Volume 1 October 2000

Introduction

The Development Authority of the North Country (DANC) has commissioned the North Country Transportation study with federal funding secured by Congressman John M. McHugh through the New York State Department of Transportation. The purpose of this effort is to examine all possible means of improving transportation services within as well as to the region. A consultant team, headed by Wilbur Smith Associates, was contracted to assist the Authority earlier this year. Since the initiation of the study, a series of public meetings have been held so that the study team could hear local concerns and desires. To follow-up on some of the information obtained at these meetings, follow-up interviews were conducted within the region. Additional analyses were conducted by the team to understand how the analyses have been documented in a preliminary report. The study team is preparing to present these findings to general public (see dates for Upcoming Public Meetings at the bottom of this page).

This newsletter is part of the study team's effort to keep the public aware of study activities and directions. Several more will be published before the study is concluded next fall. For those with access to the Internet, a web page is also available. Not only will study newsletters and reports be published on this page, but the public will be able to communicate with the study team as often as they wish.

Core Themes

An initial step in the transportation planning process is to identify the existing deficiencies. The first technical report produced by the study team reviewed these transportation deficiencies and their effect on economic development. This may seem redundant, since the public already knows about the problems, but it is essential to understand the root causes of problems, so that meaningful solutions can be explored. All of the potential solutions will be analyzed to determine which ones make the most sense from an engineering, environmental, and economic standpoint. Based on our initial analysis, there are three deficiencies or related themes that need to be addressed in the North Country transportation system. The region's transportation system, and the service it provides, is such that it:

• Minimizes the ability to move people and goods safely, efficiently, conveniently, cost effectively, and in a timely manner.

• Provides few linkages to other parts of the state, the nation, and the world.

• The deficiencies and lack of linkages to the outside world handicaps the region's economic vitality.

Getting Around in the North Country

The preliminary analyses performed to date suggest that one of the impediments to growth is the ability to move goods and people around the region safely, efficiently, conveniently, cost effectively, and in a timely manner. This finding applies to private citizens trying to get to work or to the grocery store. It also applies to local businesses delivering products to customers, to emergency vehicles racing to the scene of an accident, and to express delivery vehicles trying to make on-time deliveries. It also applies to the business traveler driving to an airport, students driving to class, and tourists trying to find some of the special destinations that the region is famous for. Of equal importance are Canadian bound trucks and cars winding along the region's two lane highways to the local border crossing.

The usefulness of the highway system is not the only concern in our review of the transportation system. Rail cars loaded with raw materials on the way to a local plant are also a part of the transportation system that can affect the local economy. So too are locally produced goods that must be trucked to the local port or rail yard. Businesses depend on a widely scattered labor force, some of whom must use intercity bus services to commute from the town they live in to another town where the job site is located. Finally, farmers are dependent on various transportation services to get their products to market. Therefore, transportation is vital to a host of different constituents in the region.

Looking at the trends in businesses - including changes in organizational structure, technology, and increased dependence on transportation services, it is clear that the region's transportation system is vital to the economic future of the region. The reliability, safety, and cost of transportation will become even more critical in the future for many sectors of the region's economy.

Linkages to Outside the Region

Four-lane trade corridors from other parts of the country and Canada narrow down to two lane roads once they enter the North Country. Because no region can operate in a vacuum, economic success is tied to transportation linkages to businesses and people in other places outside the region's borders. With growth of international trade, just-in-time production and broader supplier networks (in the auto and fabricated metal equipment manufacturing industries) and reliable long distance trucking are becoming critical factors for business siting and retention. And the North Country has substantially worse air service, substantially worse rail service and substantially worse bus service than it had just 20 years ago.

Transportation service and performance in the North Country has failed to keep up with changing business requirements for improved reliability. That translates into a loss of competitive position in terms of transportation performance.

