Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Freight Studies Joel Falter O-D Truck Studies in California Presented by: Joel Falter May 19, 2010

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Southern California Origin-Destination Goods Movement Studies Presentation Agenda  Introduction  Study Objectives, Uses and Data Collected  Data Collection Methodology  Project Challenges  Lessons Learned  Some Findings

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Introduction  Three Studies Have Been Performed by KOA Corporation to Date: US-395/US-6/SR-14 (Caltrans) SR-58 (SANBAG/KernCOG/Caltrans) I-5/SR-99 (KernCOG) Kern County Rural Roads Study (KernCOG) 19,770 Drivers Have Been Surveyed Over 500 Firms Have Been Interviewed

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Funding  Kern Council of Governments, a Medium Sized MPO, Funded 3 of the Truck Studies as Follows: SR-58 was funded through a partnership between Kern COG and the San Bernardino Associated Governments I-5/SR-99 was funded through a partnership between Kern COG and the Tulare County Association of Governments Rural Routes within Kern County funded by Kern COG (in progress) US-395 was funded by the State of California

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning US 395/US-6/SR-14 Study Area

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning SR-58 Study Area

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning I-5/SR-99 Study Area

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Rural Routes in Kern County Photo

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Goods Movement Study Objectives  The Data Collection Goals and Objectives were to: Gain Statistical Information on Truck O & D Better Understand the Types of Cargo Being Transported Understand Why the Route was Chosen Understand Travel Patterns Within Each of the Corridors Understand Travel Patterns Between California and Nevada Conduct a Literature Review of Prior Studies

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning  How the Information and Data Will be Used: Assist Caltrans in Long Range Infrastructure and Operations/Safety Planning Assist the COG’s in Goods Movement Forecasting and Long Range Planning Provide Trucking Information for Agencies in Their Local Planning Efforts Address Air Quality Issues Have a Resource That Can be Shared Throughout the Region and the State Goods Movement Study Objectives

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning  Conducting These Studies Involved Significant Personnel Efforts and Resources Including:  24-Hour Automatic Vehicle Classification Counts  Peak Period Manual Vehicle Classification Counts  24-Hour Truck Driver Intercept Surveys  Commercial Fleet Operator Surveys  Counts and Surveys Were Also Done for Different Seasons The Current Rural Road Study will Employ Video Technology How The Data Was Collected

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning  Collecting Data From a Moving Target  Finding a Safe Location to Pull Heavy Duty Trucks Over  Maintain a Safe Environment at All Times  Minimize Disruption to Interstate Commerce  Have No Impacts on Traffic Flow at Any Time  Overcoming Agency Bureaucracy  Hiring the Right People  Collecting Meaningful Data  What to Do When There is No Place to Pull Trucks Over Project Challenges

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning  Even the Best Laid Planning Efforts Have Speed Bumps  Projects of This Magnitude Require Over- Planning and Over-Communicating  You Must Provide Adequate Resources to Ensure the Success of the Study  It is a 3-C Process: Continuous Communication and Coordination  Here are the Details of What We Learned Lessons Learned - General

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning  Start as Early as Possible  Bring All Players Together (DOT, Law Enforcement, Lead Agency, Sub-Consultants, Others)  Stay in Contact With Agencies Daily  Ensure Everyone Understands:  Have Contingency Plans Lessons Learned – Coordination/Communication What You Are Doing Why You Are Doing It When You Are Doing It What You Need/Expect From Them

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning  Make Sure Survey Sites Will be Available for the Survey and are in Working Order  When Using State Facilities Get As-Built Plans or Good Aerials  Plan Far in Advance for Permits  Study the Physical Environment  Continue Applying the 3-C Process Lessons Learned – Survey Planning

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning  Hire the Right People  Specify the Skills Your Surveyors Must Have  Good Verbal and Written Communication Skills Critical  Bilingual Skills a Plus  If Using Temporary Labor Screen the Surveyors Personally  Conduct Training With All Surveyors in Advance  Make Sure the Same Crew Will be With You Throughout  Plan Staffing Levels Carefully Lessons Learned – Staffing

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning  Check-In With Law Enforcement and DOT  Make Sure Survey Sites Are in Working Order  QC the Work Throughout the Survey Period  Have Strong Supervisorial Presence  Be Respectful of Peoples Time (Drivers and Fleet Managers)  Questioners Should Understand The Issues  Ask Relevant/Reasonable Questions  Let People Know What the Study is About and What’s in it For Them  Listen and Let People Vent  Lollipops Don’t Work Lessons Learned – Survey Operations

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning  ID All Survey Sheets by Location  Make Sure Surveyors Complete the Entire Survey  Code the Survey Instrument Questions to Minimize Writing/Interpretation  Provide Check Boxes with Routes and STCC Codes for Example  Standardize Coding to Minimize Interpretation  Make Questions as Direct as Possible  Test the Survey For Ease of Data Collection and Data Entry  QC the Data Entry Frequently to Catch Mistakes and Problems Lessons Learned – Data Collection/Interpretation

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning What Did We Get From All of This? Kern County Goods Movement

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning I-5 and SR-99 Truck Driver Survey

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning  Survey at Six Locations:  Tipton (Tulare) Northbound & Southbound Rest Stops  Kettleman City Northbound & Southbound Rest Stops  Lebec/Grapevine Northbound & Southbound Rest Stops  Survey was Conducted Continuously for 24 Hours at Each Location  Conducted in both Seasons:  Fall – November 2008  Spring June 2009  Surveyed 7,372 Trucks (Average almost 1 Survey Per Minute) Truck Intercept Survey

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Truck Intercept Survey

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Commodity Survey Results

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Survey Results Northbound Truck Trip Distribution Southbound Truck Trip Distribution

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Survey Results – Northbound Routes

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Survey Results – Southbound Routes

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Commodity Survey Results – Food and Kindred Products

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Commodity Survey Results - Empties

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Commodity Survey Results – Farm Products

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Overview of Fleet Operator Survey  Trucks Use SR-99 Much More often Than I-5 Because Origins and Destinations are Clustered Along SR-99 Every Private Fleet Operator Interviewed was Located East of I-5  Trucks Tend to use I-5 to Connect Kern County Points with Regions Outside (i.e. Los Angeles and Bay Area)  Most “Through” Trips Use I-5  Regional Trips Tend to Place More Burden on East-West Connectors. Local Trips Prefer to Use Arterials/Frontage Roads Instead of Freeways

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning National Activities  Most National Activities Use SR-58 To Haul Goods To Points East Using I-15 Through Las Vegas  Produce Was The Most Common Commodity Reported On Eastbound Shipment  General Merchandise Was The Most Common Commodity Reported On Westbound Shipment  Other Than Bakersfield No Carrier With National Operations Reported Any Base, Terminal Or Layover Location Along SR-58

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Local Users  Haulers of Sand, Gravel, Rock & Asphalt Reported the Heaviest Use of SR-58 (“Hundreds of Trips Per Day”)  Interview With One Petroleum Hauler (Eastern Bakersfield) Reported Heavy Usage of SR-58 (“2000 to 3000 Trips Per Week”)  Other Local Carriers Include Gasoline, Propane, Food Products, Auto Products Deliveries to Local Retailers  Most Local Activities Centered Within Bakersfield With Some Local Delivery Routes Within Tehachapi, Mojave & Barstow

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning Driver Suggestions Driver and Fleet Operator Suggestions:  Raise Speed Limit  Add/Widen Lanes  More Rest Stops  Better Roadway Maintenance

Talking Freight Seminars FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations and FHWA Office of Planning For Further Information Contact: Joel Falter