Transportation : Innovation + Job News

Baltimore city  has teamed with business leaders on an initiativefrom the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore to promote alternative forms of transportation for employees in Harbor East and other waterfront areas. The goal is to ease traffic congestion, employee commute time and pollution.

"From the Charm City Circulator and the Light Rail to vanpooling and bike riding, Baltimore employees have tons of options for their commute to work," says Laurie Schwartz of the Waterfront Partnership. "The goal of this initiative is to help educate area employees about what's out there and why this is beneficial for everyone!"

The new Transportation Mangement Association in the Harbor East area is made up of area employers who have joined to educate their employees that there are other ways to get from home to work without driving their cars.

"Harbor East is probably one of the most congested areas in the city. And we're trying to get people to walk, bike, carpool, or use transit, including the new water taxi,  to get to work," says Jamie Kendrick, deputy director of the city's Department of Transportation.

Source: Jamie Kendrick, Baltimore City Department of Transportation
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Maryland Department of Transportation released its first statewide freight plan last week. The plan outlines more than 100 port, highway and rail improvement projects totaling more than $35 billion that the MDOT says will be needed to handle the estimated 75 percent increase in shipping traffic coming in, going out and around Maryland by 2030.

The plan provides no details on the individual costs of each projects,or how the state will fund them. 

"Whether you buy locally or ship globally, improved freight mobility is key to minimizing cost, improving competiveness, and managing the carbon footprint of our goods movement," says Secretary Beverly Swaim-Staley.


Source: Secretary Beverly Swaim-Staley, MDOT
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Two Maryland shipyards will receive grants the totaling more than $4 million as part of President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), according to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. General Ship Repair Corp. in Baltimore City received a $2.4 million grant to build a new 1,000-ton dry dock. The project is expected to be completed within one year and General Ship Repair has estimated it will hire 20 new employees as a result of the expansion.

Baltimore's Ellicott Dredges LLC, the largest dredge builder in the United States, was awarded $1.7 million. The company will use the funds to upgrade the facility, including IT and other mechanical systems, helping it to retain 20 jobs and create 5 new jobs in the next year.

This funding will have an immediate positive impact, helping to save and create jobs and keep ships � and the goods they carry � safe and moving in Maryland," says Senator Mikulski, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The funds were awarded through the Maritime Administration's Assistance to Small Shipyards program and are intended to help create and preserve jobs, providing valuable employment training and improvements to shipyards.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: DBED