems related to physical inactivity growing in the United States, such research strengthens the argument that transportation investments and development patterns have a direct effect on social health. In addition, recent SMARTRAQ surveys reveal an underserved desire for housing in affordable, mixed-use neighborhoods. As such ideas are proven through rigorous analysis, Frank suggested that it provides more ammunition for public policymakers considering strong measures for curbing auto-dependent development. To find out more about the SMARTRAQ project and its findings, visit www.smartraq.net.

For more information about the Transport Chicago conference, Business Leaders for Transportation or RAIL, contact Karyn Romano, transportation director, at 312.863.6005.