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Aug. 14, 2017
In this issue:
Commissioners will consider a request at Thursday's
meeting to authorize $2.3 million for
work associated with the feasibility study of legacy contamination at the
former Arkema Inc. site.
Commissioners will also consider
greenhouse gas reduction targets in keeping with the Paris climate accord.
The meeting starts at noon on Aug.
17. See
the full agenda. Commission meetings are held
in Room 104 of the Fabulich Center, 3600 Port of Tacoma Rd. Meetings
are streamed live.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance hosted a group of federal,
state and local elected officials Aug. 9 on a boat tour of the Port of Tacoma.
The tour provided an opportunity to share the alliance’s public policy priorities that
would improve the competitiveness of the gateway, including Harbor Maintenance
Tax reform, infrastructure investments and environmental restoration projects.
Special thanks to Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, state Sen.
Steve Conway, state Reps. Mark Hargrove and Shelley Kloba, Secretary of
Transportation Roger Millar, Pierce County Councilman Doug Richardson, Fife
Mayor Kim Roscoe and Fife Councilman Pat Hulcey for joining us.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance is a marine cargo operating
partnership of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.
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The Port Biologist led a group of 10 local photographers on
a tour Aug. 11 of the “Place of Circling Waters.”
The 26-acre site at the mouth of Hylebos Creek features
valuable intertidal marsh, stream channels and forested open space. The site,
connected to several other restored areas along the creek, is part of a larger
effort to rejuvenate salmon runs on the tidally-influenced stream.
Stay tuned for
another photo tour in the fall.
The Government Finance Officers
Association has awarded the Port of Tacoma its Distinguished Budget Presentation
Award for the port’s 2017 budget
document.
The document also included an addendum for The Northwest Seaport Alliance. The alliance is a marine cargo
operating partnership of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.
To qualify for the award, the port “had
to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines
for effective budget presentation,” according to the association’s award
announcement. “It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to
meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.”
Read
the full release.
To
help speed the flow of cargo in the Tacoma Tideflats, The Northwest Seaport
Alliance has relaunched the mobile application DrayQ. It's designed to give truck
drivers real-time information about wait times in and around marine cargo
terminals and traffic camera views at the touch of a fingertip. The app
is also designed to reduce idling-related air emissions and save fuel along
local freight corridors.
Drivers
can use the app to determine the best time to enter a terminal and reduce the
time spent in traffic, which helps reduce air emissions from idling and saves
fuel. For dispatchers or shippers, it helps to optimize schedules and improve
customer expectations.
When
DrayQ first launched last October, drivers expressed concerns that the wait
times listed weren’t accurate enough. Wait times are determined when the
driver’s smartphone reporting GPS data passes readers set in the streets
leading to the terminal entry and within the terminal boundaries so that
specific times within areas of a terminal yard can be monitored and recorded.
To
address the accuracy concerns, we added more readers. As more truck drivers use
the app, the data will become more reliable.
This
is one of several tools in our truck management program to support the goals of
the Northwest Ports Clean
Air Strategy and its
Clean Truck Program.
The
NWSA is committed to exploring emerging technologies that help drive
best-in-class service delivery to make the gateway the easiest with which to do
business. The alliance welcomes other truck management systems and emerging
technology solutions. Considerations may be sent to tms@nwseaportalliance.com.
The app is available for free download
for both
iOS and Android
smart phones and tablets.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance will reimburse up to $2 million to extend
gate hours at its international container terminals during peak season.
After last year’s successful pilot program, the Managing Members again
approved the program to help the marine terminal operators avoid congestion on
surface streets in the port industrial area and keep import and export cargo
flowing efficiently.
This pilot program will reimburse terminal operators for some of the costs
to operate additional hours during off-shift gates. Off-shift gates are after 5
p.m. Monday through Friday or any shift on Saturday or Sunday.
During last year’s peak season, international container terminal operators
added about 70 to 90 hours per week, which accounted for about 8 to 10 percent
of the total NWSA gate volumes.
This pilot program is one more way the NWSA seeks to be the easiest gateway
in which to do business. By using the extended gate hours, truck drivers can
reduce the time spent in traffic, which helps reduce air emissions from idling
and saves fuel.
The updated program kicked off the week of Aug. 12 and will last through the
peak season.
Truckers should confirm each terminal's schedule on its website:
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