Erik Johnson came to the Planning Division of the Virigina Department of Transportation (VDOT) without experience or education in freight. As a statewide planner, he had only begun learning from colleagues and consultants though projects with the I-95 Corridor Coalition and Virginia’s first statewide freight study in 2008, when he enrolled in the Freight Academy for VDOT. Until then, he had not encountered many educational opportunities for transportation planners that covered freight.
“I needed more education in freight; I needed to learn the vocabulary and understand more about the entire industry,” he said. “There is a lot to understand about the diverse business of freight. So, knowledge and understanding are important because much of what we do as planners is collaborate with stakeholders. Also, federal transportation laws been passed addressing freight transportation, and statewide planning requirements increased to ensure freight stakeholders are included in the planning process.”
The Freight Academy experience helped equip Erik meet his agency’s needs with respect to freight, which was crucial, because of the increasing federal requirements. The National Freight Policy recognizes that the inclusion of freight stakeholders is extremely important, and Erik found those necessary conversations would be daunting if he had not learned the language of the industry and understanding how it operates.
“One of the most important facets of the Freight Academy is that it’s totally immersive, with a combination of lectures and on-site tours,” he said. “We heard from all sides of the shipping industry, including railroads, roadways, ports, trucks, and people in logistics. Then we went out and saw an array of facilities and saw firsthand how it all worked, with firsthand information from the general managers of the facilities about what they do, how they do it, what does not work and how it could be better.”
He acquired a much broader, more layered exposure to the freight industry and to the other professionals who operate in that world. It caused him to begin thinking about what can be done to make shipping more efficient, more functional, and more in step with the local and statewide economies and goals. He learned that what he and his agency did had influence. Ideally, they would be able to help shippers keep their costs down, which in turn would bring costs down for customers as well.
“The Freight Academy is like getting up a 10-story building. It helps you get up three or four stories, and it becomes a launching pad for better engagement with stakeholders, learning the kind of analysis and data collection you need, and how to find solutions to problems,” he continued. “There are tools to find solutions, and sometimes in the world of planning, you do not even know there’s a problem. The Freight Academy helps you fill your toolbox and helps you do more than understand the industry. It helps you define the problems.”
Everyone in the transportation industry understands that traffic congestion is a problem, but the key is to find clarity on how those issues affect freight specifically. For example, there are expensive, inconvenient consequences to failing to evaluate roadway design without considering the needs of trucks. It is difficult to go back and repair or change roads after realizing those needs were not addressed.
Erik said his education as a civil engineer prepared him for his career, but the Freight Academy had helped him find the best ways to plan. Since there were fewer freight planning experts in the country when he had his Freight Academy experience, he felt his capacity as a transportation planner was significantly enhanced with his new skills and insights in freight.
“I wasn’t a planning major when I was in college, and I only took one transportation class,” he said. “I’ve grown into the go-to guy for freight, because I can bring my understanding of freight to that area. I’m now the Freight Planning Specialist for VDOT. I got a great boost in the Freight Academy.”
