SWUTC Research Project Description
Title of Project: Mega-Region Freight Movements: A Case Study of the Texas Triangle
Project Number: 476660-00075
Principal Investigator:
Robert Harrison
(512) 232-3113
P.I. Affiliation: University of Texas at Austin
Project Monitor:
Dr. Carol Lewis
Associate Professor
Center for Transportation Training and Planning
Texas Southern University
3100 Cleburne
Houston, TX 77004
(713) 313-7924
Project Status: Active
Date Started: 9/1/09
Estimation Completion Date: 8/31/10
Estimated Cost - Current Fiscal: $58,000
Estimated Cost - Total Planned: $58,000
Project Summary:
Project Abstract:
U. S. population is predicted to substantially increase over the next 40 years and most state and nation growth will be centered in large metropolitan areas, concentrated around critical centers of economic and social activity. These population estimates stimulated the development new planning strategies , including a macro approach to 2050 encapsulated in the term mega-regions. The Regional Planning Association, in its 2009 regional meeting entitled “America 2050 – Building the Next Economy”, defined mega-regions as “large networks of metropolitan regions linked by environmental systems and geography, infrastructure systems, economic linkages, settlement patterns and shared culture and history”. Texas has at least one mega-region, and the most significant – The Texas Triangle - comprising DFW-San Antonio-Houston generates over 60 percent of the GSP. The project will consider the Texas Triangle from the perspective of efficient freight movements and will offer multimodal solutions of moving freight to, between, and within the metropolitan economies of the mega-region to 2050. Cost models will evaluate strategies for freight movements and the issue of incorporating the social costs of transportation (“externalities”) will be examined. The results will be disseminated through a SWUTC workshop where other Region 6 mega-regional work will be presented.
Project Objectives:
This study will contribute to a Region 6 SWUTC integrated initiative examining aspects of mega-regional planning, led by TSU.
Task Descriptions:
Task 1: Examine the concept of mega-regions with respect to freight and integrate it into the overall theme of the SWUTC initiative.
The will be conducted through a literature review and attendance at two key conferences to be held on this topic. At the first, Houston Tomorrow and America 2050 will co-host a September 2009 which will focus on the Texas Triangle and view it as a mega-region. The University of Texas Center for Sustainable Development, the Houston-Galveston Area Council and Vision North Texas are also partners in this important conference. Information from the presentations and contacts made at the event will be valuable for both Tasks 1 and 2.
Task 2: Describe the Texas Triangle and report on related literature examining economic and transportation issues.
The Texas Triangle is currently viewed as an economic region informally linked to various councils of governments and metropolitan authorities responsible for planning, investment and strategic growth. The study will report on a variety of mega-region definitions and select that most appropriate to freight planning. Freight data will be collected and all refight strategic planning documents currently used by metropolitan and state agencies for the region will be identified and evaluated. The researchers will then meet with colleagues at TSU who are examining whether mega-regional planning in Texas has merit and how might that activity be structured. The TSU team note that while the importance of mega-regions appears to be growing, state planning entities are continuing to conduct more localized scaled activities for their independent urban and rural areas. The key questions is whether another planning layer examining mega-regions is of merit and, if so, what form might it take. Clearly, such an assessment would not negate the smaller, local level planning activities, but may offer the potential to more competitively position U.S. mega-regions to maintain economic prosperity, social equity and environmental standards.
Task 3: Describe current freight patterns in Texas and in the Texas Triangle
This will be disaggregated into three sub-components comprising:
All modes play key roles in supporting the economy of the Texas Triangle – marine, barge, and pipeline. Highways, rail and air integrate to offer the widest possible range of transportation services. The study will consider the roles played by these modes in each of the three sub-elements above and contacts will be made with leading players to identify objections or support to the opportunity for the type of planning that would guide mega-region efficiencies and success.
Task 4: Alternative Freight Systems
This task will examine the thesis that different types of freight systems are needed between and within the city elements of a mega-region to maintain freight efficiency and mitigate social impacts. It will examine different combinations of modes and include new systems such as the Freight Shuttle – a linear motor propelled uni-rail single car system capable of moving containers and trailers efficiently (in terms of energy) in a small right of way. It is not yet tested but merits review and it could be an important link between load centers in dense areas. The task will develop a variety of chains of modes, transfer points and routes to be evaluated in the next task
Task 5: Cost Models
Cost models will be developed to address various scenarios of freight impacts and land-use planning. These will report both financial costs (to the provider) and any social costs that arise from freight movement. Almost all transport providers seek prices that cover their financial costs – that is the fixed and variable costs of providing transport services. There is now substantial literature that argues that consequences (costs) that arise as a result of transport services taking place should not be burdened by others – like society – but should be internalized into the prices for those services. The study will attempt to examine this approach as it is highly likely that systems that are most appropriate for dense urban areas and cities within a mega-region will not be competitive with existing services. The latter are essentially being subsidized by others which is both inefficient (in economic terms) and inequitable from a social perspective.
Task 6: Report
The findings of the work will be published as a SWUTC report and a paper will be written to present at the workshop to be led by TSU.
Index Terms: