Environmental Improvement and Goods Movement in Los Angeles. Martin Wachs, Director Transportation, Space, & Technology Program, RAND Corporation

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1 Environmental Improvement and Goods Movement in Los Angeles Martin Wachs, Director Transportation, Space, & Technology Program, RAND Corporation

2 Sustainability: Progress, But Still Much To Do Have spent forty years reducing urban air pollution... concentrated on stationary sources and passenger automobiles impressive progress Have learned much more about chemistry of air pollution... air toxics; particulates Freight transport becoming more important for two reasons; Growing more rapidly than passenger movement Has not previously been addressed because of complexity Global warming not yet widely incorporated... but coming soon... increasing awareness & concern TST-June

3 Congestion is Growing Everywhere Combination of reasons. Not enough money for new capacity Population & economic growth Continued suburbanization Indecision on direction to take Congestion growing on highways, local streets, transit systems, airports, ports As with environmental issues, freight movement is of growing importance with respect to congestion TST-June

4 The Role of U.S. Shipping and Logistics Continues to Grow Is currently a $1.6 trillion dollar industry Accounts for 10% of all American industry Affects all other sectors of the economy Continues to grow rapidly Improved technology continues to lower freight shipment costs Volumes of shipments expected to grow by 70% from 2000 to 2020 TST-June

5 Looking at Los Angeles Region Port of LA/LB imports 45-50% of all US imported containers 77% leave the state; half by train and half by truck 23% bound for Southern CA Growth rate in 2006 was 11%; one year s growth in LA/Long Beach port volume was equal to 75% of entire volume of Port of Oakland TST-June

6 Trade Across U.S. Borders Is Growing Dramatically TST-June

7 Health Consequences Have Been Measured Dock workers, truck drivers, and railroad workers, appear to have elevated rates of lung cancer, probably because of exposure to small particulates. Residents of communities adjacent to truck-congested freeways, where elevated levels of carbon monoxide, diesel constituents, and ultrafine particles have been documented, have higher rates of several diseases than the population as a whole Residents living near ports, have elevated rates of oropharyngeal cancer and certain lung cancers Residents who breathe ambient traffic-related air pollution have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and death and reduced lung function Exposure is income and race-related; residents who live near rail yards, ports, and other goods movement facilities, enduring high noise levels, traffic congestion, visual blight, and other community impacts, are more likely to be poorer and members of minority groups TST-June

8 Sustainability Urban Form and Transportation Relate transportation more effectively to urban form Increase density rather than footprint Increase mix of activities rather than separation Coordinate transit and land use Widespread agreement Very long-term prospects for results TST-June

9 Resolving Congestion Requires Many Approaches at Once Getting more out of existing streets & highways; e.g. signal timing, ramp metering Increasing use of many modes; rail (goods), transit, cycling, walking, vanpooling Using autos more efficiently Increasing highway capacity: focus on bottlenecks TST-June

10 Region Requires Approaches That Address Congestion & Sustainability Together Technology: engines, fuels (all modes) Efficient Operations: Reduce idling, ramp meters, Capital investment in facilities, especially at bottlenecks Behavioral changes: decisions by investors, government agencies, institutions, and households that complement goals of congestion relief and sustainability Institutional collaboration TST-June

11 Areas in Which Additional Controls are in Process & Contemplated Heavy duty on-road vehicles (trucks) Rail locomotives Aircraft Ocean-going vessels Harbor craft Cargo handling equipment (cranes, fork lifts) TST-June

12 Difficult and Complex Aircraft, ocean-going ships, and some locomotives not subject to local regulations and spend small proportion of their time in our air basin Strategies that work institutionally may not be the most costeffective ones; forces a choice between practicality of implementation and economic efficiency Public (and elected officials) demand progress and object to strategies that impose costs upon them Confusion over jurisdictional & agency responsibilities TST-June

13 CARB Actions Intended to Reduce Emissions From Goods Movement Requiring ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel for on- & offroad diesel engines fueled in South Coast Air Basin Enacted emissions standards for cargo-handling equipment Statewide MOU between CARB & line-haul railroads CARB will be responsible for implementation of AB32, which will require reduction of GHGs to 1990 levels by 2020 TST-June

14 Ports of LA & LB are Involved: Truck Program Very Important But Many Unknowns Remain Replace or retrofit 16,000 harbor-related trucks in five years Program will have major institutional implications and not all impacts are known Port will provide financial grants (from user fees and AQMD grants) but full financial impacts not yet known TST-June

15 Not all the Ports Measures are About Trucks Ocean Going Vessels (speed reductions, lowsulfur fuel, shore power, particulate traps) Cargo Handling Equipment (series of targets by date to reach successively demanding cleanest available technology ) Harbor Craft (emission standards leading to cleaner engines) Railroad Locomotives (idle restrictions and PM and NOX controls increasingly stringent) TST-June

16 Ports are Proving Ground of Policies Having Broader Applicability All these programs could be extended to other goods movement sectors Institutional initiatives and jurisdictional issues, undoubtedly to be resolved in court cases and many disputes, will set precedents for other locales and institutions TST-June

17 Finding Balance Environmental Sustainability & Business: At some level complementary but also threats of overregulation and high costs Right mix of carrots and sticks: regulation vs. incentives Market based solutions and performance based standards are best but difficult to design well Lessons of Regulation XV TST-June