Kansas City is a massive hub for freight activity, boasting numerous geographical and physical advantages for the movement of goods. A consumer economy relies entirely on the ability to procure and obtain goods, and Kansas City’s multimodal freight network facilitates this process for residents, the region, and the United States as a whole. This is not new – Kansas City’s advantage as the most centrally situated city in the United States historically has reinforced the region as a cargo hub, particularly for rail freight.
Freight issues, needs, and trends are always evolving, at all levels of the industry, from local to global. Policy and regulatory changes (locally, regionally, and nationally) affect infrastructure investments and strategies. Technological innovation has led to new industries, tools, and opportunities to move freight more efficiently. Growth in many economic sectors has led to changes in consumer demand that have reshaped the movement patterns of goods. All of these continue to affect freight delivery.
E-commerce has grown exponentially, which is evident on Kansas City’s roads, bridges, rail lines, and rivers. Much of this activity is deliveries of goods directly to homes, but it also has brought major industrial, commercial, and warehousing nodes to Kansas City communities (see the Business Attraction and Retention Objective).
The movement of goods relies on macro-scale transportation networks such as Interstate highways and Class 1 Railroad lines. It also relies on city streets, such as arterial roads to reach freight hubs and residential streets to complete the last mile of the delivery (see the Parking and Curb Management Objective for more information on the use of local streets and curbs).
The movement of goods also relies on a transportation and logistics workforce who need infrastructure investments that support their safety and convenience. For example, truck parking at rest areas and commercial truck stops is often in short supply, leading to more time on the road for truck drivers. All decisions about Kansas City’s roads and bridges impact the ability to move freight efficiently and safely, without harming air quality and quality of life.
A fully functioning freight network is critical to everyday life, which has become even more clear in the wake of supply-chain challenges due to the COVID pandemic. Ultimately, the city must balance the needs of the freight industry with the needs of communities in the region.
INDICATORS OF SUCCESS |
|
Successful implementation of this Objective will strengthen Kansas City’s position as a regional and national hub of freight activity. Transit centers will cater to employees’ needs by providing reliable transit services to and from employment centers and affordable housing nearby. The city will garner federal funding to improve and expand transit projects in the region. There will be fewer truck crashes and more areas designated for safe truck parking. |
- Improved ability for local businesses and residents to reliably ship and receive goods
- Increased capacity as an important national hub for commerce
- Improved positioning for business attraction and retention
- Improved truck mobility and more efficient routing
Kansas City is a significant national hub for freight and logistics. Much of its historic growth was enabled by the railroad industry, and transportation and logistics continue to drive its economy forward today. Equitable access to freight and logistics jobs will help advance opportunities for more people and help this sector of the economy continue to grow.
For more context, click HERE.
MEASURE OF SUCCESS |
|
- Truck travel time reliability (increase)
- Value of freight throughput, by mode (increase)
|
KEY CONCEPTS |
|
Develop freight routing and investment plan |
Kansas City has a robust street network that provides connections between major freight centers and the regional highway network. However, that network has many locations that are problematic for large vehicles, such as low-clearance overpasses, load-restricted bridges, and geometric constraints. Truck-oriented GPS systems that highlight obstacles for large vehicles are expensive. Small trucking companies and owner-operator drivers often rely on the same routing tools most people use every day. Formalizing a plan for truck routing can reveal challenging locations for large vehicles, provide drivers with consistent information about these locations, and limit truck operations to primary highways. A large-scale wayfinding system may be deployed in places where a coordinated signage program can support designated truck routes. A formal truck-routing plan also can better target investments in freight systems, such as by designating specific areas as intermodal connectors or Critical Urban/Rural Freight Corridors to focus investment in these areas. A review of truck crashes can give a clear understanding of where dangerous conditions exist for large vehicles. Using crash hotspot analyses to pinpoint these locations, then evaluating the prevailing conditions or crash types at those locations can pave the way to apply focused concepts for improvements. True, some locations may need high-cost capital improvements, but many deficient conditions can be remedied with low-cost, easily installed, and highly effective improvements, such as signage, striping, or signal improvements. State-level plans for freight movement establish statewide goals, document higher-level commodity flows and forecasts, describe modal infrastructure and operations, establish investment plans, and fulfill other federally required purposes. However, a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) benefits by having a better understanding of the larger picture and context in which they operate. This is especially true for a region with a diverse number of governmental and stakeholder interests and needs. With the development of the MARC Regional Freight Plan, Kansas City can explore and align with goals, visions, and opportunities specific to the region and its stakeholders. This plan will have a granular data analysis that, when linked with stakeholder and agency input, will produce program and project-level recommendations for the Kansas City region. |
