The Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board took place in Washington D.C. from January 21st to January 25th. A record number of attendees - over 11,000 - participated in this year's meeting. The meeting offered Poster Displays, Sessions and Events, and Committee Meetings, several on freight topics. A business focus on the environment came up in several freight-related presentations. For example, Mike Grey of Dell, a self- described Supply Chain Evangelist, noted the Dell Plant a Tree for Me Marketing Campaign.

Uniquely situated along the Patapsco River, the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore extends farthest west of any other Atlantic port. Therefore, the Port of Baltimore is well-suited to handle autos and other rolling cargo exports from the U.S. Midwest (and imports). In 2005, the total value of cargo moving through Baltimore reached a record high in port history at $35.8 billion.

In November 2006, Subaru moved its vehicle process business to Baltimore from Newport News, VA. Approximately 31,000 Subaru vehicles, including export of the Subaru Tribeca, manufactured in the U.S., will roll through the port.

Every year, the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB) develops a work program for the coming fiscal year. This program, called the Unified Planning Work Program for Transportation Planning (UPWP), identifies activities to be completed by staff of the BMC on behalf of the BRTB between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008.

The UPWP activities focus on issues such as:

• Freight Mobility Planning and coordination with MDOT on the development of the MD State Freight Plan

• Systems to monitor and evaluate congestion, improve safety, and increase efficiency

• Environmental planning for air and water quality

The public review period is from Friday, January 19, 2007 through Tuesday, February 20, 2007.

Please send all comments to: The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board, 2700 Lighthouse Point East, Suite 310, Baltimore, MD 21224, by fax to 410-732- 8248, or by e-mail to mhaines@baltometro.org. All comments must be received by 4:30 p.m. on February 20, 2007.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has been holding public meetings to consider issues related to safety at private highway-rail grade crossings.

An example of issues raised at similar meetings include:
-Current practices concerning responsibility for safety at private grade crossings
-Adequacy of warning devices at private crossings
-Merits of a uniform approach to improve safety at private crossings
-Legal rights and responsibilities related to private crossing safety

The last of these meetings will be held next month in Syracuse, New York. The public is welcome to send representatives to this meeting or submit written comments to the public docket.

The final meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. February 15th at the Doubletree Hotel, 6301 State Route 298, East Syracuse, New York 13057. Those wishing to participate should contact FRA Docket Clerk Michelle Silva at 202-493-6030.

Those who wish to submit written comments to the public docket on these issue may do so electronically to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Docket Management System under docket number FRA-2005-23281.

BMC staff has begun to monitor gas price data obtained from the American Automobile Association. This information will appear in subsequent Maryland Moves newsletters.