The Freight Movement Task Force has undertaken a Study on the Baltimore Regional Freight Profile to better understand the freight characteristics of the Baltimore region using TRANSEARCH data, BMC truck count data, and other publicly available data. Our consultants will analyze present and future freight flows by direction and by mode and identify the top ten inbound and outbound commodities. Mark your calendars, a complete summary of the Baltimore Regional Freight Profile will be made at our August 16, 2007 Freight Movement Task Force meeting!

A recent Wall Street Journal article brought public attention to the truck parking shortage problem especially along interstates leading into big cities like Baltimore. Thanks to a strong economy, more trucks than ever are moving on the nation's roads, transporting goods. But truck parking facilities are not expanding nearly as fast.

Sometimes truckers must resort to parking along interstate shoulders or on and off-ramps. This can become a safety hazard as a tired drivers' legal 11- hours of service are up and they must park to rest.

Several National Association of Truck Stop Operator members have sought land to start new truck stop operations; however, they run into challenges such as expensive land, trouble getting the land zoned for a truck stop, and community rejection.

Congress began to take note of this problem in the last highway bill and authorized $24 million through 2009 for state and local governments to look for "parking solutions."

MPOs and States along the Northeast I- 95 Corridor are putting increased resources toward finding solutions to the truck parking shortfall. For example, the FMTF completed its Truck Parking Partnership Study of the Baltimore region last summer. In New Jersey, an MPO truck parking study is currently underway and will result in specific funding recommendations to alleviate the truck parking shortfall it the NJTPA region. Pennsylvania DOT also has a statewide truck parking study underway.

Rigs Keep on Trucking, Searching for Parking, Wall Street Journal, by Robert Guy Matthews, May 1, 2007

As noted in the April 2007 edition of the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore magazine, the Port signed a contract with one of the world's largest produces of wind power, Suzlon Energy Ltd. On Monday, May 7, 2007 I was fortunate to get a tour of the Port and I was amazed to see the massive windmill components stacked at the Port's North Locust Point terminal. For this India-based company, the Port of Baltimore is its East Coast portal. Oversize trucks transport these components to wind farms in rural Western Pennsylvania where the windmills are constructed to ultimately stand 280 feet tall with a 300 foot wingspan atop the towers, ultimately weighing 290 tons.

With growing interest in renewable resources, increased U.S. government mandates to use renewables, and the Port of Baltimore's ability to handle specialized cargos, it stands to benefit from more similarly specialized green cargo in the future.

The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore April 2007

BMC staff monitors gas price data obtained from the American Automobile Association. In Maryland and across the nation gas prices continued to rise in May 2007. The Maryland average regular gas price rose by 0.252 cents in May from the previous month. This information will appear in subsequent Maryland Moves newsletters.

The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board has released a first draft list of projects submitted for the FY 2008-2012 Transportation Improvement Program. The TIP is a list of transportation priorities and projects that are requesting federal funding over the next 5 years.

Public participation is extremely beneficial in making sound decisions. If you wish to comment on the proposed projects, please visit the full list in the TIP database (link below) and submit comments by Tuesday May 29, 2007.