Identify opportunities for new truck parking in industrial areas |
The availability and shortage of truck parking is a major issue for the trucking sector, the traveling public, and communities throughout the region. Truck drivers are forced to park in undesignated locations when they can’t find suitable parking, which is dangerous for other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and the truck drivers themselves. The scarcity of truck parking also hurts driver productivity by forcing drivers to take longer detours to reach an open space and end their workday earlier than they want to. The lack of truck parking perpetuates negative perceptions about the industry. Ultimately, a shortage of adequate truck parking negatively impacts the ability to make on-time deliveries. Truck parking challenges are expected to grow as the volume of trucks on the roads continues to increase. Higher land prices, particularly in urban areas, make building truck parking a challenge. In fact, in communities around the U.S., there is pressure to redevelop truck parking facilities into other uses that are seen as more desirable. Much of this pressure stems from a lack of awareness of how important truck parking facilities are to the safety and efficiency of supply chains that deliver products to consumers. There are many underused private parking lots in our industrial areas. In line with the Parking and Curb Management Objective, the city should pursue public-private partnerships to create a shared parking model for truck parking. |
Review highway connections with rail, maritime, and air freight nodes |
Seamless intermodal connections (linking freight movement by truck, rail, water, and air) are a key part of Kansas City’s freight network. Targeted infrastructure investments can create more efficient multimodal connections as part of a concerted effort to support growth in the goods movement industry. Improvements can range from small-scale wayfinding systems or truck-routing programs to large-scale highway or bridge projects. These efforts shouldn’t be limited to highways. They could include investments in truck parking, particularly for staging areas associated with trucks and intermodal terminals, including high-quality basic accommodations for drivers. |
Promote freight as part of complete streets |
With Kansas City’s high volume of freight activity comes substantial rail and truck traffic that uses the region’s intermodal freight network to travel between freight origins or destinations and the regional highway network. At the same time, the region is also home to numerous walkable and bikeable communities and neighborhoods. There is often debate between advocates for complete streets and advocates for freight, each jockeying for space allocation and infrastructure improvements. Municipal and state governments often aim to separate the two, seeing them as conflicting with each other. But this view ignores the idea that complete streets encourage safe movement for all users. Therefore, when considering complete-streets policies, freight needs should be advanced in tandem with those of other users, especially pedestrians and bicyclists. |
Improve connections between Blue River industry and the Missouri River/M-29 Marine Highway |
The Missouri River Terminal (MRT), at the confluence of the Blue and Missouri rivers, offers the region an opportunity to create an inland port with access to major highway, rail, and maritime infrastructure. The port terminal has the capacity to move 800,000 tons of cargo annually, but currently moves only 110,000 tons. The expansive Blue River Industrial corridor offers additional opportunities to grow industrial, warehousing, and freight uses. The city should review needs related to moving freight along this corridor, focusing on direct links to the M-29 Marine Highway/Missouri River and movement on the river itself. |
Regional collaboration |
Creating a formal local freight transportation committee can bring together freight transportation stakeholders, industry and business leaders, state and local elected officials, and Department of Transportation (DOT) and MPO partners. A committee with local representation can be a viable way to target, understand, and address freight transportation concerns in the region. This forum can become an incubator for potential partnerships to address interjurisdictional concerns, such as responding to federal grants. In a committee such as this, the region’s key freight planners and practitioners can collaborate to improve infrastructure conditions for Kansas City’s goods movement industry. |
COMMUNITY SUPPORTED ACTIONS (CSAs) |
|
|
Develop freight routing and investment plan |
MG-1 | Develop a Freight Routing and Investment Plan for Kansas City. Include regional partners and regional needs. Include ways to link to the existing or future Long Range Transportation Plan.- Identify freight/warehousing activity clusters and truck route typologies (local, connector, through)
- Assign route typologies to highway network
- Identify necessary infrastructure investments (short, mid, long-term)
|
MG-2 | Promote truck routes through appropriate channels, including through outreach to business groups, intermodal facilities, major operators, and industrial/warehousing centers. |
MG-3 | Work with stakeholders to prioritize and target highly effective improvements identified in the Freight Routing and Investment Plan that can be quickly put in place to build momentum for larger, more costly capital improvements.
