Citizens and organizations from around the Baltimore region are invited to take part in an exciting new series of public workshops to imagine the future of transportation.

 

Workshop participants will have an opportunity to share their values and ideas about how future transportation initiatives can make the region a better place to live. Later public workshops will deal more specifically with the planning process to achieve this vision.

 

Workshops have been scheduled in each of the region's jurisdictions. Here are the remaining dates:

 

 

 

 

The topic will be the "State of the Trucking Industry" and will include an overview of the current trucking industry market and an outlook for the balance of 2010 and into 2011 on topics such as price, capacity, driver employment, increased fuel prices, federal/state environmental and safety regulations that impact the transportation market, etc.

 

The featured speaker for this event is Mr. James E. Ward, Jr., President/CEO of D. M. Bowman, Inc. Mr. Ward is also the 2010 Chairman of the Maryland Motor Truck Association, American Trucking Associations Vice President at Large, Board of Directors for Truckload Carriers Association, Chairman of Truckload Carriers Association Carrier/Shipper committee.  

 

To register, e-mail Grace Tomaszun at grace_tomaszun@mccormick.com by Thursday, May 6. The cost for the event, including dinner, is $35.00.

>> Learn more about the CSCMP

 

The I-95 Corridor Coalition Freight Academy is a unique immersion program designed to efficiently train public sector staff whose planning, operational, and/or management work impact goods movement decisions, investments, and interactions.

A number of agencies in the I-95 Corridor proposed this project as a result of a number of trends that have emerged through their work on freight projects. These include: large increases in freight movements; dynamic changes in the goods movement industry; the need to understand freight as an integral part of the transportation system; and an increasing need to integrate freight facilities and operations with community goals.

These important trends, combined with the knowledge that many experienced members of transportation agencies are scheduled to retire in the next 5 to 10 years, prompted the I-95 Corridor Coalition to sponsor the development and implementation of the Freight Academy.  Each Freight Academy class consists of thirty people selected from a pool of applicants. The individuals selected are anticipated to be the next generation of public sector staff tasked with managing the freight system.

BMC Transportation Staff member and Freight Movement Task Force (FMTF) coordinator Bala Akundi had the privilege and opportunity to attend the 2010 Freight Academy in New Brunswick, NJ from April 18-23 on a scholarship from the I-95 Corridor Coalition.

>> Visit freightacademy.org for more information

 

The Maryland Port Administration (MPA) announced that approximately 167,000 passengers embarked on 81 homeport cruises from the Port of Baltimore in 2009.

 

This total officially surpasses the previous record for most cruise passengers in one calendar year that was set in 2004 when the Port offered a then record 60 cruises.  2010 is expected to bring more strong performance as the number of cruises grows to 91 with two lines offering year-round cruising from Baltimore.