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Strategies to Mitigate Congestion and Achieve More Efficient Road Use Presentation to the Food Shippers of America Conference Tucson, Arizona March 2009
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2009 Phil Herr Presentation

Jan 20, 2015

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BillStankiewicz

You are viewing presentations from conferences that I have attended. Please enjoy & if we can help you with any logistics projects in the Americas please contact me at 678.364.3475

Bill was also on the Board of Directors for the St.Vincent DePaul Foodbank in Roseville California helping with the fund raising and meals to the poor program. While based in Northern California he was successful in fund raising programs for the Crusade of Mercy and helped Father Dan Madigan at the Sacramento Food Bank also. For 2008, Bill is a member of the Board for WORKTEC on also an Advisory Board Member for Boys and Girls Club for Metro Atlanta-Clayton County Chapter. See www.worktec.biz or www.bgcma.org . Bill is also on the Board of Directors for the Southeastern Warehouse Association & represents Georgia for 2010-2012.

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Bill Stankiewicz
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Shippers Warehouse
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Page 1: 2009 Phil Herr Presentation

Strategies to Mitigate Congestion and Achieve More Efficient

Road Use

Presentation to the Food Shippers of America Conference

Tucson, ArizonaMarch 2009

Page 2: 2009 Phil Herr Presentation

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Contents

• GAO: Who we are and how we conduct our work

• Physical Infrastructure team

• GAO’s work on efficient use of existing road infrastructure

• Why congestion matters

• Role of government and private sector

• Factors that inhibit efficient road use

• Techniques and strategies to make existing infrastructure more efficient

• Transportation financing

• Surface transportation reauthorization issues

• Concluding observations

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About GAO

• The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency in the legislative branch of the federal government

• Commonly called the “investigative arm of Congress” or the “congressional watchdog,” GAO examines how taxpayer dollars are spent and recommends ways to make government work better

• GAO’s mission is to help Congress improve the performance and accountability of the federal government

• Most GAO assignments are conducted at the request of congressional committees or are mandated by public laws and committee reports

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About GAO

• GAO’s work spans a wide spectrum of topics—from weapons procurement to welfare, banking to transportation, and farm policy to foreign policy

• In conducting its work, GAO

• Reviews relevant evaluations and analysis

• Performs surveys and conducts original data analysis

• Conducts case studies in selected communities or regions

• Interviews key public and private officials at the federal, state, and local levels

• Visits project sites

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Why Congestion Matters

• The capacity of the nation’s road network has not grown fast enough to keep pace with demand, and demand is expected to increase

• Economic implications are significant• Lost productivity and wasted fuel as cars idle in traffic• Higher logistics costs for businesses that increase

consumer prices

• Continued development and efficient management of the nation’s transportation system are important to sustaining the nation’s competitive position in the global economy

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Federal Role in Transportation

• The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorizes federal highway and highway safety programs and provides funding

• SAFETEA-LU is authorized through September 2009

• The Department of Transportation (DOT) implements national transportation policy and administers most federal transportation programs. DOT oversees programs across different modal administrations

• While DOT carries out some activities directly, states have considerable flexibility to select and oversee projects

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Federal Role in Transportation

• Federal government provides funds to state and local governments for road infrastructure through the Highway Trust Fund

• Approximately $33 billion a year to build and improve roads and bridges and meet other transportation needs

• Funds distributed to states by formulas based on vehicle miles traveled, motor fuel used, and other factors

• Highway Trust Fund is in trouble

• Truck sales and motor fuel purchases decreased in 2008

• Fund had to be ‘bailed out’ with $8 billion

• Current projections are that it could be insolvent again in 2009

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Federal Role in Transportation

• GAO has designated the current transportation financing system as “High Risk”

• Purchasing power of available funding is declining• Federal motor fuel tax rates have not increased since 1993

(18.4 cents/gallon for gasoline, and 24.4 cents/gallon for diesel and special fuels)

• Increased use of fuel-efficient and alternative-fuel vehicles expected to further diminish fuel tax revenue

• Increasing proportion of available transportation funds now being spent to preserve existing infrastructure, which is aging and expensive to keep functional

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Federal Role in Transportation

• Despite large increases in expenditures in real terms for transportation, the investment has not commensurately improved the performance of the nation’s surface transportation system

• We have reported that the programs are not effective at addressing key transportation challenges

• Goals and roles not clear

• Not linked to performance and needs

• Do not employ best tools and approaches

• GAO has called for a fundamental reexamination of the federal surface transportation program

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State and Local Governments’ Role in Transportation

• State and local governments provide about 60 percent of highway capital funding

• States and metropolitan planning organizations (MPO)

• Develop transportation plans

• Establish transportation funding mechanisms

• Build, maintain, and operate infrastructure and services

• States and MPOs operate within federal requirements

• Some state and local officials are making congestion mitigation a priority, including establishing goals and selecting projects designed to alleviate congestion

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Private Sector’s Role in Transportation