The Region's Economic Vitality

Economic vitality results from the interaction of many factors. Moving people and goods safely, efficiently, conveniently, and cost-effectively are key contributing factors.

The North Country's lack of economic vitality is reflected in flat employment growth and net population migration over the last 10 years. Improving this situation requires that among other actions:

• local businesses and industries have cost-effective and reliable delivery of raw materials to the plant and goods to market;

• the region's government institutions and facilities be more accessible, making them more essential to state and national security;

• the regions universities need to increase enrollment and attract new educators; and

• state and local economic developers and business recruiters are helped in answering a common question - "How do I get there?"

Improved transportation will help local farmers faced with global and national industry rationalization. Improved safety and transportation are important features of quality of life in our towns and villages.

Build Upon Existing Opportunities

Despite the current economic situation in the region, there are opportunities for improvement in the North Country. The region has a string of communities providing the social and human fabric for further development.

Statistics show a net migration from the region, but it has a rich labor pool, which, when given the chance, will stay in the region.

Important local agricultural and forestry based businesses could attract related industries. Strategic access to Canada has made the region a favorite location for Canadian firms trying to expand into the US. Many of these are high tech industries needing highly reliable and highly mobile transportation services. Canada is the US's largest trading partner, the region could and should play a large part in that trade. The region has several well regarded colleges and universities, which by themselves are key economic engines. They are also vital to training the region's future labor pool.

Recent successes such as the state corrections facilities present new employment opportunities for local residents. Additionally, Fort Drum is a major local employer, and plays an important role in national security.

Potential Solutions to Improved Access

The consultant team has used the information gathered thus far in the study to develop a preliminary menu of transportation-based alternatives for improving access to, within, and from the North Country region. Each of these broad alternatives is grounded in the core themes discussed earlier.

Mobility Within the Region

The North Country region can greatly benefit from improved mobility within the region. This improved mobility refers to faster, more efficient travel between cities and within/around urban centers. While improved mobility often refers to better highway transport, it also can take the form of enhanced intercity public transit service, improved access to a regional airport that can accommodate both passenger and freight growth, and improved access to intermodal facilities. This range of multimodal/intermodal solutions facilitates modal choice and can provide faster, less costly, more convenient, safer access to markets, jobs, and recreation.

Linkages to Outside the Region

A growing, vibrant economy is largely dependent upon the quality of its transportation linkages to jobs, markets, employment centers, business and industry outside the region. Alternatives particularly suited to addressing the North Country's relative isolation include establishing direct air service to multiple, distant hub cities, providing modern highway access to existing Canadian facilities and markets, securing new/improved highway/railroad linkages to other US markets (especially the Midwest), preserving existing rail service to Canada, and improving highways that link the North Country to regional tourism attractions. The role of telecommunications linkage outside the region should also be considered in all transport solutions.

The upcoming public meetings are a way for us to get your feedback on these potential solutions.

The Next Step in the Process

Now that the initial stage of the study is complete, DANC invites the public to discuss the implications of the findings before the next step in the study begins - to pursue particular transportation investments to remedy the problems. The meetings will be held October 24th and 25th in Plattsburgh, Malone, Watertown, and Canton:

Plattsburgh - October 24, 2:00 PM - 1st Floor Community Room, Government Center, 137 Margaret Street.

Malone - October 24, 7:00 PM - Franklin Academy Auditorium.

Watertown - October 25, 2:00 PM - Room #4, 11th Floor, Dulles State Office Building.

Canton - October 25, 7:00 PM - Hugh C. Williams High School Auditorium.

In addition to attending the public meetings, DANC invites participation through the internet by viewing the project web site at www.danc.org/ncts. Reports will be made available on the web site as they are completed throughout the study process. The web site also has an electronic form for providing comments and feedback.

Comments are also welcome in the form of letters and can be mailed to:

NCTS Comments
C/O Development Authority of the North Country
Dulles State Office Building
317 Washington Street
Watertown, NY 13601