nymtc regional freight plan - New York Metropolitan Transportation ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

A Freight Plan for the NYMTC Region both of which use highway bridge and tunnel tolls to cross-subsidize public transportation and other activities. Tolls can also serve an important function in facility traffic management. Many innovations in toll policies have occurred in the region during the past decade including variable pricing by time of day, vehicle class, and use of E-ZPass transponders. These policies have resulted, for example, in shifting some truck traffic out of the peak periods. The creative adaptation of toll policy continues to hold promise as a major source of funding for all types of transportation investment in the region. A regional study should be initiated to consider a wide menu of tolling and financing options. The region already is unique in its reliance on vehicular toll revenues, not only to financing crossings and major highways, but to provide cross-subsidy to transit and other transportation facilities that balance demand and maintain mobility on the regional transportation network. Toll authorities in most instances rely on this source as the primary means of operating and maintaining the tolled facilities. Pooling of toll revenues with other resources provides a major source of support for existing PANYNJ and MTA capital programs. Additional use of this mechanism is a potential means to broaden the resources available for highway, rail, and other transportation improvements that would benefit regional goods movement. Toll structure refinements for different facilities and vehicle classes may also support other network management programs. Priorities for allocating this limited capital resource, and issues of equity among users and affected communities, would present a challenge in attempting to increase the region’s reliance on toll financing for transportation improvements. • Rail User Fees – Shippers using rail or the railroads themselves could be assessed a surcharge (which they may or may not chose to pass on to customers). The advantage of this approach is that the beneficiaries of the investments would help to pay for them. The disadvantages are that the railroads are relatively under capitalized corporations and are reluctant to pay for major infrastructure improvements; the use of privately operated facilities by competing carriers would need to be addressed; and increasing the cost of rail shipment would discourage the very effect it is trying to achieve – increasing rail mode share. • Private Development of Facilities – The greatest potential for private contributions probably lies in the development of yards and terminals that could be operated essentially as “shared asset facilities” for the benefit of all users, much on the model of the remaining Conrail facilities in the region. Anchor tenants (large shippers/receivers) who would be prime beneficiaries of a specific yard development could be contributors. Railroads or intermodal marketing companies also could be financial participants. • Special Purpose Needs – A variety of special purpose shippers in the region might benefit from enhanced freight transportation and could be potential contributors. One is the NYC Department of Sanitation (NYCDOS), which faces tremendous costs in shipping municipal solid waste out of the region. Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 7-7
A Freight Plan for the NYMTC Region • New York State’s Multimodal Program and Industrial Access Program – The Multimodal program was enacted in 1996 with an authorization of $350 million over four years. This fund has been primarily used for small projects of $1 million or less. For example, the fund recently provided one million dollars to the Noco Energy Corporation to expand its rail terminal in Towanda, New York. The Industrial Access Program provides no interest loans for road or rail access to industrial or commercial sites. One of the criteria for project selection is employment generation. Other proposals to improve public funding of freight projects have been advanced over the last few years, including special regional infrastructure banks for freight projects that have benefits beyond a single state, and tax credit bonds to finance a competitive or formula-driven list of projects. • 7.4 Recommendations The foregoing analysis has demonstrated the need for setting priorities and making choices within and across funding categories and modes – highways and rail, passenger and freight. It is highly unlikely that all of the major transportation investments currently being studied in the region will be funded in the next round of Federal transportation authorization, or beyond in the coming decades. This study has attempted to identify projects that would be most beneficial to freight movement in the region, and to chart a path forward for decision-makers. If the region cannot agree upon a shared agenda for transportation investment, it will lose out in the competition with other regions for earmarked projects and other funding sources. Other initiatives can be taken at the state and local levels: • Freight infrastructure needs require dedicated sources. New York State should consider refinancing its Local Rail Assistance Program along the lines of programs in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Illinois. • Public/private or joint funding may have applicability in the construction and operation of rail freight yards, intermodal facilities, and highway facilities. Public/ private funding has been used for projects such as those shown in Table 7.1. This type of financial arrangement helps maximize the amount of funding that could be available for a project. A report by the Federal Highway Administration titled Funding and Institutional Options for Freight Infrastructure Improvements, stresses that “project partnership formation is essential in developing major freight infrastructure projects.” Decision-makers should examine opportunities in zoning and tax incentives to encourage developers to become financially involved in the construction of warehousing and distribution facilities. Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 7-8
Page 1 and 2:
NEW YORK METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATIO
Page 3 and 4:
A Freight Plan for the NYMTC Region
Page 5 and 6:
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Table ES.1 Actions by Goals and Str
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Table 2.1 BEA Mode Split Inbound Fr
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Table 5.1 Actions by Goals and Stra
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74: A Freight Plan for the NYMTC Region
Page 75: A Freight Plan for the NYMTC Region
Page 116 and 117: Table 6.7 Summary of Anticipated En
show all

nymtc regional freight plan - New York Metropolitan Transportation ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?