|
MG-4 | Working with the Mid-America Regional Council to implement the Heartland Freight Technology Plan. Include business and industry leaders and State and local transportation officials in planning efforts. |
|
|
Identify opportunities for new truck parking in industrial areas |
MG-5 | Work with the MARC to implement the Heartland Freight Technology Plan. Include business and industry leaders and state and local transportation officials in planning.- Analyze use of major truck parking facilities and review data to understand where trucks park in undesignated areas. Based on an analysis of parking in undesignated areas, identify locations where truck parking for staging vehicles is most needed
- Promote the importance and benefits of truck parking. Provide informational materials to decision makers to help them understand the importance of investing in truck parking
|
Review highway connections with rail, maritime, and air freight nodes |
MG-6 | Identify deficient roadway connections associated with intermodal facilities and intermodal transfers in the Freight Routing and Investment Plan. Explore options to improve associated infrastructure.
|
MG-7 | Use crash cluster analyses to understand where truck crash incidence is highest. |
|
|
Promote freight as part of complete streets |
MG-8 | Consider advancing a regional truck mobility study to understand where truck trips most substantially conflict with non-motorized transportation modes.- Identify overlaps in clusters of truck crashes and clusters of bicycle or pedestrian crashes. Identify potential improvements to address existing deficiencies.
|
MG-9 | Develop curb-space management standards to formalize freight loading and delivery zones (as discussed in the Parking and Curb Management Objective). |
MG-10 | Explore opportunities to advance freight and complete streets in mode-specific plans (i.e., freight within complete streets plans or complete streets within freight plans). Engage freight and complete streets subject matter experts concurrently during project-specific planning and design phases.
|
|
|
Improve connections between Blue River industry and the Missouri River/M-29 Marine Highway |
MG-11 | Advance maritime corridor plan for the Blue River and potential connections with the proposed MRT. |
|
|
Regional collaboration |
MG-12 | Explore creating a formal local freight transportation committee that can bring together freight transportation stakeholders, industry or business leaders, State or local elected officials, as well as DOT and MPO partners. |
|
|
- Innovation and Creativity
- Regional Collaboration
- Thriving Economy
|
|
Citywide Accessibility Providing Services
|
Related Plans and Policies |
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|
|
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Kansas City is a massive hub for freight activity, boasting numerous geographical and physical advantages for the movement of goods. A consumer economy relies entirely on the ability to procure and obtain goods, and Kansas City’s multimodal freight network facilitates this process for residents, the region, and the United States as a whole. This is not new – Kansas City’s advantage as the most centrally situated city in the United States historically has reinforced the region as a cargo hub, particularly for rail freight.
Freight issues, needs, and trends are always evolving, at all levels of the industry, from local to global. Policy and regulatory changes (locally, regionally, and nationally) affect infrastructure investments and strategies. Technological innovation has led to new industries, tools, and opportunities to move freight more efficiently. Growth in many economic sectors has led to changes in consumer demand that have reshaped the movement patterns of goods. All of these continue to affect freight delivery.
E-commerce has grown exponentially, which is evident on Kansas City’s roads, bridges, rail lines, and rivers. Much of this activity is deliveries of goods directly to homes, but it also has brought major industrial, commercial, and warehousing nodes to Kansas City communities (see the Business Attraction and Retention Objective).
The movement of goods relies on macro-scale transportation networks such as Interstate highways and Class 1 Railroad lines. It also relies on city streets, such as arterial roads to reach freight hubs and residential streets to complete the last mile of the delivery (see the Parking and Curb Management Objective for more information on the use of local streets and curbs).
The movement of goods also relies on a transportation and logistics workforce who need infrastructure investments that support their safety and convenience. For example, truck parking at rest areas and commercial truck stops is often in short supply, leading to more time on the road for truck drivers. All decisions about Kansas City’s roads and bridges impact the ability to move freight efficiently and safely, without harming air quality and quality of life.
A fully functioning freight network is critical to everyday life, which has become even more clear in the wake of supply-chain challenges due to the COVID pandemic. Ultimately, the city must balance the needs of the freight industry with the needs of communities in the region.
