by David Chapman
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Port Authority’s deals with shipping giants Mitsui and Hanjin will bring a greater economic impact for Northeast Florida, but along with the growth comes the need for growth management.
North Florida Transportation Planning Organization officials wanted to hear how other port cities dealt with such progress and hosted a peer-to-peer exchange this week with port and transportation officials from Houston and Seattle on freight and infrastructure funding issues.
“I wanted to know how other MPOs (metropolitan planning organizations) and ports handled things,” said Denise Bunnewith, North Florida TPO executive director. “There were really a lot of good ideas that we were able to come away with.”
Officials from outside the region who participated in the exchange included Earl Washington, Houston-Galveston Area Council senior transportation planner; Dick Schiefelbein, Port of Houston railroad coordinator; Charlie Howard, Puget Sound Regional Council transportation planning director; and Dan Burke, Port of Seattle project lead planner.
Getting advice and information from other officials who have already handled the challenges Jacksonville officials will encounter is beneficial.
“The purpose of getting together and talking with each other is that we’re doing similar things around the country,” said Schiefelbein. “Both Seattle and Houston have done a couple of projects and Jacksonville is doing the same.
“It opens up discussion between public and private partnerships about projects,” he added. “I thought it went very well.”
Once the terminals open, increased freight traffic is a certainty as the influx of imported and exported goods will triple the current capacity at the port. Handling road freight traffic and the concerns of vocal residents of the Northside, both short- and long term, is something that needs to be addressed immediately, said Department of Transportation Dist. 2 Planning Manager James Bennett, who was also part of the discussions.
Bunnewith said Houston and Seattle officials had ideas on both, as both entities utilize rail for much of their freight.
Two private railroad companies with local ties were represented during discussions — Gary Henderson of Norfolk Southern Corporation and Raul Carrasco if CSX.
“Everybody wants jobs, but they don’t want it in their counties,” said Henderson of the impact of freight movement. “They (residents) don’t want to hear it and don’t want to see it.”
As a private corporation, Henderson said one of the obstacles the railroad has working with transportation officials on long range plans is the timeframe — what is deemed as a short-term plan by the public entities is often considered long-term for them.
“For us, 2012 is a long-term plan,” said Henderson. “There is a disconnect.”
For infrastructure funding, Bunnewith said she came away with many ideas including trying to utilize different bonds and programs.
Local officials and who participated include Brad Thoburn, City director of planning and development; David Kaufman, Jacksonville Port Authority senior director of planning and properties; and Scott Clem, Jacksonville Transportation Authority.
The goal, said Bunnewith, was to get public and private stakeholders together at the same table with officials from other cities to learn of potential solutions for upcoming issues — and it’s something she believes was accomplished.
“I think it meant a lot,” she said. “I think the best discussions happen when we can sit at the same table and have talks amongst ourselves .... I think the best advice is to always keep these lines of dialogue open.”
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