As part of the imagine 2060 process, the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board is hosting a series of speakers at its monthly board meetings.  Below is a summary of presentations to date with links to PDF copies of presentations.  For future BRTB agendas, visit our calendar.

Maryland Port Administration & Port of Baltimore: Imagine 2060

Jim Dwyer, Maryland Port Administration (MPA), Planning

Mr. Dwyer provided a historical reflection of maritime cargo at the Port of Baltimore with its inland location, which is further west than any other east coast port.

The Port of Baltimore has a significant impact on the region’s economy with 50,700 jobs that are dependent on cargo and vessel activity with $3.7 billion in personal wages and salary and a total economic value of $5.6 billion. The port also has 7 public and 29 private terminals, which allow various maritime industries to access rail, highways, and deep water.

Mr. Dwyer highlighted three paradigm shifts in the last 2000 years in ship design and cargo movement – steam propulsion in the early 1800’s, steel shipbuilding in the late 1800’s and containerized cargo in 1965. Other changes in the industry were noted such as the expansion of the cruise industry (167,000 passengers embarked from Baltimore in 2009 alone) and how the widening of the Panama Canal impacted global trade and ship size.

With regard to the future, Mr. Dwyer touched upon the Marine Highway Corridor initiative that is being promoted by USDOT and the I-95 Corridor Coalition as a way reduce congestion on I-95 – if instituted, Baltimore is in a prime location along the US east coast to take advantage of the corridor. He noted that globalization and international trade are here to stay and that the port needs deeper channels, better rail and highway access, dredge placement sited, protection from encroachment, and land to expand.

>> Maryland Port Administration & Port of Baltimore (pdf, 4.4 mb)

The Port of Baltimore: The Private Sector’s Perspective

Rupert Denny, Steinweg

Mr. Denny provided the private sector perspective at the Port of Baltimore, which is made up of hundreds of different organizations.

Mr. Denny noted that almost all private terminals handle cargo in bulk or neo-bulk (not containers) that require a variety of distribution modes and often need to move large volumes of product in a short period of time.

He highlighted various strengths and weaknesses of the Port of Baltimore and the Baltimore region. Strengths include Baltimore’s location with its road and rail advantage and a large population base for products. The region benefits from being close to major markets which leads to less costs and having two class I railroads and two good short line railroads. Some of the disadvantages, in Mr. Denny’s opinion, are road and rail congestion, lack of new roadway capacity, saturated rail capacity, the NIMBY attitude among the population, and a lack of understanding about port operations.

Mr. Denny also touched upon some of the challenges facing the private sector operator, including driver shortages for short haul trucking, cost of fuel, emissions, tolls, and the impact of trucks on the highway infrastructure. From a rail standpoint, he wondered about the potential for expansion and whether the  rail industry was committed to investing significant amounts of funds in the region.

Finally, Mr. Denny suggested some long term solutions such as incentives for railroad use (more short line railroads and tax credits) and new ports in Maryland that would facilitate short sea shipping.

Additionally, he offered suggestions for two satellite, shallow depth container ports in the vicinity of Aberdeen Proving Grounds (APG) in Harford County and the Patuxent Air Station (PAX) in Prince Georges County that could serve a large distribution center.

>> The Port of Baltimore: The Private Sector’s Perspective (pdf, 382 kb)

The Role of Agriculture in Maryland

George Mayo, Executive Director of Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation, Inc.

The Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation (MAEF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization which was incorporated in 1989. The Foundation's mission is to promote the understanding and appreciation of the importance of agriculture in our daily lives.

As the BRTB engages the public in a discussion of this region in 50 years, there is every reason to believe that agriculture can and should be prominent. MAEF operates in every jurisdiction in the state and is extremely diverse, highly technical, innovative, and flexible. The factors that are important to other industries are also important to agriculture such as natural resources, human resources, access to customers, infrastructure and the economy. Agriculture in this region is more than just farming – it includes production, processing, marketing, distribution, wholesale & retail sales, finance, regulation, and safety and security. It also includes education, planning, technology, public health, the environment and natural resource management.

According to Mr. Mayo, agriculture utilizes nearly every form of infrastructure – roads, trucks, boats, trains, planes, bicycles – and because we are in the mid-Atlantic, we are in a strong market area. The Maryland nursery industry did $1.96 billion in 2007 and $740,507,428 in Central Maryland. There is one nursery on the Eastern Shore that ships 30 trailer loads of plants out of their nursery every day in the spring.

>> The Role of Agriculture in Maryland (pdf, 408 kb)

>> Career Discovery - MD Agricultural Education Foundation brochure (pdf, 2 MB)

Accessible Community Transportation - How Do We Achieve Accessibility for All? 

Mary Leary, Director of Transportation Projects for Easter Seals Project ACTION

The focus of this presentation revolved around the benefits of Accessible Community Transportation to not only people with disabilities, but also to their caregivers, veterans, older adults who can no longer drive, people who need rehabilitation or other medical and social services, as well as businesses and tourists.   Ms. Leary pointed out that 9.4% of Marylanders have some type of disability and the cost of lost work by care givers in business productivity ranges from $17.1 to $33.6 Billion. Ms. Leary encouraged the BRTB to create partnerships with a variety of individuals and groups, including area school systems, students, people of limited income and the housing industry. She concluded by indicating that all people, including people with disabilities, want to live a spontaneous life that allows them to access all eight life satisfying activities. Accessible transportation allows them to live this spontaneous life, thereby increasing personal happiness, health, wellness, and more.

>> Accessible Community Transportation (pdf, 310 kb)

An Economic Perspective Of The Baltimore Region

Mr. Thomas Sadowski, President & CEO of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore

Mr. Sadowski provided a presentation on the New Greater Baltimore, as well as the impact of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) activities, regional economic indicators, and the importance of transportation. Mr. Sadowski reported:Baltimore is ranked #1 in per capita income growth among the 25 largest U.S. metro areas from 2000 to 2008, #9 in personal income, and Maryland had the highest median income in 2008. He also noted that Baltimore is a well-connected region with regard to travel time to nearby northeast cities and Baltimore ranked #7 in top U.S. downtowns in 2008, with $9 billion in investment since 2000. Mr. Sadowski said that BRAC isn’t coming – it is here, and the moves will be complete by 2011. He said that the next wave will be the Cyber Security Initiative and is estimated to cost $40+ billion. He mentioned that the Washington-Baltimore area is #1 in IT concentration and #2 in total IT employment. He said that Baltimore is holding its own with regard to unemployment in spite of the economy. Additionally, Mr. Sadowski shared statistics on employment rates, home prices, the economy, etc. Finally, Mr. Sadowski spoke to the BRTB regarding future steps including: Public-private partnerships; Sustaining and enhancing quality of life; and retaining and attracting business, investment and talent. 

>>  The New Greater Baltimore: Great Today and Going Forward (pdf, 872 kb)
 

For more information:

Todd Lang, tlang@baltometro.org, 410-732-9566

Regina Aris, raris@baltometro.org, 410-732-9572