The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) Freight and Rail Plan provides guidance and direction for how cargo and goods travel to, from, and through North Dakota to serve industry and commerce and facilitate employment, economic growth, and prosperity throughout the state.
Cargo mobility, however, also has several important impacts on community livability and quality of life, particularly for communities located along or around freight transportation corridors.
These impacts include Main Street livability and economic impacts, the impact of railroad crossings and truck routes on Safe Routes to School (SRTS), and general impacts on pedestrian and bicycle friendliness for communities along or across those routes. In North Dakota, these impacts are compounded due to the rapid growth of the state's oil industry and its associated cargo demand.
CDG led a livability, health, and equity assessment of the state's freight and rail transportation network as part of the multi-disciplinary team developing NDDOT's new Freight and Rail Plan.
CDG's work focused on proposing solutions and approaches to mitigate impacts and ensure that community livability and safety for pedestrians and bicycle riders is not harmed and that all communities, regardless of size, can benefit from the state's economic growth.