By Kevin McCarty
July 14, 2008

Long Beach (CA) Mayor Bob Foster convened a special meeting of the Sustainable Freight and Goods Movement Task Force June 22 to discuss strategies for how mayors can respond to growing freight movements in their cities and regions and hear a presentation on how several local areas are tackling their freight challenges.

Foster told mayors and others participating in the session that the Conference must continue to develop an agenda that responds to rising freight volumes, citing data from his region to illustrate the scale of this national problem. Foster also pointed out that next year’s debate on the next federal surface transportation law will provide an opportunity to address some of the issues before cities and local areas struggling to address their freight needs.

Acknowledging the efforts of the Transportation Committee to develop a new Conference policy statement to guide the organization’s advocacy on the next surface transportation bill, Foster indicated that the pending resolution included recommended changes in current law that could offer cities more options in dealing with freight issues. During discussion, it was noted that the nation continues to operate without a national freight policy, leaving much of the burden on local leaders and local areas problems.

In other comments, Foster described a recent initiative by the Port of Long Beach where a local container fee helps finance new infrastructure projects. The Port of Long Beach, he noted, is a leader in adopting strategies to reduce both air emissions and greenhouse gases attributable to port operations.

At Foster’s request, Danielle Elkins, Government Affairs Liaison/Engineer with CH2M Hill, joined the task force to deliver a presentation of selected best practices describing how some cities and regions are now tackling freight needs, citing initiatives in Chicago, Miami and Seattle.