ACOG Regional Freight Mobility Plan

DOWNLOAD THE FINAL PLAN AND APPENDIXES HERE:

• Regional Freight Mobility Plan
• Freight Plan Executive Summary Brochure
• Freight and Economics Executive Summary Brochure
• Appendix A: Public Engagement Summary
• Appendix B: Best Practices and Freight Technology
• Appendix C: Freight Network Analysis
• Appendix D: Land Use Analysis
• Appendix E: Freight and Economic Analysis

The Appalachian Council of Governments (ACOG) serves as the regional planning organization for the six counties of the Appalachian Region of South Carolina and has a voluntary membership of 43 municipalities and three metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). The Appalachian Region of South Carolina includes the counties Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, and Spartanburg counties. The Appalachian Regional Freight Mobility Plan will also include all of Laurens County. 

The need for a comprehensive strategy to address goods movement in this region results from significant growth in both population and industry that has put pressure on existing infrastructure. The Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin Metropolitan Area boasts the largest Metropolitan Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the state and is ranked #67 among all metropolitan areas in the United States (Bureau of Economic Analysis).

The Freight Plan is an important product that ties together findings from a series of significant regional studies and projects over the past decade. It is expected that the Freight Plan will guide project partners and stakeholders (public and private) in the development of a staged, priority-driven technical process to address future regional freight (primarily truck and rail) processes, policies and investments.

About the Regional Freight Mobility Plan

+ What is the Appalachian Regional Freight Plan?

The key objectives of the Freight Plan will be to:

• Collect system freight data, across modes, that support an ongoing regional freight-planning function;
• Create a framework of analysis for freight performance measures and the identification of freight-specific issues on the transportation network to inform a set of strategic recommendations;
• Develop a framework for incorporating Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) efforts and emerging technologies into freight planning, modeling, and prioritization processes;
• Guide the prioritization and implementation of future investments, policies, and strategies in the short-, mid-, and long-term that improve the safety, security, mobility, operations and reliability of the freight transportation system and support the economic development goals of the region.

+ Why should I care about it?

Freight mobility is an important aspect of the area’s transportation system performance and a major driving force for the Appalachian region’s economy. The movement of freight not only impacts the region’s economy, it supplies you with your needed, everyday goods such as toilet paper, clothing and groceries.