INDICATORS OF SUCCESS |
|
Successful implementation of this Objective will strengthen Kansas City’s position as a regional and national hub of freight activity. Transit centers will cater to employees’ needs by providing reliable transit services to and from employment centers and affordable housing nearby. The city will garner federal funding to improve and expand transit projects in the region. There will be fewer truck crashes and more areas designated for safe truck parking. |
- Improved ability for local businesses and residents to reliably ship and receive goods
- Increased capacity as an important national hub for commerce
- Improved positioning for business attraction and retention
- Improved truck mobility and more efficient routing
Kansas City is a significant national hub for freight and logistics. Much of its historic growth was enabled by the railroad industry, and transportation and logistics continue to drive its economy forward today. Equitable access to freight and logistics jobs will help advance opportunities for more people and help this sector of the economy continue to grow.
For more context, click HERE.
MEASURE OF SUCCESS |
|
- Truck travel time reliability (increase)
- Value of freight throughput, by mode (increase)
|
KEY CONCEPTS |
|
Develop freight routing and investment plan |
Kansas City has a robust street network that provides connections between major freight centers and the regional highway network. However, that network has many locations that are problematic for large vehicles, such as low-clearance overpasses, load-restricted bridges, and geometric constraints. Truck-oriented GPS systems that highlight obstacles for large vehicles are expensive. Small trucking companies and owner-operator drivers often rely on the same routing tools most people use every day. Formalizing a plan for truck routing can reveal challenging locations for large vehicles, provide drivers with consistent information about these locations, and limit truck operations to primary highways. A large-scale wayfinding system may be deployed in places where a coordinated signage program can support designated truck routes. A formal truck-routing plan also can better target investments in freight systems, such as by designating specific areas as intermodal connectors or Critical Urban/Rural Freight Corridors to focus investment in these areas. A review of truck crashes can give a clear understanding of where dangerous conditions exist for large vehicles. Using crash hotspot analyses to pinpoint these locations, then evaluating the prevailing conditions or crash types at those locations can pave the way to apply focused concepts for improvements. True, some locations may need high-cost capital improvements, but many deficient conditions can be remedied with low-cost, easily installed, and highly effective improvements, such as signage, striping, or signal improvements. State-level plans for freight movement establish statewide goals, document higher-level commodity flows and forecasts, describe modal infrastructure and operations, establish investment plans, and fulfill other federally required purposes. However, a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) benefits by having a better understanding of the larger picture and context in which they operate. This is especially true for a region with a diverse number of governmental and stakeholder interests and needs. With the development of the MARC Regional Freight Plan, Kansas City can explore and align with goals, visions, and opportunities specific to the region and its stakeholders. This plan will have a granular data analysis that, when linked with stakeholder and agency input, will produce program and project-level recommendations for the Kansas City region. |
Identify opportunities for new truck parking in industrial areas |
The availability and shortage of truck parking is a major issue for the trucking sector, the traveling public, and communities throughout the region. Truck drivers are forced to park in undesignated locations when they can’t find suitable parking, which is dangerous for other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and the truck drivers themselves. The scarcity of truck parking also hurts driver productivity by forcing drivers to take longer detours to reach an open space and end their workday earlier than they want to. The lack of truck parking perpetuates negative perceptions about the industry. Ultimately, a shortage of adequate truck parking negatively impacts the ability to make on-time deliveries. Truck parking challenges are expected to grow as the volume of trucks on the roads continues to increase. Higher land prices, particularly in urban areas, make building truck parking a challenge. In fact, in communities around the U.S., there is pressure to redevelop truck parking facilities into other uses that are seen as more desirable. Much of this pressure stems from a lack of awareness of how important truck parking facilities are to the safety and efficiency of supply chains that deliver products to consumers. There are many underused private parking lots in our industrial areas. In line with the Parking and Curb Management Objective, the city should pursue public-private partnerships to create a shared parking model for truck parking. |
Review highway connections with rail, maritime, and air freight nodes |
Seamless intermodal connections (linking freight movement by truck, rail, water, and air) are a key part of Kansas City’s freight network. Targeted infrastructure investments can create more efficient multimodal connections as part of a concerted effort to support growth in the goods movement industry. Improvements can range from small-scale wayfinding systems or truck-routing programs to large-scale highway or bridge projects. These efforts shouldn’t be limited to highways. They could include investments in truck parking, particularly for staging areas associated with trucks and intermodal terminals, including high-quality basic accommodations for drivers. |