• Private sector has traditionally been contracted by federal, state, or local governments to design and build roads

• Private sector has historically had a smaller role in transportation finance, but budget constraints have increased interest in private sector involvement

• States have also begun to outsource operation and maintenance of roads

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Three Factors Inhibit Efficient Road Use

1. Much of the road network was not designed to handle today’s traffic volumes, and its operation has not changed sufficiently to better meet current usage

• Freeway exit and entrance ramp distances

• Timing of traffic signals

2. Traditional federal and state funding structure does not provide incentives for efficient road use

• Majority of revenue comes from fuel taxes and other user fees, which do not capture full costs of road use

3. Current investment decision-making process has a limited focus on selecting projects that may produce the highest net social benefits

• Federal and state transportation funding is compartmentalized by transportation mode

• Rigorous economic analysis does not drive decisions

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Techniques to Make the Current RoadInfrastructure More Efficient

• Two broad categories of congestion mitigation techniques

1. Techniques that enhance capacity

• Incident management programs

• Truck, transit, and carpool lanes

2. Techniques that influence driver behavior

• High-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes

• Traffic information systems

• Flextime or telework agreements with employers

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Examples of Congestion MitigationTechniques

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Strategies for Increasing the Efficient Use of Road Infrastructure

• Officials and experts we interviewed and studies we analyzed suggested several strategies outlined in the following pages

• These strategies are grouped by the level of government best suited to consider them, given current authorities and roles

• In some cases, all levels of government would need to be involved in implementing the strategy; in other cases, the federal government or a state or local government would be most appropriate

• These strategies are not mutually exclusive and ideally would be implemented in a comprehensive manner

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Strategies Requiring Federal, State, and Local Involvement

• Private sector role

• Public-private partnerships can potentially be used to manage assets and operate road network more efficiently

• User-pay concept

• Toll revenues directly pay for construction, maintenance, and operation

• Highway user fees based on vehicle miles traveled

• Measure results and manage existing road infrastructure, focusing on

• Establishing performance targets and measures

• Evaluating project results

• Collecting comprehensive and robust traffic data

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Strategies Requiring State and Local Involvement

• Implement a combination of supply-related and demand-related techniques

• Enhance the capacity and operation of existing roads by using intelligent systems and work zone management

• Improve traffic flow by promoting vanpools to reduce the number of drivers

• Regionally apply congestion mitigation techniques

• Use both supply- and demand-related techniques to enhance mobility across jurisdictions, such as through corridor management plans

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Strategies Requiring State and Local Involvement

• Integrate transportation planning more fully with land-use planning

• High level of interconnection between land use and transportation

• Build support for congestion mitigation techniques

• Strong leadership to communicate essential ideas and values of projects, highlighting benefits to drivers and businesses

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Strategies Requiring Federal Involvement

• Link federal-aid highway funding to performance

• Use financial incentives to improve performance and hold states accountable for results

• Increase flexibility for state and local decision makers

• Allow federal-aid highway program funds to be used for new approaches or technologies

• Place additional focus on projects that provide national public benefits

• Increase federal role in public benefit projects

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New Methods of Transportation Financing

• States are using new methods to fund congestion mitigationtechniques and other road improvements

• Tolls, local taxes, and development impact fees

• Fees for new development that will have a significant effect on the current road network

• Partnering with private industry to gain access to funding, reduce costs, and expedite project schedules

• Other funding options include congestion pricing and HOT lanes

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Next Steps: SAFETEA-LU Reauthorization

• Create well defined goals based on areas of national interest

• Clearly define the federal role in relation to the roles of state and local governments, regional entities, and the private sector

• Incorporate performance and accountability for results into funding decisions to ensure resources are targeted to programs that best achieve intended outcomes and meet national priorities

• Employ the best tools and approaches to emphasize return on investment of limited federal dollars

• Ensure the program is affordable and fiscally sustainable

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Concluding Observations

• Given today’s fiscal, environmental, and land-use concerns, the days of building our way out of congestion have passed

• In general, transportation policy is still focused on building or maintaining road capacity

• Congress and DOT have recognized the importance and benefits of efficiently managing and operating existing infrastructure

• Some state and local governments have also adopted congestion mitigation techniques, such as HOT lanes

• State and local efforts have been focused on a limited number of locations and have not typically been part of a more comprehensive strategy to manage existing infrastructure more efficiently

• Until congestion mitigation techniques are used more comprehensively, their full potential will not be realized

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Reports Available at www.gao.gov

• Surface Transportation: Strategies Are Available for Making Existing Road Infrastructure Perform Better. GAO-07-920. July 2007.

• Transforming Transportation Policy for the 21st Century. GAO-07-1210SP. September 2007.

• Approaches to Mitigate Freight Congestion. GAO-09-163R. November 2008.

• Highway Trust Fund: Improved Solvency Mechanisms and Communication Needed to Help Avoid Shortfalls in the Highway Account. GAO-09-316. (To be publicly released March 2009)