Promote freight as part of complete streets |
With Kansas City’s high volume of freight activity comes substantial rail and truck traffic that uses the region’s intermodal freight network to travel between freight origins or destinations and the regional highway network. At the same time, the region is also home to numerous walkable and bikeable communities and neighborhoods. There is often debate between advocates for complete streets and advocates for freight, each jockeying for space allocation and infrastructure improvements. Municipal and state governments often aim to separate the two, seeing them as conflicting with each other. But this view ignores the idea that complete streets encourage safe movement for all users. Therefore, when considering complete-streets policies, freight needs should be advanced in tandem with those of other users, especially pedestrians and bicyclists. |
Improve connections between Blue River industry and the Missouri River/M-29 Marine Highway |
The Missouri River Terminal (MRT), at the confluence of the Blue and Missouri rivers, offers the region an opportunity to create an inland port with access to major highway, rail, and maritime infrastructure. The port terminal has the capacity to move 800,000 tons of cargo annually, but currently moves only 110,000 tons. The expansive Blue River Industrial corridor offers additional opportunities to grow industrial, warehousing, and freight uses. The city should review needs related to moving freight along this corridor, focusing on direct links to the M-29 Marine Highway/Missouri River and movement on the river itself. |
Regional collaboration |
Creating a formal local freight transportation committee can bring together freight transportation stakeholders, industry and business leaders, state and local elected officials, and Department of Transportation (DOT) and MPO partners. A committee with local representation can be a viable way to target, understand, and address freight transportation concerns in the region. This forum can become an incubator for potential partnerships to address interjurisdictional concerns, such as responding to federal grants. In a committee such as this, the region’s key freight planners and practitioners can collaborate to improve infrastructure conditions for Kansas City’s goods movement industry. |
COMMUNITY SUPPORTED ACTIONS (CSAs) |
|
|
Develop freight routing and investment plan |
MG-1 | Develop a Freight Routing and Investment Plan for Kansas City. Include regional partners and regional needs. Include ways to link to the existing or future Long Range Transportation Plan.- Identify freight/warehousing activity clusters and truck route typologies (local, connector, through)
- Assign route typologies to highway network
- Identify necessary infrastructure investments (short, mid, long-term)
|
MG-2 | Promote truck routes through appropriate channels, including through outreach to business groups, intermodal facilities, major operators, and industrial/warehousing centers. |
MG-3 | Work with stakeholders to prioritize and target highly effective improvements identified in the Freight Routing and Investment Plan that can be quickly put in place to build momentum for larger, more costly capital improvements.
|
MG-4 | Working with the Mid-America Regional Council to implement the Heartland Freight Technology Plan. Include business and industry leaders and State and local transportation officials in planning efforts. |
|
|
Identify opportunities for new truck parking in industrial areas |
MG-5 | Work with the MARC to implement the Heartland Freight Technology Plan. Include business and industry leaders and state and local transportation officials in planning.- Analyze use of major truck parking facilities and review data to understand where trucks park in undesignated areas. Based on an analysis of parking in undesignated areas, identify locations where truck parking for staging vehicles is most needed
- Promote the importance and benefits of truck parking. Provide informational materials to decision makers to help them understand the importance of investing in truck parking
|
Review highway connections with rail, maritime, and air freight nodes |
MG-6 | Identify deficient roadway connections associated with intermodal facilities and intermodal transfers in the Freight Routing and Investment Plan. Explore options to improve associated infrastructure.
|
MG-7 | Use crash cluster analyses to understand where truck crash incidence is highest. |
|
|
Promote freight as part of complete streets |
MG-8 | Consider advancing a regional truck mobility study to understand where truck trips most substantially conflict with non-motorized transportation modes.- Identify overlaps in clusters of truck crashes and clusters of bicycle or pedestrian crashes. Identify potential improvements to address existing deficiencies.
|
MG-9 | Develop curb-space management standards to formalize freight loading and delivery zones (as discussed in the Parking and Curb Management Objective). |
MG-10 | Explore opportunities to advance freight and complete streets in mode-specific plans (i.e., freight within complete streets plans or complete streets within freight plans). Engage freight and complete streets subject matter experts concurrently during project-specific planning and design phases.
|
|
|
Improve connections between Blue River industry and the Missouri River/M-29 Marine Highway |
MG-11 | Advance maritime corridor plan for the Blue River and potential connections with the proposed MRT. |
|
|
Regional collaboration |
MG-12 | Explore creating a formal local freight transportation committee that can bring together freight transportation stakeholders, industry or business leaders, State or local elected officials, as well as DOT and MPO partners. |
|
|
- Innovation and Creativity
- Regional Collaboration
- Thriving Economy
|
|
Citywide Accessibility Providing Services
|
Related Plans and Policies |
|
|
|
|
